MARVelous Beasts

Executive Presentation

SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2022

O G L 3 5 5 - L E AD I N G O R G A NI Z AT I O N AL I N N O VAT I O N A N D C H A N G E

D R . S C H OL AR
 Agenda
● Brief introduction of Southwest Airlines Mission and Vision

● Southwest Airlines Organizational Structure

● Southwest Airlines Environmental Analysis Conducted

● Southwest Airlines SWOT Table Analyzed

● Southwest Airlines Competitive Advantage

● Recommendations for Southwest Airlines

● Conclusion/Summary
(Meeting agenda stock photos and images, n.d.)
Introduction
Southwest Airlines
● Southwest Airlines Mission is to “connect
people to what's important in their lives
through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air
travel” (Southwest website, 2022, para.
1).

● Southwest Airlines Vision is “to become

the world’s most loved, most efficient,
and most profitable airline” (Southwest
website, 2022, para. 2).

(Polek, 2021)
Organizational Structure

● U-form organizational structure in

processes Operations Finance
● Operations Department
● Finance Department
● Marketing Department
● Maintenance Department
● Team environment Marketing Maintenance
● Leadership is Leadership by example
Senior Executive Leadership

Robert E. Jordan Michael G. Van de Ven Tammy Romo

Linda Rutherford Mark R. Shaw Andrew Watterson

(Southwest Airlines - SEL, 2022)

Environmental Analysis
● Threat Level of New Entrants: Low

● Bargaining Power Level of Buyers: High

● Bargaining Power Level of Suppliers: Medium

● Threat Level of Substitute Products: Medium

● Threat Level of Industry Rivalry: High

(Aviation Republic, 2020)

Target Market
Southwest’s large range of target passengers include:

Middle-class families
Small business owners
Individuals traveling short distances
Young adults
SWOT

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

● Brand Loyalty ● Small Fleet

● Customer Satisfaction ● Crew Shortage
● Competitive Pricing ● Passenger Amenities
● Strong Marketing ● Limited Destinations
● Over Dependence on Boeing 737s

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

● Unmatched travel demand ● COVID 19 Pandemic

● Expand Fleet ● Changing Health/Safety Regulations
● Expand Freight Business ● Competitive low-fare airlines
● Expand Technologies ● Fuel Costs
Competitive Advantage
The competitive advantage is:
cost leadership
Southwest’s cost leadership has been able to:
➔ Increase their travel destinations while providing
more options for customers to choose their airline
and generate revenue
➔ Keep their cost-expenses stable and consistent by
purchasing the same Boeing 737 airplanes.
Southwest has been able to adhere to their cost
leadership strategies through:
➔ Low-cost ticket pricing
➔ Quick flight turnaround times
➔ Refraining from purchasing non-related or non-
productive business items that do not proactively
contribute toward their profitability measures
(Business Essay, 2022).
The point of view is: I/O
From the beginning of its existence, Southwest has
been known as a low-cost leader.
In order to use cost leadership as a competitive advantage,
Southwest implored four strategies:
1. Externally assess what other competitors were
charging for their flights.
2. Hiring their first Vice President of ground operations,
Bill Franklin, who brought a lot of external
experience.
3. Implementing the 10-minute turn where a plane was
cleared, cleaned, refueled, and boarded all within 10
minutes (Yerman, 2020).
4. Flying to secondary airports such as Dallas-Love
Field, Houston-Hobby, and Chicago Midway.
Recommendations

● Capitalize on Brand Loyalty

● Seize the opportunity to expand your fleet
● Focus on your competitive advantage as a cost leader
● Reinforce by reinvesting in yourself
● Remember who you are
Conclusion/Summary
● Mission
● Organizational and Leadership Structures
● Environmental Analysis
● SWOT
● Competitive Advantage
● Recommendations
 References
Business Essay. (2022, January 6). Southwest Airlines' Strategic Management. https://business-essay.com/southwest-airlines-strategic-management/

Chishty-Mujahid, N. (2017, August 1). Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF). Southwest Airlines’ successful economistic, cost-leadership strategy
examined in light of Paul Lawrence’s renewed Darwinian theory: An analysis . https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/

Competitive Advantage. (2022, January 29). The Balance. https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-competitive-advantage-3-strategies-that-work-3305828

Editorial Team. (2020, November 8). Why Are Planes So Expensive to Make? Aero Corner. https://aerocorner.com/blog/why-are-planes-so-expensive/#:
%7E:text=and%20quality%20standards.-,How%20Much%20Does%20It%20Cost%20to%20Manufacture%20an%20Airplane%3F,cost%20are
%20design%20and%20testing
Hampton, D. J. (2022). Frustrations Mount for Southwest Airlines Pilots as Summer Travel Picks Up. NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/southwest-airlines-pilots-frustrated-staffing-shortages-summer-travel-rcna34176

Hughes, J., & John HughesJohn Hughes is a digital marketing strategy and business expert. While he’s got a strong background in finances. (2022, July 12).
Southwest Airlines competitors analysis. Business Chronicler. https://businesschronicler.com/competitors/southwest-airlines-competitors-analysis/

Hughes, J. (2022). Southwest Airlines Competitors Analysis. Business Chronicler. https://businesschronicler.com/competitors/southwest-airlines-competitors-

analysis/

Issac, S. (2022, January 30). How much investment required to start a New Airline? Linkedin.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-much-investment-required-start-new-airline-sam-issac/

IvyPanda. (2022, February 22). Southwest Airlines: Operational Efficiency Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/case-study-southwest-airlines/
 References
Josephes, L. (2022, February 02). Bob Jordan is now Southwest Airlines’ new CEO. Here’s what’s on his plate.
CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/southwest-airlines-new-ceo-bob-jordan-takes-over-as-
airline-tries-to-get-out-of-pandemic-slump.html

Martin, M. (2019). The Pros and Cons of Flying with Southwest Airlines in 2019. Travel News.
https://www.skyscanner.com/tips-and-inspiration/southwest-pros-cons

Perusall. Chapter 4, Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses: Doing an Internal Analysis.

https://app.perusall.com/courses/ogl-355-leading-org-innovation-2022-fall-a/strategic-manageme
nt-in-action?assignmentId=Na2KLbRTM6cSgSK7v&part=1

Phelps, S. (2019). To Win The Customer Loyalty Game, Southwest Airlines and Epic Games Play for Keeps.
CMO Network.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stanphelps/2019/10/18/to-win-the-customer-loyalty-game-southw
est-airlines-and-epic-games-play-for-keeps/?sh=1df713d483a8

Pratap, A. (2020, December 3). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Southwest Airlines. In Notesmatic.
https://notesmatic.com/2020/01/porters-five-forces-analysis-of-southwest-airlines/
 References
Schlangenstein, M. (2020, March 31). Southwest Airlines Offers First Cargo-Only Flights in Its History . Bloomberg News.
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/southwest-offers-first-cargo-only-flights-its-history

Schleckser, J. (2017, October 17). The secret to the success of Southwest Airlines, Google, and Ritz-Carlton: It's not what you think . Inc.com. https://www.inc.com/jim-schleckser/secret-to-success-of-
southwest-airlines-google-ritz-carlton-its-not-what-you-think.html

Sherman, M. (2019, May 30). Southwest Airlines Co.'s organizational structure & its characteristics (an analysis) . Panmore Institute. https://panmore.com/southwest-airlines-organizational-structure-
design-characteristics-analysis

Statista (2019). https://www.statista.com/statistics/422062/american-customer-satisfaction-index-for-southwest-airlines-us/

Southwest Airlines Investor Relations. Senior Executive Leaders. (2022). https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/corporate-governance/senior-executive-leaders

Southwest Airlines Mission Statement Analysis. Mission & Vision Statement. (2021, January 27). https://mission-statement.com/southwest-airlines/

Southwest Airlines Network Operations Center. BOKA Powell. (n.d.). https://www.bokapowell.com/project/southwest-airlines-network-operations-center/

Southwest Media: SWM-1. (2022). https://swamedia.com/pages/bob-jordan

Southwest Media: SWM-2. (2022, September 26). Southwest Airlines Announces Leadership Changes. https://swamedia.com/releases/release-518568bd2c4dfd340f74ae77ed4b232d-southwest-airlines-
announces-leadership-changes?query=Michael+G.+Van+de+Ven

Southwest Media: SWM-3. (2022). Linda Rutherford. https://swamedia.com/pages/linda-rutherford

Southwest Media: SWM-4. (2022). Mark Shaw. https://swamedia.com/pages/mark-shaw

 References
Tony, T. (2019, January 29). Servant leadership as demonstrated by Southwest Airlines. tonyrobbins.com.
https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/how-has-southwest-airlines-made-money-for-30-plus-years-
while-other-airlines-barely-survive/

Wallach Graphics/Design:, O. (2022, June 8). Visualizing well-known airlines by Fleet Composition. Visual
Capitalist. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-well-known-airlines-by-fleets/

Yerman, J. (2020, November 13). Turn Back the Clock: Southwest’s Quick Turnarounds. APEX
Experience Magazine. https://apex.aero/articles/2020-11-17-turn-back-the-clock-
southwests-quick-turnarounds/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20Southwest%20managed%20
an,tables%20and%20lavatories%20between%20flights.
 Photo References
Aviation Republic. (2020, October 28) All About Airline Carriers in the United States. https://aviationrepublic.com/blog/low-cost-airline-united-states/

Meeting agenda stock photos and images. 123RF. (n.d.). https://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/meeting_agenda.html

Polek, G. (2021, March 29). Southwest Airlines orders 100 Boeing 737 Max 7s. Aviation International News. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2021-03-29/southwest-airlines-
orders-100-boeing-737-max-7s

Southwest Airlines - Org Chart. THE ORG. (n.d.). https://theorg.com/org/southwest-airlines/org-chart

Southwest Airlines - Senior Executive Leaders. SEL (2022). https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/corporate-governance/senior-executive-leaders