United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan
This case follows a day in the life of Captain Denny Flanagan. A United Airlines pilot for nearly a quarter of a century and a former naval aviator, Flanagan has created and championed a campaign to radically change the nature of air travel - putting good customer service at the heart of everything the airline does and reaching back, in some way, to the golden age of air travel. Examples of his service include ordering food for passengers of delayed flights and phoning the parents of unaccompanied minors to reassure them of their children's safety.The success he has achieved is significant for a company that has historically received very poor customer service ratings. It raises questions about whether such exceptional service is good or bad for the organization. How can Flanagan's approach be replicated? Is it possible or even desirable to replicate it?
Authors :: Colin Campbell, Niall Piercy, Michael Parent, Karen Robson
Swot Analysis of "United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan" written by Colin Campbell, Niall Piercy, Michael Parent, Karen Robson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flanagan Denny facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customer service and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flanagan Denny, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flanagan Denny operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flanagan Denny
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Flanagan Denny
Strengths United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flanagan Denny in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Flanagan Denny is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Flanagan Denny in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Flanagan Denny is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Flanagan Denny is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Flanagan Denny in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Flanagan Denny has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Flanagan Denny has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Flanagan Denny has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Flanagan Denny in the sector have low bargaining power. United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Flanagan Denny to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Flanagan Denny to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Flanagan Denny to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Flanagan Denny is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Flanagan Denny digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Flanagan Denny has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Flanagan Denny are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Flanagan Denny has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Flanagan Denny, firm in the HBR case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Flanagan Denny is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Flanagan Denny has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Flanagan Denny even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Flanagan Denny has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Flanagan Denny has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Flanagan Denny is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Flanagan Denny needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Flanagan Denny to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Colin Campbell, Niall Piercy, Michael Parent, Karen Robson suggests that, Flanagan Denny is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Flanagan Denny has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan HBR case study mentions - Flanagan Denny takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Flanagan Denny needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Flanagan Denny can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Flanagan Denny can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Flanagan Denny in the consumer business. Now Flanagan Denny can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Flanagan Denny can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Flanagan Denny to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Flanagan Denny to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Flanagan Denny to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Flanagan Denny can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Flanagan Denny to increase its market reach. Flanagan Denny will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Flanagan Denny can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Flanagan Denny can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Flanagan Denny is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Flanagan Denny can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Flanagan Denny operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Flanagan Denny has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Flanagan Denny in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Environmental challenges
– Flanagan Denny needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Flanagan Denny can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Flanagan Denny can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Flanagan Denny can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Flanagan Denny high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Flanagan Denny can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Flanagan Denny is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan, Flanagan Denny may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Flanagan Denny in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Flanagan Denny demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Flanagan Denny will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Flanagan Denny has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Flanagan Denny needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of United Airlines and Captain Denny Flanagan is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Flanagan Denny needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.