Southwest Airlines' Cost Optimization to Create an Attractive Price Case Study

Southwest Airlines' Cost Optimization to Create an Attractive Price for Economy Class Travelers - Case Study Example There are many factors which have helped Southwest Airlines in its survival and success. This essay attempts to outline those factors and strategies on the basis of the following parameters: Financial Planning, Financial control, Costing, Decision making.Financial planning has played a vital role in growing its business. The correct timing of its decisions has made a huge difference in increasing market capitalization (Sims, 68). Southwest Airline has gained a further advantage by packing more seats into the aircraft which increase the seat kilometer revenue generated per block hour.Instead of buying more jets to deal with its growing business, Southwest planned and got better deals on the lease. Hence it paid substantially less per block hour for lease rental, than other carriers. Southwest has implemented its financial planning in such a way that low fares when combined with high frequencies and excellent punctuality have resulted in an increase in its revenues. Â  Southwest plans its finances very efficiently. Â  It hires new pilots with ten years contract and motivates them by offering a share in profits. This is an example of astute planning. It means that if Southwest was making losses at any particular time then the losses can be shared with the pilots. This strategy also makes the staff much more accountable. Another important aspect of financial planning was operating on low distance routes and targeting of road passengers.Southwest plans its expenditure very efficiently and effectively. The customer service strategy of providing a full meal was costly in two ways. One, it increases the per unit costs and secondly more staff is required to provide the service. Southwest’s plan of not following this trend has saved it the cost of food as well as the number of staff employed. In other airways, when six to eight employees per flight were required, southwest managed to function with only four. This kind of planning was crucial for decreasing the c osts and increasing the revenues.

Effect of Csr Activities on Sales Essay Example for Free

Effect of Csr Activities on Sales Essay Reasons for this can be multinational corporations’ increasing influence on world economy as well as scandals revealing horrible working conditions in different industries. In spite of the fact that the demand for CSR is growing, there has always been critics. The most influential critic is Noble Prize winner Milton Friedman, who claims CSR to be a waste of stockholders’ money. However, several articles claim, opposite Friedman, that CSR rather increases a company’s financial performance in the long run. These claims have made us curious about in what way CSR is related to a company’s performance. Moreover, it has led to us wanting to find out how CSR can influence customer perceptions on a product or service offering. Conclusions –All the initiatives gave a positive influence on the respondents’ perceptions, but the ones resulting in the most positive changes of the perceptions and willingness to buy were social responsible business practises, cause-related marketing and corporate philanthropy, which are initiatives where the company are doing the largest effort instead of just encouraging others to make an effort. The respondents answered that they trust the companies’ information about CSR to some extent, but also think a third party should scrutinise the companies’ activities and inform. The most favourable channel for CSR information was from environmental organisations, government organisations and the third party web media. Therefore it seems like the respondents value that the companies provide information, but are not too forward and pushing the information on them by for example advertisements. Keywords : CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, Cause promotion, Cause-related marketing, Corporate social marketing, Corporate philanthropy, Community volunteering, Social responsible business practices. Introduction: CSR is today a frequently used concept, as companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in the society. The company should also inform the stakeholders about their CSR activities in an appropriate way, in order to capitalise from all possible benefits. In order to make a trustworthy impression and gain the most benefits, the choice of CSR activity and way of communication is crucial for the company, and therefore the perceptions of the consumers are very important to know more about and understand. In the last decade tendencies towards a more social aware community have been strong. In itself these trends are nothing that is particularly new. People have always preached for problems like public health, wildlife protection, prevention of child labor etc. What is different now is that companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in our society. Companies that engage in CSR activities are likely to have different motives for doing so. Many researches claim that corporate social responsibility originally consists of activities that a company performs out of commitment and duty. However, there are also commercial motives for CSR activities. For example CSR activities may result in advantages when it comes to receiving funding, recruiting new employees, cost reductions etc. To capitalise from all possible advantages it is crucial for the company to communicate their CSR work in an appropriate way. Theoretical Framework: Types of CSR Activities: a) Cause promotion Cause promotion is often done in the way that the company provide funds, contribute financially or with any other resource, with the objective to increase awareness, support fundraising or participation, or to recruit volunteers for a specific cause. In this initiative persuasive communications are important, to create concern and to persuade people to contribute or participate to support the cause. In successful campaigns use of motivating messages and the choice of effective media channels are crucial. They also make use of publicity, printed materials, special events, web sites, advertising, featuring the logo and key message of the company and those who represent the cause. Further methods are employee involvement, messages on product labelling and to provide store space for promotions. Many of the potential benefits are marketing related, like strengthened brand positioning and preference, increased traffic and consumer loyalty.

Sonata Allegro :: essays research papers

Sonata Allegro form was a development of the classical era. It represents a more open form than many of the earlier Baroque forms such as fugues, rondeau form, etc. While there is a formula that can be applied, there was not a rigid, formal concept for the form. Rather it evolved over the classical era and beyond. Haydn was one of the early exponents of this form. It was named "Sonata Allegro," because the final Allegro movement of a Sonata was most often created in this form. It is by no means restricted to this general rule, however. In fact there are no hard and fast rules in writing a Sonata Allegro form. However many trends can be attributed to the form, generally, Sonata Allegro form can simplistically be described as an "ABA'" form. The first A section is called the "Exposition." ( This section is repeated verbatim in classical performance, actually making the overall form "AABA'"). The B section, or "Development" follows the Exposition. It usually uses some material from the Exposition, but in a more or less radically altered way. In the A' section or "Recapitulation," the A material returns relatively intact. Each of these sections has a relatively complex internal pattern as follows: The Exposition states the main thematic elements and has its own internal form as follows: 1) A Primary key section which contains: a. the Principal or Primary Theme which is a phrase or more in length and establishes home key, b. a Transition between the Primary Theme and the Related key section. The transition can modulate to the new key, develop ideas of first theme, change mood in preparation for related key section through mood metamorphsis, introduce new material, possibly contrasting with both primary and related key sections, anticipate of ideas in second theme, be omitted, produce a deceptive modulation, or be non-modulatory if in major. 2) A Related key section which contains the Secondary or Subordinate Theme which is most often in the dominant or relative key, and can be similar or contrast in content to the Primary Theme, the Closing section, which confirms the new key, and may be derived from other themes. Next comes The Development. This is an open and free-form section of the Sonata Allegro movement, usually based on thematic materials from the Exposition. The Development can be varied in length, sometimes short and little more than a re-transition to principal theme, sometimes a large dramatic section containing a theatrical climax, sturm und drang.

The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes :: Hughes Tomorrow City

The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes The plot of this book centres around two adolescents, David and Caro and an evil supercomputer which aspires to control the futuristic city of Thompsonville.   Dr. Henderson, Caro's Father creates the "perfect" computer designed to solve all of the problems of Thompsonville by gaining almost complete power of the city.   The computer then begins to make rash decisions of it's own. It decides that humans are incapable of making decisions of there own and soon devises a method of controlling the minds of everyone in the city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Only two young people, Caro and David, are not manipulated by the computer.   They band together and work out a strategy to disable the computer.   The two make a daring infiltration of the building that the computer is located and after a traumatic episode in which Caro is blinded, the computer is destroyed and the city is returned to it's previous state.   The theme of the book is to show that technology is not a perfect solution to the many problems faced by man.   By using a product of technology, the computer, and showing how it was supposed to be a perfect solution to the city's problems, yet it made a grave error in calculations, the author is saying that many problems faced by man cannot be solved by the use of technology.   Technology played a negative role in this book.   The computer, the major aspect of technology used in this book, used its capabilities to immorally rule the citizens and the city of Thompsonville.   The computer transmitted hypnotic signals through peoples T.V. sets and would use them to carry out it's will to ultimately control the city.   It then discarded anything or anyone who were useless to it's purpose including the elderly and the sick. One of the major arguments that the author uses to emphasize the theme is the significant malfunctioning of the computer.   It was designed to be flawless and solve the numerous problems of the city.   But, the computer's rationing is shown throughout the book to be poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The methods in which it goes about solving the city's problems

Hunting and Its Benefits

Hunting and Its benefits Specific Purpose: By the end of this speech I expect all of you to feel more informed on how regulated and legal hunting has a positive influence on wildlife, the environment and, the economy. Thesis: Regulated hunting largely has positive effects on the economy and the environment I. Imagine yourself hiking through the woods, fishing or swimming in a lake, or even just enjoying nature. Guess how it was possible to build and maintain all of those nature areas and parks. From HUNTING!!! II.Even though I’m sure most of you aren’t hunters (maybe even a few anti-hunters), I’m more than certain most of you appreciate nature and the best places to enjoy nature are on state and national parks, lakes, streams, trails, and conservation areas. The sale of hunting licenses and equipment are responsible for a significantly large chunk of that funding and make it possible for everybody to experience the beauty of nature. III. Living in the Midwest im sure most of you are some type of outdoorsman or live within a short distance of rural area where most nature areas are and I intend to show how hunting affects those areas and the economy.IV. I’m a lifelong outdoorsman and I’ve seen and experienced first hand how hunting has created thousands of jobs and saved and restored countless acres of wetlands, forests, and plains. V. I have three main points to discuss in this speech I. Hunting makes a large contribution to the economy II. Hunting is the single biggest funder of conservation and restoration efforts III. Regulated Hunting has a positive impact on wildlife populations The first point I’m going to discuss deals with the jobs and business hunting is responsible for. I. The sale of hunting licenses and equipment puts over 12 billion dollars in the economy annually. . On average, each hunter spends about $1896 which is 5. 5 percent of the average man’s income. b. This maintains almost 575,000 jobs whic h contribute even more money from income and sales tax i. About a quarter of these jobs are solely supported by hunting. ii. The 2. 4 billion dollar income tax of these jobs can cover the annual paychecks over 100000 troops. This generation of revenue also goes to support the environment for the animals pursued thrive. II. The sale of hunting licenses and equipment is also the single largest source of funding for the conservation and restoration of natural areas a.Hunters provide over 2 billion dollars to conservation through the sale of hunting equipment and licenses. b. Hunters are a larger source of funding than environmentalists, state grants, and animal rights organizations combined This also leads to a positive influence on the populations of wildlife III. Regulated Hunting helps keeps wildlife numbers in check and populations stable. a. Hunting prevents animal species from overpopulating i. By harvesting certain numbers of an animal every year the population does not grow bey ond control ii. This also helps prevent them from moving into urban areas where they can become nuisances b.Hunting also keeps animal populations healthy by keeping the number of animals down to what the food supply can support Overall regulated hunting is a wholesome sport that makes positive contributions to the economy and the environment I. Summary a. Hunting is a strong contributor to the economy and is vital to hundreds of thousands of jobs b. Hunting provides essential funding to help ensure that nature areas remain for future generations to enjoy c. Regulated hunting helps keep animal populations healthy and stable through responsible management and ethical sportsmen II.These main points I have presented to you in the hopes I have left you better informed on hunting and is benefits. Bibliography â€Å"There Are 11,085 Hunters/Sportsmen Supporting Hunters Against PETA. Enter Your Name and Email to Join Our Cause. Thanks for Your Support! †Ã‚  Hunters Against PETA. N. p . , 01 Feb. 2009. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. . ConservationHunting. html. †Ã‚  ConservationHunting. html. N. p. , Feb. -Mar. 2007. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. .

Isolation of Aspirin

Once the aspirin is prepared, it is isolated from the reaction solution and then it is purified. The aspirin is insoluble in cold water, and it is isolated by filtering the chilled reaction solution. Purification is essential to remove any unreacted salicylic acid and acetic anhydride as well as the acetic acid product and phosphoric acid. Acetic anhydride is caused to decompose by the addition of water once the formation of aspirin is complete. C4H6O3 (Acetic anhydride) + H2O (Water) ————————-> 2C2H4O2 (Acetic Acid) The acetic acid and phosphoric acid are water soluble and it is removed by washing the aspirin with chilled water. Salicylic acid is only slightly soluble in water and is not completely removed in the washing steps. Phosphoric acid can be used instead of sulphuric acid if desired to obtain the higher yield, as sulphuric acid reacts more readily with the organic molecules involved in the reaction than phosphoric acid. However, phosphoric acid does not absorb water in the reaction; therefore it may be a slower process. Final purification is completed by the process of Recrystallisation. By recrystalising the crude aspirin slowly, it was possible to obtain large crystals with an exact structure by allowing the aspirin molecules to join together in a precise way. The regular molecular crystal structure of the final product makes it more difficult for impurities to be included, eliminating impurities present in the formless crude product. The impure aspirin is dissolved in warm ethanol. The solution is then cooled slowly, and the aspirin crystallises out of solution leaving the salicylic acid and other impurities behind. In my experiment, pure aspirin was obtained after filtering out the impurities and excess reagents through the filter paper. A method to check a solid compound’s purity after recrsytallisation is to check its melting point. The melting point of a compound can be used to identify it and also to estimate its purity. Normally an impure compound will show a melting point which is lower than that of a pure compound. Therefore, if the sample of aspirin melts at a temperature below the accepted melting point two possibilities can exist; either the sample is impure or it is not aspirin. A pure substance will melt sharply at 1-20C per minute when nearing the expected melting point in order to get a more accurate range. An impure compound will melt over a wider temperature range.

Life of George Bush

Who knew a son could follow so many footsteps of a father. George W. Bush, son of former president George Bush, has done exactly that; which has led him too many great successes throughout his career in the political arena of politics. George W. Bush a strong businessman, a leader in politics, and a running member of one of the most famous Presidential campaigns ever. George W. Bush, known as â€Å"W† to most people, was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946 to the parents of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Most of his adolescence was spent in Midland and Houston, Texas. He is the eldest son of five siblings, which include, Jeb, governor of Florida, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Like his father, Bush attended the same college, Philips Andover Academy in Massachusetts before he went and graduated from Yale University with a bachelor†s degree in 1968 (A&E 1). While attending school, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and became a member of Skull and Bones at Yale. Unlike his father, George Bush did not receive any kind of scholarships for baseball instead he was president of his fraternity as his extracurricular activity (Newsmakers 1). W then returned to Texas in May, still following the footsteps of his father, he enlisted with the Texas Air National Guard where he became a F-102 pilot. He was trained in a fi! fty-three-week program to fly fighter jets. He completed in 1973 and eventually became a lieutenant but never had to go to Vietnam. He spent his time in Houston holding various short-term jobs, one including a stint at a program called Pull for Youth for underprivileged kids. Although, during this time of the early seventies reporters like to call this a, â€Å"nomadic period† for Bush. Time magazine wrote: â€Å"he became a real Texan in the family, chewing tobacco, using barnyard humor, settling in the state†s western corner, the one harboring what his aunt Nancy Ellis calls, a ‘slightly outrageous streak†Ã¢â‚¬  (Newsmakers 1). After working as a management trainee in agriculture firm and on U. S. Senate Campaigns in Florida and Alabama, he went to Harvard Business School in 1972 and received his M. B. A. in 1975. Still following the footsteps of his father, Bush decided to go into the business of the oil industry. He earned his first million within ten years, but the oil industry for Bush didn†t exactly turn out the way it had for his father. W built a small independent oil and gas exploration company called Arbusto (the Spanish word for â€Å"bush†). He married Laura Welch, a librarian and former teacher, in 1977 and then joined the 1978 race for the U. S. House of Representatives. He ran against a very well known democratic Senator, Kent Hance. Bush lost by six points after setting a new Texas record for fundraising capabilities for a House candidate (A&E 1). In 1981, Laura gave birth to their twin daughters named after their grandmothers, Barbara and Jenna (A&E 1). By this time Bush†s oil industry was re-named Bush Exploration. By the early 1980†³s, when the energy market turned soft, Bush Exploration foundered. In 1983, Bush combined with Spectrum 7; three years later Bush arranged fo! r Spectrum 7 to be sold to Harken Energy for a bargain price. He later sold his original stock shares and made a considerable profit of 600,000 dollars (Newsmakers 1). W also got a consulting contract and stock options with Harken which all combined to be a deal of about one million in his pocket over the next few years (Newsmakers 1). Later in 1990, Time reported: â€Å"before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush sold 66% of his Harken stake at the top of the market for nearly 850,000, which was a 200% profit on his original stake† (Newsmakers 2). This upset the Vice President and W, where they stated: â€Å"The media ought to be ashamed of itself for what they†re doing† (Newsmakers 2). Needless to say, Bush went out of the business and chose to go for politics. By now he was all name and no money. On his 40th birthday, George Bush came to a cross road in his life where he stopped drinking and became a strong Methodist with his wife Laura. He became noticeably more serious in changing his profession to strictly politics. He moved his family to Washington D. C. in 1987 to began working on his fathers 1988 Presidential campaign (A&E 1). Though he had no official title on the campaign he became his father†s hardest and most trusted worker. He became known as a talented speaker and as the campaign†s chief liaison to Christian conservatives, he gained respect for handling volatile diplomatic matters, such as the firing of chief John Sununu, and for swiftly taking care of business (Newsmakers 1). The experience in Washington was one that Bush did not like, even though it brought him closer to his father, he did not like the hostile environment that the political life brought him. Bush still felt that he was trailing behind his father†s footsteps with no independence for himsel! of doing something different. After his fathers successful election in November 1988 W moved back to Texas with his family, this time living in Dallas. He wasted no time in venturing out to find something new; baseball was what he found. In a matter of months he gathered up a team of wealthy investors and brought the American League†s Texas Rangers to Dallas. He took role as managing partner for the team. He brought support to the team and helped boost attendance to the games. By doing this, it brought W much admiration from the Texans and the Rangers. He earned an identity of his own which was something he had been struggling a long time for. He earned a good deal of money through this great investment of 606,000, but he walked away with nearly fifteen million when the team was sold in 1998 (A&E 1). He earned this money as just a managing partner in which he only owned 5% of the team. After such great success with the Rangers, Bush decided it was time to try a hand in loca! Despite his mother†s opinion, Bush wanted to run as governor of Texas against the powerful Democrat Ann Richards. With much advice not to, Bush jumped right into the race while his brother, Jeb, did the same in Florida. With their experience from being their father†s aid since they were eighteen, they felt they could handle such a large duty as governor. Many reporters felt that Bush had such an advantage by just having his last name, but to Bush he feels the complete opposite. W quoted: â€Å"The biggest advantage and the biggest handicap I have is my name† (Newsmakers 2). The campaign against Ann Richard†s was tough, she used sayings such as: â€Å"If he didn†t have his daddy†s name he would not amount to anything. She also used names such as: â€Å"jerk† to sometimes address him during a debate (Newsmakers 2-3). Bush†s response to the accusations was very appropriate, needless to say he did not go to her level of maturity. The debate focused on welfare reform, a crackdown on crime (e! specially juveniles), increased autonomy and state financing for local school districts, and personal responsibility (Newsmakers 3). Bush is quoted as saying: â€Å"Let Texans run Texas,† this was a message that appealed to all Texans during the campaign (Newsmakers 3). Bush defeated Ann Richards by 350,000 votes. Elected governor of Texas on November 8,1994; twenty thousand people attended Bush†s inauguration in Austin, including the famous preacher Billy Graham, legendary baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, movie star Chuck Norris, and, of course, George and Barbara Bush (Newsmakers 3). Becoming the 46th governor of Texas, Bush has earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative: who shapes policy based on the principals of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families and local control (â€Å"Governor† 1). In an historic re-election victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms on November 3, 1998, winning 68. 6 percent of the votes, 27 percent of the African-American votes, and 27 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of women. He is the first Republican to win the heavily Hispanic and Democratic border countries of El Paso, Cameron and Hidalgo (â€Å"Governor† 2). In six months, he signed nearly all of his proposed reforms into law by working closely with Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock (Newsmakers 3). Making Texas a Beacon State, he has made policies such as: responsible government, better schools, strong families, safer streets, cleaner environment, growing economy are all some issues that he ha! s improved during his governorship in Texas. Education is Bush†s first priority in Texas. He has increased 47 percent of the TAAS tests in all parts. The number of minorities passing the mathematics portion of TAAS has increased 25 percent. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress Report Card on Math Achievement showed Texas African-American fourth graders ranked first in nation in improvement, with Hispanic students close behind (â€Å"Message†1). Texas eighth graders ranked fourth in the country on the 1998 National Assessment of Education Progress writing test. All minority groups and Texas African American and Hispanic eighth graders ranked first and second in the nation. Reading performance has improved 87 percent of all students in grades 3-8 and 10 passed the reading TAAS in 1998, an increase from 77 percent four years ago. From 1994 to 1998, the number of schools rated â€Å"exemplary† rose from just 67 to 1,048. During the same time, the number of â€Å"recognize! d† schools more than tripled from 516 to 1,666 (â€Å"Message† 1). He has worked with the Legislatures to increase the state†s share of funding for schools, so that they can: restore local control, strengthen the state†s accountability system, give parents greater choice of schools and to foster competition and creativity through charter schools. This will give the people of Texas an expanded menu of educational opportunity. His greatest goal is that every child will learn to read by third grade and continue to read at grade level or better throughout public school (â€Å"Message†1). Legislation signed by the governor during the 1999 Texas Legislative Session included the largest funding increase for public education in the state†s history and nearly two billion in tax cuts and relief, the largest tax cut in Texas history (â€Å"Governor† 1). In June of 1999, Bush made the one decision that would change the rest of his life. It was time to decide if he would once again follow in his father†s footsteps, and become the 43rd President of the United States. In July, 2000, Bush announced his choice of running mate: Richard B. Cheney, a former congressman from Wyoming who served as Secretary of Defense under Bush†s father and is now in the oil business in Texas (A&E 2). Their opponents would be Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman, two strong, powerful democrats. Throughout the campaign of 2000, the candidates were shown to be close in the poles because both had issues that were appealing to the American people. Some of the main issues are: pro-life, pro-choice, social security, budget and economy, affirmative action, education, government reform, health care and prescription drugs (â€Å"Issues† 1-20). On November 7, 2000, both candidates await for the winning election of their lifetime. Their life experience would be rolled u! p into one day and two hundred seventy Electoral College votes. When the night of their lifetime finally arrived, the night ended with no presidency to guide America. That night has led to the counting, re-counting, and even hand counting of the ballots. It has also brought on numerous lawsuits from individuals to the parties themselves. It has scaled from local jurisdiction courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Even today, court cases are being heard that each party hopes to win in order to bring finality to the election. Even after the smoke clears and a President is declared, there will always be an uncertainty to the validity of this election in the minds of the people of the United States. George W. Bush, a man of pride, ambition, and power. He has served the state of Texas as their Governor, and now he has been declared twice our President of the United States of America. Will he serve America in the way he claims he can, will he be a leader for all to follow and look up to, will he be the man he acts upon being? The nation waits as the Supreme Court continue to make their rulings to find out which man will take this role as the Presidency of the United States.