Competitive Structure and Resources of Southwest Airlines Research Paper

Competitive Structure and Resources of Southwest Airlines - Research Paper Example Even though it is common knowledge that Southwest Airlines has a very large share of the market, there are also as many buyers or air transport travelers as possible, who use the serves of other airlines within the market region where Southwest Airlines operate (Mazzeo, 2009). As far as buyer entry barriers are concerned, there are no buyer entry barriers for patrons of air transportation and this gives a very strong indication as to why Southwest Airlines is operating a perfect competition. Even more, regardless of all the successes that has been seen by the airline in its market segment, there continues to be fierce competition among other key competitors with no competitor having a market share of more than 30% (Prince and Simon, 2009). What this means is that market share is low and there are other substitute products in terms of other forms of transportation that consumer may fall on. Macro and international influences on the firm As an international company, the operations of S outhwest Airlines are greatly affected by a number of macro and international factors, of which the company barely has no authority or control over. Whereas some of these macro and international influences are political, some are economical, whiles others are social. As far as political factors are concerned, it is on record that even though the American and Chinese governments have each tried as much as possible to keep taxes on air transport minimal, factors like homeland security, infrastructure enhancement and environmental protection have led to a situation whereby there are huge sums of taxes imposed on the traveling public (Mazzeo, 2009). These taxes are often translated into higher airline tickets, which generally affect the rate at which people choose to travel by air. The table below represents some of the special commercial aviation taxes that are paid in the United States, where Southwest Airline is very dominant. Type of Tax Rate Passenger ticket tax 7.50% Flight Segmen t Tax (Domestic) $3.8 Frequent Flyer Tax 7.5% International Departure Tax $16.7 International Arrival Tax %16.7 September 11th Fee $2.5 Customs User Fee $5.5 Federal Security Sub-charge $2.5 Passenger Facility Charge $4.5 Source: Airlines for America By provisions of the government, these are taxes that are inevitable to the airline and those influences its pricing, promotions and marketing style all together. The economic recession, which has over the years become unpredictable, and growing inflation problems are some macro economic factors that affect the company. What is more, demographics of travelers happens to be a majority macro social factor that influences Southwest Airlines given that air transport is fast becoming the preserve of the elite and that there has to be more of the higher social class emanating from society to get the market really booming. Changes in market structure Over the years, the market structure with which Southwest Airlines competed in has changed sig nificantly. Most of these changes have actually taken place in terms of the availability of skill, labor and raw materials. For instance, with the advancement of technology, which is dominating almost every type of industrial sector in the global economic regime, the use of highly skilled labor force is no longer an optional choice for the

Childhood memories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Childhood memories - Essay Example The question often arose in my mind: who was holding them in the sky? At times, I used to get a simple answer that God was holding them so that we kids could watch and play with them. When I grew up I moved to a coastal city with my parents. Many small hills were lurking behind on north sides of the town. Fortunately, I got a company of Sarah, who lived in the city since her childhood, and she was well acquainted with the geography of the town. Once she took me to a nearby hill in the early morning hours to show me some rare birds. She told me that she visited this place after her school hours when she was in the 9th form. The hills were full of dense trees all around. The most fascinating thing was that variety of birds had their nests in these trees and the place was full of melodious sounds. She drew my attention to a bird called Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The bird had a typical hollow sound quite soothing to the ears. Sarah took me to a place at least 100 meters up in the hill, where I saw birds that she identified as bluebirds. Bluebirds had white stomachs, rust-colored breasts and bright blue feathers, and they were chirping all in unison. Sarah told me that their numbers were dwindling quickly due to ill doings of humans. At once, a thought came to my mind that with such beautiful species becoming extinct, humans will not be able to enjoy the beauty of nature. When I focused through my binoculars on the nest, I was amazed to see two little bluebird nestlings making noise – perhaps asking for the food from their mother. Mother Bluebird was feeding them with a great effort through her beak. It was indeed a greatest mystery – a mystery of creation in this universe, and I bowed down to Mother Nature with a feeling of awe. I have always been a moderate swimmer – moderate in the sense of not possessing any extra skills that are expected from a good swimmer. Perhaps, that is why I had a close encounter with death when I was at Fort Lauderdale Be ach on my vacation tour. Swimming in my customary style, I had gone a little far off. My friends were swimming at some distance. I was jolly making some movements in the water – perhaps attempting to do some water exercises to remain afloat effortlessly without realizing that my unique exercises would put me in great trouble soon. At some bad moment, my feet were stuck in some marshland. The more I tried to come out, the more immobile I became. I tried to scream but could not as my mouth was filled with water. I was losing my breath and power. I soon realized I was going to drown. But, as luck would have it, for a moment my head came out of water and I screamed loudly. Hearing my call, someone from nearby rushed quickly; he held my hand and pulled me out with full force. In the next moment, I was out of the marshland. The whole episode lasted only for a minute or so but the incident gave me an unforgettable near-death experience that will remain with me until the end of my li fe. Its memories still hound me. The most significant part of the episode was that I realized a true meaning of life – the life that encompasses a myriad of species on this planet. Sarah’s cousin, Sierra, was a most passionate dancer. When I saw her in one of her performances, I was amazed at the way she effortlessly performed a Swirling Sufi dance. I found her totally engrossed in the Dervish dance. Sierra told me about Nijinsky, an outstanding and the most cherished Russian dancer. When Nijinsky used to perform, one would feel as if he was out of bounds of gravitation. He would make a leap and fall as if a leaf was coming down slowly and slowly. Sierra would say, â€Å"Watching a dance is a good thing but performing it is a much deeper experience†