Southwest Airlines Essay Example for Free

Southwest Airlines Essay Marketing is a vital part of any business and is an integral component of selling any product. Whether the business is a small mom and pop operation or a world leader, marketing is a part of the business. Because there are many ways to fulfill the needs of the customer, a straight-forward approach is to consider the four Ps of the marketing mix. This paper will examine the marketing mix and give examples of the marketing mix as it pertains to Southwest Airlines. The four elements of the marketing mix are product, place, promotion and price. Product is the good or service sold to satisfy a customers needs. Place involves all of the decisions required to make the product or service available in the target market, or customers, place. Promotion is the process of informing the target market of the product. Finally, the fourth element of the marketing mix is price. Price setting includes components such as analysis of price setting by the competition as well as analysis regarding acceptance or rejection of prices by the identified market (McCarthy and Perreault, 2002, pp. 48 50). The United States airline industry is very competitive. Following the attacks on September 11th, there have been several airlines that have gone out of business or have filed bankruptcy. Southwest Airlines has been able to stay in business and out of bankruptcy. Southwest Airlines is the only major airline to be profitable for the past 20 years (McCarthy and Perreault, 2004, p. 7). This is in part to their marketing department. Southwest Airlines is an airline with a creative marketing department. The airline industry in the United States has seen many changes of the years. In the early days of air travel, only the wealthy could afford to fly. Flying to a destination was a luxury and not a part of everyday life. Today there is a wide variety of airlines and appeals to a wide variety of consumers. Southwest Airlines distinguishes its products and services from the competition through its marketing campaigns. The Dallas-based airline carved its niche in short-haul flights with low prices, reliable service, and a healthy sense of humor (Armstrong, G Kotler, P., 2005, p.318). This humor is a major theme in the marketing campaign. Southwest distinguishes  itself as a fun airline, known for humorous in-flight commentary from pilots and cabin crew members (Armstrong, G Kotler, P., 2005, p.318). Southwest has brought the place aspect of the marketing mix to all consumers. The place aspect of the marketing mix is where and when to deliver the product. Southwest Airlines uses various avenues for this. One area is providing an 800 number for the consumer to check pricing and availability. Another avenue used is the internet. Southwest Airlines has won several awards for their internet site. The internet site allows the consumer to visit Southwest from anywhere there is an internet connection. So, if you are at the library, office, internet cafà ©, or on a portable device such as a Blackberry, Southwest is there. Southwest has become known as a low cost airline. Through research, Southwest found there is a need for a low cost, no frills airline. Price was important to the consumer when choosing an airline. A poll taken by Airliners.net surveyed, 31% ranked ticket cost as the most important factor when choosing an airline (Airliners, 2006). For the price element of the marketing mix to work, Southwest streamlined its operations. By lowering their costs, Southwest can offer lower fares than their competition. For example, Southwest used one type of aircraft, Boeing 737s, all equipped with the same flight instruments. By doing so, Southwest saves time and money in training their employees on only one type of equipment. Management can substitute aircraft, reschedule flight crews, or transfer mechanics quickly. The tactic also saves money through lower spare-parts inventories and better deals when acquiring new planes (Kotler Keller, 2006, p. 427). The final P of the marketing mix is promotion. Southwest promotes its services is a variety of methods. Television commercials air during highly viewed hours such as sporting events or popular television shows. These commercials usually have a humorous tone as well as information on the latest special. Southwest latest marketing tool is named Ding. Ding is a computer program which allows the consumer to be notified of specials.  Notifications of the specials occur at various times of the day and may occur multiple times per day. The icon for this is a tail of a Southwest plane and appears in the system tray (lower right hand corner of a computer screen). When the specials arrive the icon changes to a piece of mail over the tail section of the plane and a sound occurs. The sound is the Ding tone heard in the Southwest television commercials and in the cabin of the airplane. The consumer can click on the icon to launch the software. The screen appears with the details of the latest special. These specials are market specific and are focused on time availability. The public relations for Southwest speak to the character of the company. Southwest sponsors various charitable events and the employees, including the CEO, volunteer for various events. The charity work Southwest does also aids in the promotion of the company. The consumer may feel the company is good because of its social responsibility. The four elements relate to an organizations marketing strategy. Marketing is just one element of an organizations overall business plan. By understanding the product which the organization is producing, the company will be able to determine materials needed, staffing needed to produce the product, and establish the cost to produce the product. Marketing should not take over production, accounting, and finance of an organization. Marketing should be included in these functions to aid in direction and coordination. Understanding the cost of the product will allow the organization to price the product. The price of the product may vary. The reason for the varying in price is based on the customer perceived value of the product. A product with a higher price tag is generally perceived as a better quality product, while the inverse is also true. An organization should price a product at the point which will benefit the organization best. Marketing is an important element for any business. By analyzing the four Ps of product, price, place, and promotion, an organization can have a successful marketing campaign. Whether the business is a small mom and pop organization or a major corporation such as Southwest Airlines, marketing can play an important role in its success. Understanding the marketing mix will put an organization on the road towards this success. References: Airliners. (2006). Passenger Survey. Retreived March 9, 2006 from http://www.airliners.net. Armstrong, G Kotler, P. Marketing: An Introduction, Seventh Edition. (2005). New York: Prentice Hall. Kotler, P Keller, K. Marketing Management, Twelfth Edition. (2006). New York: Prentice Hall. McCarthy, E.J. Perreault, W.D. Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach. (2002). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. McCarthy, E.J. Perreault, W.D. Marketing: Principles and Perspectives, Fourth Edition. (2004). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies

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The Life of Nelson Mandela Most people have heard the name Nelson Mandela from recent news, but many of them haven't heard his whole story. Mandela not only had a monumental impact on South Africa's history, but also helped to shape the country into what it is today. He's not only had a significant influence on his country, but also the world. From early on, he dreamed of helping the South African people fight for their freedom. This dream definitely became reality. Mandela and the legacy he left behind will be remembered for years to come. Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 as Rolihlahla Mandela, but one of his teachers later gave him the name Nelson. He was adopted at the age of nine, and his father died when he was twelve. For college, Mandela started out at the University of Fort Hare, but was expelled nearly a year later for taking part in a protest. He then picked up his education at the University of Witwatersrand and continued studying law. He didn't get his official degree until 1989, during the last few months of being imprisoned. In 1944, Mandela became a part of the ...

Odyssey, realism or fantasy? Essay

Stories and epics can last throughout time; the Odyssey has proven the test of time. The Odyssey acts as a guide book for the Ancient Greeks but allows modern audiences to still enjoy the content. It helps give an oversight as to the life and morals of the Ancient world. Both realism and fantasy play a part in the Odyssey to create relatable tension and excitable journeys. The Gods help make and break Odysseus on his journey back to Ithaca. Homer enabled the gods to be anthropomorphic from the outset. The gods assemble a council to discuss Odysseus’ situation thus showing a democratic society that would be desirable to all audiences (almost promoting democracy as something even the gods would do). Zeus and Poseidon prove vengeful and merciful depending on the situation, similarly, Calypso and Circe show jealousy and selfishness when we first meet them on their own isolated islands. Calypso even suffers the injustice of double standards in which she is not permitted to marry a mortal: Odysseus. Gods such Aeolus add tension to the Odyssey as Odysseus’ men do not trust what is in the bag which results in being blown off course to Ithaca. The gods hold human emotions which has consequences on Odysseus throughout his journey, whether it being Ino’s sympathy or Poseidon’s wrath. Gods hold the ability to physically change into any human in the mortal world causing tests to the cities and enables Athena greatly in aiding Odysseus. The significantly differs to a modern audience’s potential view on a God, the Christian God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent. An Ancient audience is shown that the many gods do have the realism of human emotions but the powers to cause physical disasters (such as great waves and storms). This allows an ancient audience to relate more to the gods into how they should behave as well as that morals are important, however, even the gods have weak spots. Homer sustains fantasy and reality when describing the actions and intentions of the gods, merging them together to create his epic. Odysseus comes across many fantastical people in his journey home. He reaches the land of the Lystrogonians who at the surface seem like a civilised country, however, he goes on to discover that they are in fact cannibalistic giants. What started out as a potentially realistic view into another country to be discovered, turned into a fantastical and thrilling fight for their lives. Monsters such as Scylla and Charybdis, and the sirens prove only there to be dangerous. They try and prevent Odysseus from continuing home. They do, however, offer an insight into how Odysseus behaves and reacts to situations of fictional monsters. The monsters prove that Odysseus isn’t only strong against men, but even fantastical creatures which he would have never encountered before. Even Circe and Calypso and first of all presented as being the perfect Ancient Greek woman by singing and weaving when they are first presented in the epic. They seem normal and real but soon show their dangerous and evil intentions of hindering Odysseus. Homer disguises them as to seem real and normal but then throws in a fantastical twist to keep the audience engaged to how what might seem normal, is far from it. As well as this, the Phaecians are completely fantastical and a fictional town. They have such a strong relationship with the gods that the gods do not disguise themselves at all; they turn up in their true forms. They are even related to the Cyclopes who we find out Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon. Subsequently, from disobeying Poseidon, they get punished extremely harshly (they get turned into rocks for helping Odysseus leave their island) which is all fictional. Even through hall the different fictional islands he travels through and all the monsters he meets, Greek traditions such as xenia and proper burial rights still apply. The best example of this is Elpenor. He falls off of Circe’s roof and they do not burry him. By book 11, when Odysseus enters the Underworld, Elpenor begs Odysseus to find his body and properly burry him to which Odysseus complies. Similarly, whilst leaving the island of the Cicones, Odysseus and his crew solute the death of 72 men 3 times each as they sail away. The sheer respect to the dead and the lengths that Odysseus goes to respect them is shown throughout the Odyssey no matter where he is. Xenia is a system to respect strangers and there is a specific process to go through before asking the stranger questions (this involves feeding, bathing, clothing and a gift at the end of their stay). Circe awful xenia to Odysseus’ crew as she turns them into pigs however she does, in the end, correct her ways and give Odysseys’ crew a house, food and clothes for a year. The Phaecians do not show xenia to begin with either although they soon correct their ways. Xenia is about respecting Zeus as the gods can physically transform into humans and therefore could test anyone one their xenia. The perfect xenia of Nestor and Menelaus towards Telemachus are clear examples to an Ancient audience oh how to perform xenia. Even characters that don’t show xenia to begin with, end up complying which enables the realism of morals to come across with the ancient audience. The fantasy creatures and gods (such as Circe and Calypso) show xenia. The first half of the Odyssey shows a lot of excitement caused by the fantasy events that take place. The second half, once Odysseus lands in Ithaca, realism seems to take over in which Odysseus has to keep his disguises as a beggar and be opened to abuse which comes with it. This endurance of such awful behaviour of the suitors towards him gives, once again, clear morals to an ancient and modern audience of what is happening in Greece and what is viewed as unacceptable – the lack of xenia and curtsey of the suitors. The loyalty of Eumaeus and Eurycleia combined with the accepted trust of Telemachus who has gained his kleos provides entertainment as Odysseus plots to eliminate all 108 suitors using his strength and cunning. This scene is influential to show how badly a beggar would have been treated but the justice that finally came upon the suitors would give hope to an audience of an era, that the hero always wins. Fantasy adds to the entertainment of the Odyssey just as much as the finalism of reality raining back onto Ithaca as order is restored in a violent manner. Morals have not changed that dramatically since Ancient Greece therefore the Odyssey still applies the good morals of respecting everyone as well as the strong loyalty of family which can be valued and relatable throughout time. As the Odyssey is meant to be a guide book for morals for the Ancient Greeks, the Odyssey will use issues relating to their lifestyle (such as xenia, nostos, kleos and dike). The odyssey allows for real life issues to be twisted into a fantasy form which an ancient audience would respect – if the gods are anthropomorphic and they offer xenia and correct their ways, then so should mortals. Fantasy cannot be the only aspect to an epic which would last through time, the audience has to be able to relate to the issues which arise to the protagonist. The Odyssey portrays humanity, justice, consequences and loyalty whether that be through people such as Penelope and Odysseus, or the jealousy of Calypso and Odysseus. Readers can relate to the topics that arise in the Odyssey. Homer has enabled an epic to complement fantasy and reality into one 10 year journey across the unknown just to get home.

Mercury Shoes - Key Issues - 1752 Words

[Title of Paper] [Student Name] [School] [Course/Number] May 19, 2010 [Instructor Name] FROM: Roosevelt Speight TO: Board of Directors of Mercury Shoes RE: KEY ISSUES OF MERCURY SHOES INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF MERCURY SHOES Patricia and John O’Brien, a sister and brother founded Mercury Shoes in 1974 at the University of Colorado; initially they produced normal running shoes. But then in 1980s, they started manufacturing high quality running shoes for athletes. Mercury Shoes has concentrated is design, market and sell on three main brands known as Boost, TrailStep, and Sweatless Apparel. In Mercury International Ltd, approximately 4,800 employees are working worldwide with†¦show more content†¦Whereas, other competitors are specialized in production of variety of products, in sports industry. The competitors provide products such as basketball, football, cross-training, outdoor activities, women’s fitness, etc. Whereas Mercury Shoes lacks these areas of products and as a result lacks customers. Along with its main brands, Mercury Shoes must become specialize in introducing other brands, too. So that company will enjoy more market share and slowly will capture the entire spor ts related industry. Mercury Shoes must introduce special brands for women’s fitness as women spend maximum of their household income for shopping as a result company will be in a position to earn more profits. Also, the company should introduce brands for all possible sports equipments which are necessary for athletes. Skilled Labor – The quality, skilled and innovative labor is an important criterion for a successful sports business to compete in the international market. 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