Study of Southwest Airlines Essay -- Business Management Studies SWOT

Study of souwest Airlines1. What three things impress you close near this alliance?One thing that really impressed me or so Southwest was their abilityto maintain high profits and maintain a high customer base even afterthe September 11 bangs and 2002 recession. A nonher impressiveattribute is the fact that they can keep their prices very(prenominal) small(a) andaffordable to customers. The last thing that really impressed meabout Southwest Airlines was their focal point system. Their mottothat employees are equal to upper precaution seemed to me a riskyapproach, but for Southwest it was a very brilliant and profitableidea. 2. Do a SWOT analysis. (See Exhibit 1 for analysis) vividness* Major profitable airline company since September 11, terror attack* Lower prices than competitors* Friendly service* Short air impress surrounded by two cities* Upside-down pyramid management system* Plenty of effortless flyings* Entertainment for passengersWEAKNESS* only flies to 29 st ates* Cannot compete with large airline companies* Does not utilize a hub system* No initial frame seating* Smaller seats compared to larger airline companies* Only uses Boeing 737 AirlinesOPPORTUNITES* Slash Prices even more to eliminate competitors* Add first class compartment* Expansion into new geographic region* Add flights in areas where rivals were crude back service* Expand airline fleet to fly overnight distances* Add longer, non-stop flightsTHREATS* New entrants* Increased rivalry* FAA rules and regulations* Government Regulation* Land-based travel such as Amtrak and Greyhound* Other airline companies duplicating Southwest Airlines? strategy3. What clan 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 thatSouthwest Airlines is described as an upside-down pyramid. The uppermanagement is at the bottom and supports the front line employees, whoare the experts. Th is is Herb Kellehers unorthodox leadership style,in which management decisions are made by everyone in theorganization, not just the head executives. The company is describedas not having much of an emphasis on structure instead, employees areencouraged to cipher freely without constrai... ...mselves and stress the quality of these frills (such as roomierseats). Others, through use of flight hubs, are the only ones who caneconomically serve remote customers.another(prenominal) weakness of Southwest Airlines is its preference for Boeing737s. Being limited to one image of airplane leaves them with littleflexibility when the model receives a bad repute or a criticalflaw is discovered. Such would be a high-priced venture for this company,who has used only one type of airplane, and in the face of a diresituation would face a costly venture of finding replacements orcounteracting bad publicity.A possible nemesis is that since Southwest Airlines strategy hasproven so effective, it wi ll be duplicated by its competitors to apoint where it would lose originality. This could result incompetitors offering low rates to the areas covered by Southwest andbeyond, making Southwest Airlines hustle and limitations more obvious.It would be very possible in the near forthcoming where a big company, withits hubs (something Southwest does NOT have), would basicallyintroduce Southwest Airlines low-cost model to a wider market,encroaching and outdoing Southwest Airlines.