Southwest Airlines operations and business model

Southwest Airlines

Following Kelleher as chief executive officer at Southwest Airlines would be a rather challenging task, due primarily to the success registered by the firm under the leadership of Kelleher, as well as his charisma and people skills. The former CEO was a very popular man among the employees and it would be difficult for the new leader to fill in such shoes.

On a first note, the challenge would be raised by the high expectations and pressure, since the new manager would be expected to perform at equal or higher levels than Kelleher had. In other words, there would be constant pressure and attention on the decisions and activities of the new CEO, who would be constantly compared with Kelleher. And this attention would be revealed in terms of both interactions with the people, as well as actual results of the company's performances. The results of Southwest Airlines would as such be compared to assess the skills and managerial abilities of the new CEO in comparison to those of Kelleher.

Despite the challenges nevertheless, the job of chief executive officer after Kelleher would also reveal some advantages. The most important of these is represented by the success attained by the firm before the withdrawal of Kelleher. The new CEO would as such be appointed leader of a strong and powerful company, and his/her objective would be that of using the already available sources to generate new profits and further expand the firm. While this is difficult task, it is more accessible than the task of creating the success in the absence of resources, as could have been the case in leading an unsuccessful company.

YUM Brands

Much of the success of the firm is due to the internal environment. At YUM Brands, this internal environment is characterized by an organizational culture focused on the role of people in the attainment of the organizational goals and objectives. The Yum Brand managers then recognize their employees as the most valuable assets and strive to increase their on the job satisfaction.

"We believe that our customers' experience will never exceed that of our team members. For that reason, our Dynasty Model starts with our people. We know that people don't just play a role in our success -- they are the reason for our success. Our corporate values -- what we call our How We Win Together principles -- are built around a "People Capability First" philosophy and lay the groundwork for the way we team together every day" (Website of Yum Brands, 2012).