Business & Finance Homework Help

I need a response to the below statement:

Southwest Airlines would have to consider its budget to expand into La Guardia. Expanding services to La Guardia would require more staff to provide customer service, computer software for tracking flights/passengers, etc.. and IT support for computer users. Furthermore, marketing would have to advertise the new location, and this would require staff to conduct the advertisement portion. In addition, Human Resource staff would be required to hire/fire more staff accordingly, thus finance and accounting would need to manage the budget at said location. Several teams from different departments would be needed to run the operations required for Southwest Airlines to be successful. Daft ( 2013), notes one approach to using teams in organizations is through cross-functional teams, which consist of employees from various functional departments who are responsible to meet as a team and resolve mutual problems. By using the team approach from multiple departments, it can break down barriers and improve coordination and cooperation Daft (2013).

A second approach would be to subcontract employees out on behalf of Southwest Airlines. Contracting employees out would save Southwest Airlines money such as offering employees lower starting salaries and minimal benefits to contract employees. This would save the organization money on benefit and salary payouts but can be challenging if contractors don’t provide the same customer service as permanent staff or may not be up to the work demands while receiving lower pay. A study was conducted on Nigerian Contract Bank Employees and Odetunde (2021), noted, Contract employment, as an informal and temporary work arrangement, is characterized by degraded and precarious work conditions. Odetunde (2021), further noted that contracted employees can experience challenges faced by employees of the financial service sector to include pressure on time, problems with ergonomics, conflicting roles, work demands that are considered excessive, difficult relationships with customers, and job satisfaction. Again, contracting employees in order to save money could pose a risk to the organization.  

Executives, Management, Marketing, and Legal would all have to be on board to operate in LaGuardia and formalize a plan to solve concerns from the team. The team would have to focus on finding solutions collaborate with other departments and find common ground for the sake of the organization. Management would use the best hands-on approach, consider the risks, and continue to provide excellent customer service and low fares to their customers meanwhile gain maximizing profits. If management throws a wrench in the system, it could potentially change the positive culture and personalities at Southwest. Collaboration refers to a joint effort between people from two or more departments to produce outcomes that meet a common goal or shared purpose and that are typically greater than what any of the individuals or departments could achieve working alone, Daft (2013).

Reference

Daft, R. L. (2013). Management (11th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9781285068657