Group 7: Team Members

Souvik Dey- FT153079

Minna Maria Thomas - FT153020
Ranjith Raman- FT153009
Apoorv Mohan- FT153058
Vishal Gupta- FT153098
Nipun Sahrawat - FT153037

Executive Summary
Southwest was founded in 1971 with a fleet of three Boeing
737 aircraft. Headquartered at Love Field in Dallas.

the airline followed a strategy of low fares, few frills, and
excellent customer service.

Under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Herb Kelleher,
Southwest thwarted all the challenges built up by the rivals,
ultimately building a highly successful business with a
uniquely committed workforce.

By 1994, the airlines success had produced many smaller
imitators such as Kiwi and Reno Air.

Big players like Us Air, continental also follow the same suit.
The new competitive threat had brought down the stock price.

Analysts questions the sustainability of the southwest airlines
competitive advantage.

On September 17, 1994, Ann Rhoades,VP of People for
Southwest, was asked to assess the companys current position
in context of the new competition and gauge whether
Southwests widely successful human resources practices could
be copied.

SWOT Analysis
Strength:
A great working climate for employees.

Employees are having excellent rapport among them.

Employees have the routes to air their grievances within the
company and concerned authority resolve those issues.

It is profitable and having a strong financial position.

It always keep surplus cash in hand to finance new ventures.

Culture and image within the company are widely preferred by
the customers.
Weakness
There are only limited internal weakness.

Negative feedback has been observed when actors were
deployed in advertising, instead of using employees.
There is a great panic of competition owing to the low profit
earned per passenger.
There are really limited opportunities for growth within the
company.
There is dearth of unity in decision making when diffusing
into new marketplaces.
Opportunities
Some fraction of the company not yet galvanize with the
principal philosophy of the company.
It caters the market segment that others dont. So, It can expand
in that segment in a continued slow fashion.
There are other local and regional airports that would be
suitable for south west business requirement.
It can go for limited partnership like code sharing which
enable the firm to get into new market.
Threats
New competitors including big ones.

Other regional airlines that have offered same competitive
services like Southwests and denting its market share.

Another threat is that corporate raiders may buy up large
blocks of stock in form of hostile take over in an attempt to
control management decisions
Competitive Advantage
High aircraft utilization.
A standardized fleet.
Charismatic leadership.
Low fares.
Excellent customer service.
An attractive frequent flier program.
Innovative marketing,
Strategic human resources management
a performance-focused organizational culture.
and lean operations.
Human resources practices
Shaped shareholder value by means of low turnover, high
productivity, and excellent job satisfaction.
Designed cross-functional work coordination.
Promote organizational culture that emphasizing "LUV" and
"FUN" in a way which is aligned with the airlines business
strategy.





"FUN" refers to the company's belief that employees should
enjoy themselves at work and its commitment in creating an
atmosphere that encourages customers to have fun.
"LUV" refers to the organizations core values of respect for
individuality and genuine concern for employees.
Selection of right candidates that fit the organization.
Creation of right training programme for the employees.

Conclusion
Rhoades should focus on continued improvement of
Southwests already verified strategies, with an eye toward
addressing the fresh challenges from opponents. Preserving the
airlines culture of employee participation and enthusiasm that
has contributed so considerably to Southwests success should
be among the highest goals.