Haves and the Have Nots: The Abuse of Power and Privilege in the Workplace … and How to Control It, The

Chapter 4. The Third R—Recognition: Voice Lessons

In 1996, 57 percent of the employees responding to a Delta Airlines internal survey said that the quality of customer service had declined during the previous two years. Forty-eight percent rated the effectiveness of Delta's leadership as “unfavorable,” and 61 percent disagreed with the statement “management can be trusted.”

This dismal display came from an employee group that once bought the company a new Boeing 767 they named “The Spirit of Delta.” Analysts blamed the turnabout on Delta's strategy for cutting $2 billion from operating costs. “Leadership 7.5” was the strategy's name. The “7.5” referred to the airline's target for one of the industry's common financial indices: the cost of flying ...