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southwest airlines a strategic perspective
southwest airlines a strategic perspective
southwest airlines a strategic perspective
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Study of Southwest Airlines
1. What three things impress you most about this company?
One thing that really impressed me about Southwest was their ability
to maintain high profits and maintain a high customer base even after
the September 11 attacks and 2002 recession. Another impressive
attribute is the fact that they can keep their prices very low and
affordable to customers. The last thing that really impressed me
about Southwest Airlines was their management system. Their motto
that employees are equal to upper management seemed to me a risky
approach, but for Southwest it was a very brilliant and profitable
idea.
2. Do a SWOT analysis. (See Exhibit 1 for analysis)
STRENGTH
* Major profitable airline company since September 11, terror attack
* Lower prices than competitors
* Friendly service
* Short air travel between two cities
* Upside-down pyramid management system
* Plenty of daily flights
* Entertainment for passengers
WEAKNESS
* Only flies to 29 states
* Cannot compete with larger airline companies
* Does not utilize a hub system
* No first class seating
* Smaller seats compared to larger airline companies
* Only uses Boeing 737 Airlines
OPPORTUNITES
* Slash Prices even more to eliminate competitors
* Add first class compartment
* Expansion into new geographic region
* Add flights in areas where rivals were cutting back service
* Expand airline fleet to fly longer distances
* Add longer, non-stop flights
THREATS
* New entrants
* Increased rivalry
* FAA rules and regulations
* Government Regulation
* Land-based travel such as Amtrak and Greyhound
* Other airline companies duplicating Southwest Airlines? strategy
3. What grade would you give Southwest management for the job it has
done in crafting the company?s strategy?
I would give Southwest management an A grade, for the reason that
Southwest Airlines is described as an upside-down pyramid. The upper
management is at the bottom and supports the front line employees, who
are the experts. This is Herb Kelleher's unorthodox leadership style,
in which management decisions are made by everyone in the
organization, not just the head executives. The company is described
as not having much of an emphasis on structure; instead, employees are
encouraged to think freely without constrai...
... middle of paper ...
...mselves and stress the quality of these frills (such as roomier
seats). Others, through use of flight hubs, are the only ones who can
economically serve remote customers.
Another weakness of Southwest Airlines is its preference for Boeing
737s. Being limited to one type of airplane leaves them with little
flexibility when the model receives a bad reputation or a critical
flaw is discovered. Such would be a costly venture for this company,
who has used only one type of airplane, and in the face of a dire
situation would face a costly venture of finding replacements or
counteracting bad publicity.
A possible threat is that since Southwest Airlines' strategy has
proven so effective, it will be duplicated by its competitors to a
point where it would lose originality. This could result in
competitors offering low rates to the areas covered by Southwest and
beyond, making Southwest Airlines' range and limitations more obvious.
It would be very possible in the near future where a big company, with
its hubs (something Southwest does NOT have), would basically
introduce Southwest Airlines' low-cost model to a wider market,
encroaching and outdoing Southwest Airlines.
Though the idea becoming a wife and mother was the most common occupation for women in the 1950’s and by no means was it simple. Women experienced immense pressure to act and be a certain way. The conformity of the 1950’s frowned upon things that weren’t apart of the established way of doing things. In the movie The Man in the Gray Flannel S...
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
Kislan, Richard. The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1980. 84, 110, 116-121, 125-127, 128, 134, 163, 195, 201, 209. Print.
Baldwin explain how America functioned as a county and also as an ideal, so that would make it “extremely unlikely that Negroes will ever rise to power in the United States” (Baldwin, pg.83) Baldwin uses the example of how American Negros were kidnapped brought here and sold like animals and treated like ones. So there is no way there will ever be change in their situation without the most radical changes. With this statement Baldwin is showing his mix of ideals, here he is more aligned with Malcom X. Baldwin continues to explain how freedom in political terms is hard to obtain. The only way one will obtain it is they have to be “capable of bearing the burden” (Baldwin, pg. 91). Therefore, without the acceptance of that burden he principles of transformation into one nation will not let us recognize ourselves as we are. Baldwin directs this message mostly toward whites in America but also to the blacks. Baldwin very much like Dr. Martin Luther King was very hopeful that black and white could integrate and become one nation he states “black and the white, deeply need each other here if we are really to become a nation- if we really, that is, to achieve out identity, our maturity, as men and women” (Baldwin, pg. 97) Although deep down in his heart he knew the only way for America and the people living here to become one was to let go of the past
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The dynamic of gender roles within 1960s society is the most prominent issue within Mad Men. The show does not shy away from the conformity of the time. Behind the pristine hair and perfectly stylised clothes - the men are in control and the women are ultimately suppressed of any power.
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More than 37 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher got together and decided to start a different kind of airline. They began with one simple notion: 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. And you know what? They were right. What began as a small Texas airline has grown to become one of the largest airlines in America. Today, Southwest Airlines flies over 104 million passengers a year to 64 great cities all across the country, and we do it more than 3,400 times a day.
The Misfit is a complex character created by Flannery O’Connor. He is talked about first when the Grandmother reads his criminal background at the breakfast table. Right when the Misfit meets the family the Grandmother starts questioning his faith and past, and through the Grandmother’s persistent behavior that you find out the truth behind the Misfits hard exterior. The reader understands that the Misfit was brought up by parents who were the “finest people in the world” (O’Connor 1312). With this type of background, how can one expect the Misfit to be such a cold blooded killer? Because of his kind nature in the beginning of the story, it’s almost impossible to understand how he could just kill. Through deeper analysis one can characterize the Misfit with a heart of gold, but the mind of a villain. This characterization is true because somewhere along the line he was wrongly accused of murdering his father and was brutally punished and he was mistreated by the justice system. The Misfit knows he was innocent and neither Jesus nor the justice system could rid him of the punish he received. It’s not because he is an evil person, he says himself “I never was a bad boy that I remember of… but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive” (1314). The Misfit states he was never the worst person, but he also says himself that he was never good either, so the reason behind the Misfit’s homicidal condition is not because he is an evil person but due to his distrust in Jesus Christ and the justice system.
The Southwest Airlines company and its culture is one that is often cited in today 's business classes. The airline is widely known to be “different” compared to many of its competitors, a result of its founding values and strong corporate culture. This culture developed early in Southwest’s history and was deeply entrenched due to the competitiveness of the airline industry, as well as due to some of the pressures experienced as a result regulatory issues and stiff competition.
From the outside, the 1950’s was a great time for America. Society revolved around the idea of America being a middle-class nation. Americans worshipped conformity, and materialism satisfied the need to conform. However, the prosperity of materialistic America hid the growing, numerous problems. Dissent in any way was not tolerated; all injustice was stifled by a fear of difference. In “Fifties Society,” Alan Brinkley discusses the truth of the era; that the fear of nonconformity was hidden by the seemingly prosperous middle-class nation. Brinkley argues the Beat movement and “feminine mystique” show that the people who did not fit in reveal the true colors of 1950’s society.
America Baldwin explain how America functioned as a county and also as an ideal, so that would make it “extremely unlikely that Negroes will ever rise to power in the United States” (Baldwin, pg.83) Baldwin uses example of how American Negros were kidnapped brought here and sold like animals and treated like one. So there is no way there will ever be changes in their situation without the most radical changes. Baldwin continues to explain how freedom in political terms is hard to obtain. The only way one will obtain it is they have to be “capable of bearing the burden” (Baldwin, pg. 91). Therefore, without the acceptance of that burden he principles of transformation into one nation will not let us recognize ourselves as we are. Baldwin directs this message mostly toward whites in America but also to the blacks. Baldwin realized the self-image that blacks had of themselves had to improve if they were ever going to progress in America. As Baldwin wrote to his nephew: You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. . . . Know whence you came. If you know whence you came, there is
While Mad Men may seem to be just another sexist show dominated by chauvinist men and submissive women, it is, in fact, a time piece. The creator for the series, Matthew Weiner, was recreating a show of historical facts through his fictional characters. Matthew Weiner shows the life for women of the ‘60s as they struggle with their identities in a sexist society. He does this through the lives of Betty Draper, Joan Holloway, and Peggy Olson.
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