3 assignment help
Week 2 – Case Analysis: Southwest Airlines Strategic Fit
DIRECTIONS:Over the years thousands of students
have had Southwest Airlines (SWA) assigned to them as a case study. Their
answers have focused on SWOT analysis, Porter’ Fives Forces and recommendations
for action. Few if any have ever truly grasped the ever so important concept of
strategic fit as the cornerstone for SWA’s sustained competitive advantage or
even addressed what has made SWA the most successful airline in United States
history. What you seek to identify in this case study is not what SWA strategic
advantage is we all know it is low cost provider. What you seek lies much
deeper than a SWOT Analysis or Porter’s Five Forces. These are importance
concepts and tools but what strategic strategies and what tasks had been
blended together to mold astrategic fitforming a strategic advantage
competitors for decades have tried and failed to copy?Strategic fit activities are what you seek to identity, discuss and map.
What has happen since 2001 and been recently accelerated that threatens SWA’s
competitive advantage? Read the entire case which is very interesting but
contains much information not germane to what you seek. Sift through the facts
and identify and discuss as many strategic fits (tasks or activities) SWA has
implemented to create its dominating competitive advantage. Also, identify what
has changed in SWA’s environment to threaten it decades old strategy and
competitive advantage. Youshould
also address the following questions:
What is
Southwest’s core competence? Its key success factors?
How has Southwest management
done in crafting and implementing the company’s strategy? What is it that you
like or dislike about the strategy? Does Southwest have a winning strategy?What
are the key policies, procedures, operating practices, and core valuesunderlyingSouthwest’s efforts to implement and
execute its low-cost/no frills strategy?
What problems do you foresee that Gary Kelly
has in sustaining the culture now that HerbKelleher,
the company’s spiritual leader, has departed?
Southwest Airlines is very much a “strong
culture” company. Discuss the evidence in the case indicating the lengths to
which Southwest management has gone to nurture and ingrain the culture and to
create a work environment where core values are widely shared and deeply
entrenched:
Which of Southwest’s strategy execution
approaches and operating practices do you believe have been most crucial in
accounting for the success that Southwest has enjoyed in executing its
strategy? Are the any policies, procedures, and operating approaches at
Southwest that you disapprove of or that are not working well?
What weaknesses or problems do you see at Southwest Airlines?
Does theAirTranacquisition
make good strategic sense for Southwest? Does it Create value?
What recommendations would you make to Gary
Kelly and Southwest executives as the company heads into the future?
In this case study you are to analyze the strategic scope of the horizontal acquisition by Verizon Communications (hereafter referred to as Verizon) of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone. Discuss whether or not this deal improves Verizon’s sustainability of its resources and its performance? Does this acquisition meet the two tests of broad scope? Is so how? If not why not? How does the acquisition of this strategically valuable resource meet the Collis and Montgomery resources tests discussed in Lesson Topic 1? How is value created by this acquisition?
paper 3
assignment you are going to analyze the Verizon Vodafone sale from Vodafone’s
perspective. Specifically analyze how this transaction fits Vodafone’s Global
Strategy. Address how this transaction is judged via the CAGE perspective. Does
it fit the Better-Off and Best Alternative tests? How should have consideration
of the AAA Strategies (Aggregation, Adaptation and Arbitrage) affected the
thinking of Vodafone executives while pondering this sale? How does sizeism
factor in this sale? Demonstrate if and how the disposition of Verizon Wireless
fits into Vodafone’s strategic plan. Finally, having almost completed this
capstone course in your judgment was this a good deal for Vodafone– why or why
not and will Vodafone regret this sale?
You may want to
review the Verizon/ Vodafone case from week 3 and do some outside research.
