Assignment:
INSTRUCTIONS:
The objective of the integrated semester is to help you extend your knowledge of how the finance, operations, management, and marketing disciplines work and how they integrate their functioning in the real world of business.
• Assignment should be prepared as a Word document, 12 -14 pages in length (approx. 3 pages for each discipline's questions).
FINANCE ASSIGNMENT
You need to provide the references regarding the financial data you use to support your answers at the end of the finance portion of the term paper.
Questions:
1. Starting service to a new market, such as Havana, Cuba, is a major capital budgeting project for Southwest Airlines (ticker symbol: LUV). A project of this scale requires coordinated planning across all functions of a business that you are studying in your Integrated Core classes. Choose and discuss three items on the income statement and balance sheet that you think will be impacted by this new undertaking (a total of six items). Explain why you chose those particular items, and how those items are impacted by the marketing, management and operations decisions of the company.
2. Explain how the financial decisions regarding starting service to Cuba are related to management, marketing or operations decisions that the company must make (or has made)?
3. Choose and calculate three ratios for this company for the last two years. Make sure to select ratios that you think would be impacted by starting service to a new destination, and explain your reasoning. Identify two competitors of LUV and contrast the ratios. Explain why you selected those competitors. Describe how the decisions made by management, marketing and operations functions of the company can impact, and hopefully improve, these financial ratios.
MARKETING ASSIGNMENT
Assignment will be dealing with Southwest Airlines. It requires you demonstrate your level of understanding of Integration across the Integrated Core (Marketing, Finance, Management and Operations)
Below you will find 2 Weaknesses and 2 Threat statements from a Southwest Airlines SWOT analysis. Following the statements are questions that you need to answer to demonstrate your understanding of the implications that elements of a SWOT Analysis could have across the 4 disciplines of the Integrated Core.
Read the Weakness and Threats statements carefully then proceed to answer the questions noted below:
Southwest Airlines SWOT Analysis - Weaknesses
SWA only caters to the Budget Traveler.
Negative comments about SWA on Social Media due to overbooking of flights
Southwest Airlines SWOT Analysis - Threats
Other airlines trying to imitate SWA strategies.
A possible decrease in business travel demand due to technology.
MARKETING ASSIGNMENT
1) 1). Assume you are the Vice President of Southwest Airlines, select 1 Weakness and 1 Threat from the SWOT Analysis statements above and explain how you would recommend taking that selected weakness and turning it into a strength and the selected threat and turning it into an opportunity.
2) Next provide 2 explanations as follows:
a. Explain how the weakness turned into a new strength would impact the disciplines of Marketing, Finance, Management and Operations.
b. Explain how the threat turned into a new opportunity would impact the disciplines of Marketing, Finance, Management and Operations.
MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT
Southwest Airlines is known for their organizational culture. It is considered one of the key factors contributing to their success. They are ranked 8th in 2017 as "Most Admired Companies in the World" and ranked 13th "Best Employer in 2016".
1. Describe Southwest's organizational culture. How has the culture contributed to their success?
Southwest is also known for its proven business strategy. They believe in a sustainable future where there is balance in their business model between shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders. As a result and unique in the airline industry, they have maintained 44 years of consecutive profitability. They ranked 1st in "Lowest Number of Complaints" in 2016.
2. The company developments as seen in the "Flash Forward" beginning in 2010 have been significant. Review those accomplishments. What are some of the key elements of their strategy as seen in these developments? How has the original strategy been altered to achieve those results?
3. Describe how Southwest's planning process helped establish their organizational objectives, business model, address problems, adapt to changes in the environment and remain successful.
OPERATIONS ASSIGNMENT
As flying becomes a commodity and as airlines strive to offer the lowest fares possible, Southwest is finding it increasingly hard to distinguish itself from its competition. A proposal has been made to offer a business class on its longer flights. This class would have more comfortable seats, more legroom, and complimentary magazines, movies, meals, drinks, and Wi-Fi. A toilet would be dedicated to this section. These passengers would also get priority boarding and de-boarding of flights. If the experiment is successful Southwest would consider rolling out business class on all its flights.
1. What does the operations function have to do to examine the feasiblity of this proposal and get ready for its implementation? Answer using the framework of the 10 key operations decisions.
2. What role do the other functions (specifically, Finance, Marketing, and HR) have to play in examining the feasibility of this idea and successfully implementing it?