Goals And Objectives Of Southwest Airlines

Business Strategy – BAD 4013 – SUMMER 1999 Case Study Southwest Airlines I. Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit. Twenty-seven years ago, Rolling King, owner of floundering commuter airline, and Herb Kelleher, King’s lawyer, got together and decided to start a different kind of airline that would provide a short-haul, low-fair, high-frequency, point-to-point service in the United States. The company began service on June 18, 1971 with flights between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (“The Golden Triangle” as Herb called it). Southwest Airlines is the fourth

Goals within my organisation look at where we would continue to strive towards. They are long term aims. They are stated in our professional development plan stating:-

Currently, Southwest Airlines Company achieved the higher net income in 2013 and widened its field of operations by the integration with AirTran Airways. It seems Southwest’s business is going pretty well. However, there are numerous problems from competitors who will cause negative effect on Southwest’ market leader position and market shares. This marketing plan will make a careful analysis of the current activities of Southwest Airlines Company, and then this marketing plan will create how the company develop Southwest’s market leadership and higher market shares within 5years.

They must be specific, measurable, supported, and achievable. These goals will be motivators for the immediate time to come. Unobtainable goals are discouraging and provide no real way to achieve company goals.

In general, an overall strategy should precipitate into goals and those goals in strategic objectives that can be used to by 1st and 2nd line managers. These strategic objectives’ progress are measurable and quantifiable. Many managers utilize tools such as score cards to analyze the success or lack of, that a company and its managers attain, fails to meet, or surpasses the stated goals. Alignment of these processes to reach a company’s goals is dependent upon the number of goals, the specificity of these goals, and whether or not the entrusted managers have executed these strategies with the necessary resources to accomplish them. According to Sull (2015), “80% of managers say that their goals” fall into this category” (p. #)

What are the key success factors for Southwest airlines? What are the key things it does to keep its costs lower than competitors?

There is three phase to goal-setting strategies (planning, implementation, and evaluation). The goal-setting program will be useful if the process is thoroughly carried out. For example, identifying the action and measuring the progress of each goal. The implementation portion will be to monitor the progress of each goal. The goals will change with time as an individual digest the goal itself. Lastly, receiving feedback from others, such as friends, colleagues, and family help improves the target strategy. Goal-setting creates a focus of attention and action by identifying what an individual vision of his or her life (Rohn, 2015).

Southwest Airlines is a passenger airline company that arranges and provides scheduled flights for passenger and transportation freight services. The company mainly provides, low-fare, point-to-point services all over the US and near-international markets. The headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas and as of December 2014, the company employed over 46,278 people. The company was founded by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher in 1971. Southwest was the first airline to introduce the frequent mile program. This took place in the mid 1980’s. This type of program allowed passengers to add up traveled miles to use later as credit on a future airline ticket. The traveled miles would add up and would also reduce the price of a ticket. Southwest created the idea of senior discount, fun fares and the fun packs. These were perks that attracted people from different age groups. When Southwest originally was incorporated, the idea was to operate in three cities in Texas, but after taking over Morris Air and TranStar in 1987, this gave them a cutting advantage in the airline industry.

Grand strategies, often called master or business strategies, provided basic direction for strategic actions. There are many grand strategies that Southwest Airline can chose from when considering which strategies match with their company’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

When on vacation, the first people you deal with are the airline companies, yes this is the dreaded trip to the airport. Way to often people have their happy vacations ruined by inconsistent and unreliable customer service, making them late for flights because of long lines, slow service, and unreliable technology that is difficult to use. However, Southwest airlines is one company that is standing out above all others. Known for their outstanding customer service and “Bags Fly Free” campaign, Southwest has held their ground against rising prices in airline travel and continued to expand its reaches while at the same time attracting many satisfied customers. Southwest Airlines was founded on June 18, 1971 by Rollen King and Herb Kellener. The very same year, Southwest began its flights servicing Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Southwest quickly climbed the ranks within airline the industry and became the fifth largest US air carrier by 1998, carrying an average of 50 million passengers a year across the United States. From then on, Southwest soared above the rest of the mid-range air carriers, and continues to do so to this day. Southwest quickly became known for its innovation when it comes to customer service and satisfaction, and it is still well known today for its simple and convenient customer service. Southwest has also been deeply involved when it comes to their social responsibilities, taking action to be ecofriendly whenever, and wherever possible. (Avstop)

This proposal addresses the needed steps to be taken in order for Southwest Airlines to see continued growth in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines has been able to remain one of the most profitable airlines in the industry for an extended period of time. Even with the hindrance of the 2001 terrorist attacks involving airplanes and the U.S recession of 2008, Southwest has continued to see strong revenue growth. Meanwhile, other companies were experiencing major losses and in some cases folding. Southwest Airlines has capitalized on the company’s strength of being the top low cost

Low-cost carriers pose a serious threat to traditional "full service" airlines, since the high cost structure of full-service carriers prevents them from competing

Southwest Airlines began operations in 1971, and has remained profitable after 44 years. The company has experienced challenges such as high fuel prices, a recession, and even the tragedy of 9/11. Their strategy is unique and one-of-a-kind. They have innovated the airline industry by keeping costs low while not sacrificing quality or punctuality.

A successful person chooses goals to achieve something that is of great value and importance to them. This in turn motivates the person to achieve the goal because when the desired outcome is very important to a person, that person will be determined to persevere. Goal setting also improves a person 's organizational and time management skills because goal setting requires prioritization and that leads to the successful and sequential completion of necessary tasks. Once a person defines and prioritizes goals a plan should be drawn out detailing how this goal will be achieved. Goals and the time-line for their completion should be clearly defined, it is also important that a person 's

Southwest Airlines faced many barriers to entry from the fierce competition of other airlines in the industry. Though competition was fierce, Southwest Airlines managed to succeed by doing things differently. Their mission was to provide affordable air travel to those who would not normally fly. Contradictory to the rest of the airline industry, Southwest maintained a profit while keeping its fares low. Southwest was unique to the industry in two ways. They focused on the short haul traveler and used a point-to-point method of flight connections.