CASE ANALYSIS
You are required at the end of the semester to submit a case analy

CASE ANALYSIS
You are required at the end of the semester to submit a case analysis that focuses on Southwest Airlines. This case analysis will be a vehicle through which you can demonstrate your ability to apply human resources management concepts in determining the role of such concepts to an actual organization’s practices.
The starting point for your case analysis is your textbook, which, throughout, contains information about Southwest Airlines. (Review pages: 2, 4, 11, 12–13, 19, 27, 34, 53, 191, 194–195, 199, 213, 235, 285, 302, 428, 461, 522.) The first thing you should do is to read this information and become familiar with it.
You will build your case analysis by answering a series of questions listed below in the section called “Southwest Airlines Case Analysis Questions.” These questions are associated with specific chapters in your textbook and in order to answer them properly you will need to demonstrate your mastery of the material covered in those chapters.
Chapter 1: page 34
Chapter 2: page 73
Chapter 3: page 116
Chapter 5: page 204
Chapter 6: page 250
Chapter 8: page 343
Chapter 9: page 384
Chapter 10: page 428
Chapter 11: page 467
Chapter 12: page 513
Chapter 13: page 562
Chapter 14: page 616
As you progress through the course you should review the questions below and begin to formulate your answers as you read the associated chapters in your textbook.
The questions below are designed for you to demonstrate an understanding of key human resources management concepts as they pertain to Southwest Airlines. For each of your responses to these questions, be sure to link specifics in the Southwest Airlines case to human resources management concepts from the text.
There is no specific length that your case analysis should be, but you should aim to answer each question as thoroughly as possible. For information on how your work will be judged, see the section below called “Assessment Guidelines for Southwest Airlines Case Analysis.” Use the criteria listed there as a guide when working on your case analysis.
Your case analysis should contain the following:
Title page with your name, date, course code, and name of your mentor
Introduction to your case analysis
The main body of your analysis (i.e., your answers to the questions below that are related to specific chapters)
Recommendations (your answer to the last question below)
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Before you complete your analysis, you will need to master the course material presented in Module 3 and all subsequent modules. This does NOT mean, however, that you should leave your project to the end of the semester; you need to start preparing as you are studying the material in Module 3 and beyond.
Review the following strategies for preparing your case analysis of Southwest Airlines and work on it incrementally as you complete your reading and written assignments for the rest of the semester.
It is important to do the following:
Study thoroughly the Southwest Airlines case description in the text, including the two appendices (pp. 574–591).
Review the chapters of the text listed as references for particular questions.
Identify how concepts and practices in the referred chapters link to the story of Southwest Airlines.
Search for connections, examples, and research mentioned in the text as likely explanations for what has occurred at Southwest Airlines.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CASE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
Your answers to the following questions will form the main body of your case analysis. Formulate your answers after reading the textbook chapters listed. Be sure to follow the strategies given above and to review the assessment guidelines at the end of this page.
Answer the following after studying textbook Chapter 8: How were training and development of strategic importance to Southwest Airlines? What actions taken by Southwest Airlines support your response? 
Answer the following after studying textbook Chapter 9: Using expectancy theory, explain how the management practices at Southwest Airlines help motivate the company’s employees to high levels of performance. 
Answer the following after studying textbook Chapters 10 and 11: What particular aspects of how Southwest Airlines compensates and rewards its employees are likely connected to the company’s low turnover rate? Be specific. Southwest Airlines has been described as having a unique culture. What specific aspects of its culture make it unique? How have these aspects played a significant part in Southwest Airlines’ effectiveness as an organization? 
Answer the following after studying textbook Chapter 14: In the Southwest Airlines Integrative Case’s Exhibit SA.6 on page 588, Jeff Lamb, senior vice president administration and chief people officer, talks about HR practices and challenges at Southwest. He says that Southwest’s success is largely due to the company’s philosophy of putting employees first. What future challenges might there be for Southwest Airlines in general to maintain this success? Explain with supporting material from Chapter 14 or any other sources you choose to use. Please cite any outside references you use.
Answer the following after completing all of the questions above: What recommendations would you make to Southwest Airlines to help deal with future labor union challenges?