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SouthWest Airlines Organizational Structure & Decision

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I am having trouble in finding the organizational structure of South West Airline and what are the decision-making strategies for Southwest airline are.

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Solution Summary

1849 words with references throughout to explain this airline's structure and their strategies for making hard decisions.

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Southwest SWOT Analysis, Southwest has clearly chosen the short haul, low-cost, point-to-point service between midsize cities and secondary airports as its primary market focus. With this focus, the company can avoid large airports and does not fly great distances. This attempts to outline the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the focus strategy chosen by Southwest.

Strengths - for Southwest

Excellent employee recruitment and retention plans have enabled Southwest to remain the most efficient airline in the industry. Southwest Efficiency - Aggressive retention plans enable the airline to keep employees that are trained thus maintaining operational efficiencies extremely high. Trained employees also help in Southwest's ability to reinforce its commitment to employee development plans as long-term employees are used to train the new hires. Also, recruitment of employees that can easily acclimate themselves to the enthusiastic and committed nature of the work force enables Southwest to maintain its commitment to customer satisfaction.

Weaknesses - in Southwest

Use of price as a market position - Price provides a strong compulsion to purchase Southwest Airline tickets, however changes in the marketplace could dramatically affect its value. The crash of Value Jet is one example of how price can be devalued in importance when purchasing a ticket. Customers may artificially relate low priced tickets with poor quality flight equipment and search for more expensive tickets that are associated with better and safer airline equipment. This is clearly a weakness in customer perception, Southwest has one of the best records in the industry and also flies one of the most modern fleets. Southwest uses its employees as a major component of its sustainable competitive advantage. Use of an extensive selection process that includes attitude based selection, peer review, involved customers and one year probation periods help Southwest find employees that fit the culture, facilitate operational efficiencies and reduce turnover. Also, training provides employees an environment of coaching, not policing. Coaching serves to reduce ambiguity and stress for the average employee while maintaining a high moral. Over 80% of the higher level jobs are filled by internal promotions keeping the workforce enthusiastic about long-term career opportunities at the company. Clearly, Southwest considers its employees its strongest asset. Southwest has chosen to compete in all its markets with midrange jets. The use of cheaper turboprop service can significantly challenge their low cost status. US Air has chosen to pull most of its jet service from the state of Florida and replace it with US Air Express. US Air is using this technique to undercut Southwest's traditional regional service with this low priced alternative.

Opportunities - Southwest

New markets - High growth - As a small regional airline, Southwest is experimenting with new markets and is subsequently experiencing high growth. The company should look for opportunities to increase scales of economies in its core business. Better ...

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