Strategic Management

Running head: SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 1

SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 6

Southwest's Strategic management

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The management team will comprise the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, Culture and Communications, Strategy and Planning, Administration and Human Resources, a Procurement officer , a Marketing Manager, Customer Service, Operations, legal, Chief Technology officer, Chief Information Officer and Directors. The CEO will be a highly innovative person with good leadership abilities. He or she will also require having the ability to make strategic decision and be a risk taker. The chief Financial Officer should have good financial planning sills and the ability to control finances. The chief operating officer will be required to be a good co-coordinator of operations. He or she must possess good management skills. The culture and communications officer will need to have good inter-personal skills and be effective in maintaining good customer relationships (Freeman, 2010).

The strategy and planning manager should be a good decision maker and innovative. The administration and human resources manager will require good management skills. They will require good change management skills and be very competent. The marketing officer will be in charge of the marketing department. He or she will require strong interpersonal and communication skills and also have the ability to influence. The customer service officer will require good interpersonal skills to enable him or her handle consumer cases. Procurement will need a person with good management skills, be persuasive, have good communication skills and be able to influence. The operations officer will require having sound judgment, strong interpersonal skills and high integrity. The legal officer will require having adequate knowledge of the law and good communication skills. The chief technology officer will require strong technical skills. The chief information officer will require good interpersonal skills and communication skills. Finally, the directors will be required to have adequate governance knowledge, interactive sills and very competent in the industry (Dess, 2006).

SOUTHWEST ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

( Chief Operating Officer ) ( Chief Financial Officer ) ( CEO )

( Culture and Communications )

( Strategy and Planning )

( Administration and Human Resources )

( Marketing )

( Customer Service )

( Procurement )

( Operations ) ( Legal DIRECTORS ) ( Chief Technology officer ) ( Chief Information Officer ) ( DIRECTORS )

McKinsey 7-S model

The model examines how seven key variables relate. The key variables include strategy, systems, structure, style, shared values, staff and skills. These variables must be aligned for the organization to be effective. If the variables are misaligned, this represents performance deficiencies of the organization (Van Waveren, 2002). To examine the effectiveness of southwest airlines, the following is an exploration of the key variables.

Strategy

This is the overall plan of creating and maintaining a competitive advantage. It also refers to actionable items implemented by an organization for the purpose of achieving the objectives. Southwest aims are changing with the changes as the world evolves. Its departments are driven by service of high levels, efficient processes and high performance expectations. The company is also committed to the development of employees by maintaining a growth and development environment. Southwest is also centered on transparency, prudence and accountability. It is therefore clear that the company’s strategy has positioned it well in the airlines industry allowing pursuit to its long term goals and objectives.

Structure

As indicated in the above organizational charts, the company’s authority rests with functional heads. The company has a chief executive officer assisted by the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Technical Officer and chief information officer. These help the CEO to make strategic decisions.

Systems

These are inner workings supporting the structure and the strategy of the organization. In southwest airlines, they include the HR system, financial system and technical system. These are all in good place and constantly monitored by the company’s command center.

Shared values

These are values and beliefs of the company. Southwest’s shared values include a free and friendly culture, casual dress code, has a code of ethics and fundamental values. The company is also driven by innovativeness and creativity that improves its performance.

Style

This is defined by the culture and norms of the business (Van Waveren, 2002). Southwest company is centralized, hierarchical and directive. Teamwork exists in the company’s management team and other employees.

Staff

The company has staff that differs in gender, abilities, ethnicity and age. This allows the organizational to have diversity that enables the company to be very competitive. Skills

The company has very strong skills in the airlines industry giving them the ability to offer very good airlines services. Skills are also monitored constantly and the team members performing well are rewarded in terms of pay rise or promotion.

Business-level strategy and how it fits with the corporate-level strategy.

Business level strategies refer to the decision that the company makes to create, maintain and use its competitive strategies (Thompson, 2001). The corporate level strategies are opportunities that arise outside the industry of the company. The corporate-level strategies fit into the business- level strategy by contributing to its profitability, efficiency, and competitive advantage of the company.

References

Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, J. L. (2001). Strategic management. Thompson Learning.

Dess, G. G., Lumpkin, G. T., & Eisner, A. B. (2006). Strategic management: text and cases. Richard d Irwin.