strategy analysis al Affiliation) Porter’s Generic Strategy Model analysis of the Southwest airlines Michael porter states that a firm’s strengths mean that the management makes a choice between differentiation and cost advantage (Porter, 1985). Under the cost leadership strategy, the company seeks to provide services at the lowest cost in comparison to other competitors in the industry. With the differentiation strategy, the company offers unique products or services that offer unique attributes to consumers. The focus strategy, on the other hand, concentrates on one or two segments of the markets using differentiation or cost focus. In line with the above descriptions, Southwest Airlines adopts the focus strategy. The company has a low cost approach, despite being the standard price of the market. The company aims at giving the customers value for their money, while ensuring that the employee welfare is taken into concern. Besides having fair prices, the company has extremely good customer relations.
Bowman Clock Analysis of the Southwest Airlines
Cliff Bowman argues that there are five routes in defining companies’ strategies (Bowman and Faulkner, 1997). The low price or value strategy involves companies selling on the price factor alone given the little differentiation of the products offered. The low price and the differentiation strategy are similar to the arguments explained by Porter. The focused differentiation aims at offering highly valued products at a substantial premium price. The hybrid approach, on the other hand is the best-cost provider strategy that combines a low cost approach with an emphasis on differentiation. The hybrid approach, according to Bowman, suits the strategy implemented by Southwest Airlines.
References
Bowman, C. and Faulkner, D. (1997). Competitive and corporate strategy. London: Irwin.
Porter, M. (1985). Competitive advantage. New York: Free Press.
