SkyWest, Inc. and the Regional Airline Industry A Critical Analysis

Macroenvironment Factors Extant literature demonstrates that macroenvironment factors basically imply the major external and uncontrollable factors that either positively or negatively influence an entity’s decision-making processes, performance and strategic orientation (De Toni Tonchia, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on SkyWest, Inc. and the Regional Airline Industry: A Critical Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the case study, some of the general economic macroeconomic conditions that continue to affect regional carriers such as SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines include economic recessions, misaligned partnerships with national carriers leading to delayed flights and unaccounted baggage, high and unstable fuel costs, acrimonious relationships with labor unions, weather-related flight cancellations, heightened competitive pressures from low cost carriers, and regulati on issues (Thompson et al., 2011). From the case scenario, it can be demonstrated that the U.S. regional airline industry is a subset of the national airline industry as it acts to satisfy the needs and demands of national carriers through partnership agreements. The U.S. regional airline industry forms a critical component of the global airline industry in that it provides domestic and international air transportation of passengers and/or cargo over regular routes on pre-determined schedules (Thompson et al., 2011). These relationships imply that the U.S. regional airline industry is affected, either positively or negatively, by turbulences occurring in the national and global airline industries. Five Forces Analysis Competition within the U.S. regional airline industry is at all-time high if analyzed using the lens of Porter’s Five Forces Model, in large part due to the threat of substitute products (cheaper routes established by competing regional carriers), threat of esta blished rivals (many regional carriers competing for the same resources), and the threat of new entrants (new regional carriers either merging or partnering with national carriers on vital routes to sustain competitiveness). The Porter Five Forces Model has two other vertically integrated elements that can be used to demonstrate intense competition prevalent in the regional airline industry. The first of these elements – bargaining power of suppliers – is demonstrated as high by the way regional carriers are forced to partner with national carriers and act as their subsidiaries to be able to penetrate the market. Additionally, the switching costs from one regional carrier to another are low, and the market is dominated by a fragmented source of regional brands (e.g., Continental, Delta, Midwest, etc.) and operating partners (e.g., SkyWest, Express Jet, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, etc.).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The other element of the model – the bargaining power of customers – is high due to the concentration of customers within the routes, large number of small airline operators, customer price-sensitivity, and simplicity demonstrated by customers in switching to another carrier (Pehrsson, 2011). Change Factors Change is inevitable if organizations are to successfully deal with issues within their internal and external environments in their attempt to maintain competitiveness (Gil-Padilla Espino-Rodriquez, 2008). In the case, change is being fuelled by the felt need to demonstrate quality service to win customer confidence, need to provide efficient services devoid of baggage mishandling and flight cancellations, and financial troubles experienced by established national carriers (Thompson et al., 2011). Change is about survival (Gil-Padilla Espino-Rodriquez, 2008), hence individual airline carriers, includ ing SkyWest Airlines, have been pressured to alter existing structures, policies and practices if they are to prosper in a volatile, uncertain and increasingly complex environment. Individually and collectively, the changes witnessed in the regional airline industry have necessitated regional carriers to spend huge amounts of resources with the view to develop quality customer service, maintain strong safety image, maximize on-time arrivals to enhance customer satisfaction, and acquire new aircraft to reinforce safety standards (Thompson et al., 2011). Success Factors From the case study, it is clear that there are a number of factors that determines success for companies in the regional airline industry. Most of these factors arise from the macroenvironment and include the capacity to guarantee customer safety, capacity to provide customer-sensitive services, capacity to create fruitful cooperation and partnership with national carriers, capacity to satisfy employees to avoid troub le with labor unions, and capacity to have faster, more efficient commuter jets (Thompson et al., 2011). Other factors include strong management principles, capacity to provide service promotions and in-flight services, non-stop flying, strong financial management principles, efficient management of costs, and efficient route system. Strategy for SkyWest, Inc Moving on to SkyWest’s strategy, it is clear that the fierce competition witnessed within the industry has led the corporation to consider enhancing their competitive advantage by identifying new strategies to help improve performance (Pehrsson, 2011). From the case, it can be concluded that SkyWest Inc. is keen to expand its current geographic presence by pursuing more partnerships with national carriers to achieve the status of airline and employer of choice.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on SkyWest, Inc. and the Regional Airline Industry: A Critical Analysis specifically for you fo r only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, it can be argued that SkyWest, Inc. is attempting to achieve the competitive advantage of focused and continued growth and expansion in its regular passenger transport and scheduled charter businesses so as to maximize efficiency (Thompson et al., 2011). Resources Capabilities Extant literature demonstrates that an organization’s business model and strategy must be intrinsically tied to its collection of competitively important resources and capabilities (Thompson et al., 2011), and that any attempt by management to develop and deliver customer value in a way that relies on resources or capabilities that cannot be readily acquired is a recipe for failure (Pehrsson, 2011). Flowing from this argument, it can be argued that SkyWest Inc.’s competitive resources and capabilities include non-unionizable employees in its SkyWest Airlines domain, reliable conventional airline service with high safety standards, st ability of earnings as witnessed in its financial statements, and a growing market as more business travelers now prefer to use low-cost carriers. In contrast, its resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies include fierce competition from low-cost carriers, sensitivity of airline industry to the state of the economy, increasing price of fuel, increased government regulations, labor union interference in Atlantic Southeast Airlines, and overreliance on outsourced routes from major national carriers. Financial Analysis The corporation’s financial statements, particularly its consolidated balance sheets and statements of income, demonstrate a resilient company that has been able to post profits where others are making losses. The figures demonstrate that the company has not only been able to use its assets and operating capital to generate sustainable earnings over time but has continuously paid back its short-term liabilities using its short-term assets and another portfo lio. This orientation implies that the corporation is on the verge of breaking through in terms of performance and competitiveness. Recommendations Lastly, in recommendations, SkyWest, Inc. should add new partnerships with national carriers while expanding existing ones to include new routes to increase customer base and profitability, expand its flight operations outside the United States, work on its customer satisfaction and security initiatives, adopt employee satisfaction initiatives to avoid union upheavals, and seek approval with relevant agencies to initialize more scope clauses.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References De Toni, A., Tonchia, S. (2003). Strategic planning and firm’s competencies: Traditional approaches and new perspectives. International Journal of Operations Production Management, 23Â  (9), 947-976. Gil-Padilla, A. M., Espino-Rodriguez, T. F. (2008). Strategic value and resources and capabilities of the information systems area and their impact on organizational performance in the hotel sector. Tourism Review, 63Â  (3), 21-47. Pehrsson, A. (2011). Product/customer scope: Competition antecedents, performance effects and market context moderations. European Business Review, 23(5), 418-433. Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Strickland, A. J. (2011). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concept and cases (18th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. This case study on SkyWest, Inc. and the Regional Airline Industry: A Critical Analysis was written and submitted by user Karlee O. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Augustine City Of God

St. Augustine’s City of God The philosophies of Saint Augustine were remarkable and perhaps revolutionary for his lifetime. Augustine believed in a unity of government and church, a unity in which God is the sole ruler. Augustus fundamental beliefs were based on the idea that man was created in likeness of God, in order to carry out God’s work on earth. (Dietrich, St. Augustine) The philosophies of Augustus can best be seen in his work, The City of God, in which he describes the principals he feels life is based on. With the collapse of Rome to the Visigoths, the Christians views were held responsible for the damage. Augustine defended these views with The City of God (Early Christianity, 185.) This city, he wrote, is â€Å"†¦surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat . . .† There is another city of which he also writes: the earthly one. Of it, he says, â€Å"though it be mistress of nations, it itself is ruled by its lust of rule.† Throughout the City of God, he traces the journeys of these two cities, from the time they were founded, to how they relate with one another, the conduct of their life, and finally, their ultimate end (Hurd, City of God analysis.) God created Adam and Eve in perfect nature, but the selfishness of the individual caused them to sin. Hence they began to live not for God’s will but for themselves. â€Å"†¦No member of this race would ever have died if not for the first two†¦merited this death by disobedience.† (Early Christianity, 185) It was the original sin that caused the earthly city to be the destination of mankind. Without the will of God mortals will never achieve true happiness. â€Å"The happiness of man can come not from himself but only from God, and that to live according to oneself is to sin, and to sin... Free Essays on Augustine City Of God Free Essays on Augustine City Of God St. Augustine’s City of God The philosophies of Saint Augustine were remarkable and perhaps revolutionary for his lifetime. Augustine believed in a unity of government and church, a unity in which God is the sole ruler. Augustus fundamental beliefs were based on the idea that man was created in likeness of God, in order to carry out God’s work on earth. (Dietrich, St. Augustine) The philosophies of Augustus can best be seen in his work, The City of God, in which he describes the principals he feels life is based on. With the collapse of Rome to the Visigoths, the Christians views were held responsible for the damage. Augustine defended these views with The City of God (Early Christianity, 185.) This city, he wrote, is â€Å"†¦surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat . . .† There is another city of which he also writes: the earthly one. Of it, he says, â€Å"though it be mistress of nations, it itself is ruled by its lust of rule.† Throughout the City of God, he traces the journeys of these two cities, from the time they were founded, to how they relate with one another, the conduct of their life, and finally, their ultimate end (Hurd, City of God analysis.) God created Adam and Eve in perfect nature, but the selfishness of the individual caused them to sin. Hence they began to live not for God’s will but for themselves. â€Å"†¦No member of this race would ever have died if not for the first two†¦merited this death by disobedience.† (Early Christianity, 185) It was the original sin that caused the earthly city to be the destination of mankind. Without the will of God mortals will never achieve true happiness. â€Å"The happiness of man can come not from himself but only from God, and that to live according to oneself is to sin, and to sin...

The rise and influence of Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War 2 Essay

The rise and influence of Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War 2 - Essay Example Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America’s longest serving President, is one of the most important political figures of the twentieth century. He led the USA through twelve years of domestic and international disorder and war. It is a general perception among people that no American President is more concerned about how he is portrayed than Franklin Roosevelt. He shrouded himself in dozens of disguises, including Sphinx, Father, Doctor, and Captain of the Ship of State. One main theme was consistent. Franklin Roosevelt invariably represented himself and was portrayed by others, as hale, hearty, optimistic, and healthy, his most brilliant disguise. That image of vigor makes ironic the debate over the depiction of Roosevelt in his memorial statues in Washington, DC, and raises complex issues about the portrayal of the best known but most enigmatic president of the twentieth century.Historians have always ranked Roosevelt as one of the greatest presidents of the United States along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Franklin Roosevelt and World War II Between 1929 and 1945 the United States experienced a global depression and another world war. During t his time of grave calamity almost everywhere, economic collapse called forth political instability and nationalist movements. In Europe and Asia the rise of Italian fascism, German Nazism, and Japanese militarism intensified economic competition over markets and scarce resources, resulting in conflict and war . In the countries of Latin America the Great Depression led to breakdowns and political difficulties, the consequences of which encouraged the United States to respond in distinctive ways by fashioning a Good Neighbor policy. The Great Depression, which set in after the historic Stock Market Crash of 1929, and World War II would bring substantial expansion of the practice and its concepts. President Franklin D Roosevelt, a consummate practitioner who had been tutored in public relations by Louis McHenry Howe since 1912, would lead the way. He was elected four times against the strong opposition of the majority of American newspapers by using his true strong leadership and taking his message to the people on the nation's front pages and on radios. The term "good neighbor", a kind of commonplace in diplomatic language, took on actual meaning during the presidencies of Herbert C. Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. For Latin Americans the term signified the end of an era of direct intervention by the United States in Latin American affairs. For the Roosevelt administration the Good Neighbor policy also functioned significantly in other ways: It served as an international counterpart of the New Deal by attacking the economic effects of the Great Depression and later as a means of mobilizing resistance among the nations of the New World against the Axis powers during the Second World War. As the historian Robert Freeman Smith explains, taken together the various components formed "a massive, although ill-defined government effort" under U.S direction to create "an integrated hemisphere system" characterized by high levels of "political, economic and military co-operation". FDR's success in winning public support spurred the efforts of the conservative forces, particularly Big Business, to develop programs to counter his appeals. To bring the United States out of the Depression, President Roosevelt initiated a number of actions agencies - the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Project Administration - that required extensively publicity in order to gain cooperation and acceptance. Thus, the public information system in the federal government was greatly enlarged in FDR's administration. In a sense and to oversimplify - the Second World