Question

evaluate southwest culture using four criteria valuable, rare, costly to imitate and non substitutable.

Answer 1

Introduction:

The four Criteria are Valuable, Rare, Costly to imitate and Non-Substitutable are the characteristics of strategic resources. This provides firms/organizations a chance to push their rivals back in line by developing competitive advantages.

  Valuable: Organizations consider and utilize their resources in enhancing the skillfulness and ability of their operations. This will provide a better opportunity for the organization for overcoming threats by rivals/competitors.

In the case of Southwest airlines, the organization considers its employees valuable. The airlines practice a unique culture that motivated their employees towards commitment and focuses on their job. This brings the best results out of the employees which leads to a successful path of the organization and, Southwest airlines have implemented it.

Rare: A practice that is implemented by an organization that no other competitive organization can practice easily.

In the case of Southwest airlines, it has managed to maintain a one type airplane that is Boeing 737 which reduced the operational costs, maintenance and inventory costs. The airlines managed not to charge any nominal amount for changing the date of travel for a booked ticket and this is very rare in the airline industry which attracted a huge domestic travel market.

Costly to Imitate: Every organization has its trademarks registered, patents and copyrights and they are highly protected legally in a secured way. They involve huge investments from the companies over time as they reflect the iconic aspects of the organization.

  In the case of Southwest airlines, during its inception, the airlines had very little investments where it used to borrow the facilities from their other airlines on request and portray their logo over them. This had marked a critique of a humble beginning and later developed from rag to rich.

Non-Substitutable: In organizations, there are few resources that are common among the industry cannot practice in the same way or to the same extent as others. The strategy of implementing/practicing resources plays a key role in an organization.

  In the case of Southwest airlines, as mentioned above that the organization culture that southwest practices towards its employees are a valuable resource, employees, in turn, gained a great benefit from customer loyalty. The employees treat their customers very well, which makes them return back to travel with the same airline which ultimately brings the airlines more profits. The profits gained are again shared with its employees in a stock distribution manner.

Overall, other competitors in the airline industry still find it difficult to understand the Southwest's strategy and are striving hard to gain a potential customer base. The competitors find it very difficult to implement and practice the unique culture of southwest airlines.