Charla Griffy-Brown Writes About the Relationship Between Technology and Operational Risk for Chief Executive

Southwest Airlines made national news at the end of 2022, canceling 16,000 flights between Dec. 19-28 during extreme weather, far exceeding any other airlines’ operational impacts during this time period. Writing for Chief Executive, Charla Griffy-Brown, Pepperdine Graziadio senior associate dean of executive and part-time programs and professor of information systems technology management, encourages boards and executives everywhere to check “whether their firms have the priorities, systems, and culture in place to navigate volatility and disruptions.”

According to Griffy-Brown, Southwest’s outdated operating model, which is built on infrastructure from the 1990s, left the airline vulnerable to this type of calamity. 

“Tech issues are often blamed when businesses experience operational disasters,” wrote Griffy-Brown. “But industry watchers, advocates, and academics (like me) know there are culture, process and leadership issues that also play a crucial role. Boards and executives should be asking key questions to evaluate whether their enterprises are positioned to navigate ongoing volatility based on what we can discern from Southwest Airlines’ operational disaster.”

Griffy-Brown provides an self-audit for executives, asking if they are investing enough in operational digital transformation, if they have an updated crisis communications protocol, and if their organizations have the capability and strategic posture to support custom software development.

Read the full article at Chief Executive.