...QUESTION 1: What is the strategy of Southwest Airlines? Southwest’s strategy has two overarching themes: 1) Operate as a leading low-fare carrier, and 2) their mantra, “Happy employees make for happy customers.” There are several components to each, which are described in detail below. 1) OPERATING AS A LEADING LOW-FARE CARRIER There are several factors to this strategy: Low fares: SWA had the lowest fares in the industry and endeavored to keep it that way. Low costs: Southwest had the ability to charge low fares in part due to low overhead. Lost cost measures included the following: * Identical fleet of airplanes: This minimized the number of parts required for upkeep and maintenance, and it reduced carrying costs. It allowed SWA to simplify and harmonize training and operating procedures. Finally, not only was inventory “interchangeable” across the organization, staff could have moved freely from one location to the next with little to no training time required. * No meals on flights: A savings of $40 per passenger. * No seat assignments: No staff resources were required to maintain or change seat assignments, and no electronic system capacity was required to track/record such transactions. Simplified approach: Southwest kept the fare structure simple. * Only two types of fares: Regular and off-peak fares (no business class, first class.) * Consistent “within state” fares: For instance, a passenger can fly anywhere within...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...Southwest identified an opportunity within Texas for short distance air service between Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio. These Texas cities were often referred to as one single market area, although they were some of the fasted growing in the nation. Southwest recognized that Pacific Southwest Airlines had a similar business plan in California servicing Los Angeles to San Francisco, so they took this similar concept, and set their goals to provide quick, reliable service that local passengers sought to utilize. Within this Texas market included two other airlines, Braniff and TI. Both did not originally specialize in short distance air travel, and most short distance flights started at a larger location such as New York and traveled through the Texas cities as a multiple stop trip. Southwest’s choice to enter the market initiated a quick process to implement their strategy. Within 4 months, they would implement a marketing strategy and begin servicing the area. The problem with the Texas market was as soon as Southwest implanted a strategy and promotion, Braniff and TI would closely follow and form a very similar strategy. Southwest’s third phase of their advertising campaign led to Braniff once again matching the promotion that they are offering, and Southwest’s response to Braniff’s move would help establish southwest as a successful company. Within the Texas market, Southwest has created many strengths that will help set them apart from the current brand...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...4315*2 Team 4 Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose In the airline industry competitors have to work hard to maintain market share and even more to increase their share. Southwest Airlines has become the market share leader in terms of passengers carried with the simple strategy: “low-cost/low-price/no-frills.” They have done an excellent job in implementing and executing their strategy elements. Some of the most crucial executions in the Southwest strategy are their point-to-point scheduling of flights, customer service and customer satisfaction, and appreciation of employee involvement for continuous company improvement. Although many other airlines can implement the same strategic elements as Southwest has, they would still be behind the times since Southwest has been working efficiently from inception. Throughout this analysis of their performance, one may conform his or her own opinion on how to grade Southwest with the information provided. Alternative strategic suggestions will be evaluated with a preferred alternative choice that could improve the Southwest image and performance. Situation Analysis General Environmental Analysis Until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the government had control over airline fares, routes, and market entry. But since Southwest's initial plan was to fly only intrastate routes, they did not have to come under the regulation of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Southwest did, however, encounter some legal and regulatory...
Words: 2295 - Pages: 10
...Suggested Format for Case Analyses: 1. Executive Summary: brief 1 paragraph stating key problem(s) and your main recommendation(s)/decision(s). 2. Problem Identification: 1-2 page write-up of the key problem(s) you have identified within the case. This should not be a re-hash of the case itself. The Case Study questions should help you address the issues in this section. 3. Action Plan: 1-2 page write-up of your proposed solution to the problem(s) with detailed steps as to how to proceed with implementing your proposal. 4. Financial Analysis: 1-2 page write-up of the financial analysis that supports the recommendation(s) you have presented in the Executive Summary and Action Plan. Use an electronic spreadsheet to do the calculations and print out these figures as an attachment to your case analysis. Case Study Questions: Tiffany & Co.—1993: 1. Should Tiffany actively manage its yen-dollar exchange rate risk? Why or why not? 2. If Tiffany were to manage its exchange rate risk activity, then what should be the objectives of such a program (e.g., what specific purpose or theoretical rationale can justify a decision to hedge the yen-dollar risk)? 3. Assuming Tiffany wanted to hedge this risk, try to identify what exposures should be managed via such a hedging program (e.g., hedge sales, net income, cash flow, etc.). Also, try to quantify how much of these exposures should be covered and for how long. 4. Identify, in terms of cost, benefits...
Words: 604 - Pages: 3
...Analysis of Business Issues, Writing In the Disciplines (WID) BADM 2003W (95440): BADM_2003W.SEC.12 Tuesday Combined Class: SEMESTER: Spring 2014 LOCATION & TIME: Duques 353, Tuesday 11:10 AM-12:25 PM PROFESSOR: Dr. Bret Crane Department of Management Office: Funger Suite 315N Email: bretdcrane@gwu.edu Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-2 PM or by appointment TEACHING ASSISTANTS: |Erin Vander Wall | | |Leigha McReynolds | | |Mark De Cicco | | |Tess Strumwasser | | |Daniel Berkhout | | |Sam Yates | | |Vicki Brown | | | ...
Words: 4096 - Pages: 17
...Analysis of Business Issues, Writing In the Disciplines (WID) BADM 2003W (93752): BADM_2003W.SEC.11 Monday Combined Class: SEMESTER: Spring 2014 LOCATION & TIME: Funger 209, Monday 2:20 PM-3:35 PM PROFESSOR: Dr. Bret Crane Department of Management Office: Funger Suite 315N Email: bretdcrane@gwu.edu Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-2 PM or by appointment TEACHING ASSISTANTS & WRITING LABS: | | | |Section # |Begin |End |Day |TA |Email | |30 |08:00 AM |09:15 AM |Wed |Mark De Cicco |mdecicco@gwmail.gwu.edu | |31 |09:25 AM |10:40 AM |Wed |Mark De Cicco |mdecicco@gwmail.gwu.edu | |32 |10:50 AM |12:05 PM |Wed |Tess Strumwasser |tstrumwa@gwu.edu | |33 |12:15 PM |01:30 PM |Wed |Tess Strumwasser |tstrumwa@gwu.edu | |34 |01:40 PM |02:55 PM |Wed |Daniel Berkhout |berkhout@gwmail.gwu.edu | |35 |03:05 PM |04:20 PM |Wed |Daniel Berkhout |berkhout@gwmail.gwu.edu | |36 |04:30...
Words: 4144 - Pages: 17
...Summary Corporate Culture & Southwest Airline Case Analysis CORPORATE CULTURE Corporate culture is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success. No matter how good your strategy is, when it comes down to it, people always make the difference. Corporate Culture * Is the meshing of shared values, beliefs, business principles, and traditions that imbues a firm’s operating style, behavioral norms, ingrained attitudes, and work atmosphere. * Is important because it influences the firm’s actions and approaches to conducting business Corporate culture refers to the shared values, ingrained attitudes, core beliefs and company traditions that determine norms of behavior, accepted work practices, and styles of operating. How was a corporate culture developed and nurtured in your organization? A company’s culture is grounded in and shaped by its core values and ethical standards. I am working at PT. Tempo Scan Pacific, Tbk. and known as Tempo Group. Tempo Group has a “Corporate Culture” implemented in the 5 core values : 1. Honesty 2. Equality 3. Usefulness 4. Responsibility 5. Perseverance Here are a few ways my organization can facilitate the creation of a nurturing the culture : * Communications: This allows information and ideas to flow up from entry-level ranks to the top management of the company, but information from upper management is also shared more readily with the entire company. Always communicate...
Words: 3368 - Pages: 14
...ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS It is evident that the greatest strength that Southwest Airlines has is its financial stability. As known in the US airline industry, Southwest is one of those airlines who are consistently earning profits despite the problems the industry is facing. With such stability, the corporation is able to make decisions and adjust policies, which other heavily burdened airlines may not be able to imitate. Having a low amount of cost in their operations is one of the contributing factors in Southwest Airlines’ financial success. Such low cost model of the corporation is brought about by an effective strategy. Southwest uses only one type of aircraft – the fuel-efficient Boeing 737. This tactic keeps training and maintenance costs down. Moreover, the no-frills approach to customer service contributed to the low cost of operations for Southwest. The airline does not serve meals on board, and there are no luxurious or first class seats offered. Services like these have been seen by the airline as unnecessary for an airline that provides a short-haul trip from city to city. By these, Southwest were able to offer low price tickets to customers, which was good for the company because most people would prefer to fly without those services mentioned if it meant for cheaper ticket price. Even though Southwest offers no-frills, there is still a high degree of customer satisfaction that continuously builds customer loyalty for the company. As mentioned, Southwest offers low...
Words: 1540 - Pages: 7
...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Southwest Airlines provides short haul, high frequency, point-to-point, low-fare services to and from 58 cities across the United States. The company is known for its low-cost fares and superior customer service in the airline industry. The company was started in 1971 with a motto still lived by today, "If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline." This motto has been effective for the company because they recently reported their 58th straight quarterly profit. SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis describes the internal strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a company. The strengths of Southwest include its market leadership, its low-cost business model, and its strong financial performance. Weaknesses are the poor short-term liquidity situation, having only one established alliance, and the declining passenger revenue yields. Opportunities for the company include its new services, the new code-sharing agreement with ATA Airlines, and the overall positive outlook for the airline industry. Threats to Southwest include the increasing jet fuel costs, uncertainty in demand, and an increase in competition. Corporate and Business-level Strategies Southwest's corporate level is to focus on obtaining more of the low-fare market of the airline industry rather than to enter into other aspects of the...
Words: 291 - Pages: 2
...ARCTIC MINING CONSULTANTS Case Synopsis Arctic Mining Consultants is a mining company that deals with mineral exploration. In this case study, the project given is staking 15 claims in Eagle Lake, Alaska. The project Manager was Tom Parker, who has a wide experience and specialized knowledge in all nontechnical aspects of mineral exploration. He is a geological field technician and field coordinator for Arctic Mining Consultants. He assigned his previous field assistants John Talbot, Greg Boyce and Brian Millar to help him complete the project. The job required them to stake at least 7 lengths each day in order to be completed on time. However, the whole team has became very tense and agitated, especially Tom Parker, as the deadline was just around the corner and there’s still many to be finished within the limited time. The problem became worse with the way Tom managed and treated his team. The only motivation to the team was the $300 bonuses promised by the company when the job is done on time, otherwise, they might wished to give up already. This happened because working as a field assistant and in long-working hours only giving them low wages, which is considered unreasonable compared to what they have to do. During the eight hard days, everything had actually proved the strengths and weaknesses of each of the team members, including Tom. Case analysis symptoms 1) What symptom(s) exist in this case to suggest that something has gone wrong? The symptom(s) to suggest...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
...1. Would a TNA be needed in this situation? Why or why not? If yes, who would you want to talk to? Training Needs Analysis is a formal process required for the purpose of identifying the training gap that is in existence and its related training need. Considering the IMP case analysis, training needs analysis is required since there are different sectors within the organization which require an individual to possess the necessary skills to perform the expected work within that department. In addition, training is also offered to people working within the ‘different sectors’ in that organization despite the fact that equality is not displayed while offering that form of training. Talking to the HR manager at North America International Airport’s about training needs analysis is a good idea since the HR manager is the one with the authority over the individual’s directly concerned with training such as Mr. Pettipas. 2. Based on the case as presented above, what KSAs need to be trained? From the case analysis at IMP, it is evident that there are several knowledge, skills and abilities that have to be addressed during training to all the employees within those departments. Leadership skills need to be addressed since the HR was not able to assist Ms. Dillman in her case which portrayed that he lacked the leadership skills. Technician skills required for the metal sheet shop needs to be trained since Ms. Dillman lacked knowledge on the requirement of a metal sheet shop technician...
Words: 733 - Pages: 3
...✓ Materials Needed Performance Measurement & Control Systems for Implementing Strategy: Text and Cases, by Simons, Robert. Prentice Hall, ISBN #0-13-234006-2 Cases in Management Accounting & Control Systems 4th Edition, by Allen, Brownlee, Haskins and Lynch, Pearson-Prentice Hall, ISBN #0-13-570425-1 Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Harper Collins, ISBN#0-06-073132-X ✓ University Communication with Students All email communication from the University is sent to the student’s wsu.edu address. Please be sure that you have set up the link to forward your personal email address (aol, hotmail, etc.) or you will miss announcements and information that is very important to you. This is the email I use to contact you regarding class matters. If you change your email address, be sure to update again. ✓ Catalog Course Description with Prerequisitites 3credits: Managerial evaluation of budgeting, cost accounting, and financial analysis techniques; their utilization in control of operations. (pre-requisite acctg 550 or equivalent). Please note that pre-requisites are strictly enforced and that students will be disenrolled if they do not have course pre-requisites). ✓ Instructor Course Objectives Knowledge and Skill Expectations: Students should have the knowledge and skill level to record economic events, read and analyze financial information through the topic areas covered...
Words: 3504 - Pages: 15
...Title Page Course – MKTG 6300 Fall 2007 Service Marketing Student Name: Maria E. Kobayashi Individual Case Analysis Individual Case Summary: Ritz – Carlton Hotels 1. Key issues Ritz – Carlton (RC) wants to be perceived as the premier luxury hotel, with differentiated and personalized service, high levels of guest retention and guest recovery rates, and low levels of service defect incidence. The group wants to achieve this goal by optimizing the balance between human relationships and the systems. Nevertheless, the systems and databases RC had in place at the time of the case do not deliver the level of information needed to reach their objective. Moreover, they do not allow for smooth interaction with the RC team, who are able to gather highly valuable information regarding customers’ preferences, dislikes, or potential problems experimented by the guests. 2. Recommendations First of all, the Encore system should be modified to include real-time updating of customers’ preferences and of potential problems the guests might have experimented during their stay. This should be standardized across all RC properties. Guest categorization should also be standardized and input into the system. This system should be available in a user-friendly way to any member of the RC staff in convenient locations. It should also include a common defect reporting module with the functionality to cross data between different locations. After all these processes...
Words: 382 - Pages: 2
...In the case, a man who goes by the name Moto is sent to Chicago to do business. Here his “responsibility was to hire a contracting company and check on the pricing details.” He works for an auto parts supplier, KKD, who had been researching American contracting companies for the past year and a half. They decided to use Allmack due to it having the best track record. Moto went to meet with a man who worked for the company and was shocked by his rudeness and unprofessional manner. He wasn’t prepared for this and had no idea what to think of it. Also, he was not so used to moving so quickly and rushing around. In America, people are very fast passed and try to get things done as quickly as possible. He presented Mr. Crowell with a gift and he just stated that his daughter would love it. When Crowell said this, Moto should have gone in to a discussion explaining what the dolls meant and the importance of them. This way he could have shown Crowell the value in the gift he was giving him and he would have taken back the comment about his daughter loving them. Throughout the case there are many differences that Moto is shocked by. One of these is the fact that he is used to being called by his last name. He was surprised when Crowell asked for his first name and began calling him by that instead. Also, he wanted proof that the Allmack group was actually as good as they say they are. He asked for records and one of the workers got offended and was wondering why he did not trust them...
Words: 415 - Pages: 2
...to time to write a good CAR. So, once you “get” the Big Picture of the Case, and recognize the major analysis elements (focal system(s), main problem/Alternatives, etc.): o focus on analyzing those Alternatives and coming up with some significant Findings, and especially Recommendations. o As your analysis results “solidify,” focus more and more on Writing a Good CAR and submitting by the Due Date! • Cases can contain more than 1 major “track” for their analysis, allowing for alternative versions of a CAR. So, do NOT simply imitate this Example CAR blindly for its “specific content.” Worse, DO NOT simply copy any of its parts. • Instead, use this Example CAR by way of “Reverse Engineering:” See how its contents arise logically if our Case Analysis Method (Guide) is applied to the Case. This will help you understand how our analysis method works! Then, use the same general analysis method (actually, the Approach) on the Case assigned for your CAR. • Don’t just imitate the pattern of alternative found here! Analyse and find out what alternatives make most sense in the particular Case you are working on. • No Case contains ALL the facts you want to know for its analysis. So, when analyzing Cases, be pragmatic! Do not worry about any facts beyond the Case (unless specifically instructed). Instead, conduct the “best possible” analysis using available Case-facts. • Leave Enough Time to Write a GOOD REPORT based on your...
Words: 1972 - Pages: 8
