The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a companys strengths and weaknesses in order to recommend feasible value-enhancing alternatives.

Consider the publicly traded company “Southwest Airlines” In a paper of 1,000-1,200 words, discuss potential growth opportunities and strategies for “Southwest Airlines” and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity.

1. Conduct a SWOT analysis for your selected company and discuss your findings. What advantages does your company have over its competition? What opportunities exist in the industry from which your company can benefit? Who is your company’s competition, and what types of risks might they pose? What weak areas could your company improve to compete with its strongest competitors?
2. Identify strategic alternatives that create value for the company. Which ones are focused on internal growth and what do they offer to the company? What are the drawbacks of these strategies? Which ones are focused on external growth and what do they offer the company? What are the drawbacks of these strategies?
3. How would you use a decision matrix to identify the leading alternative? Explain how you determined the values used to distinguish between each option. What about the matrix, if anything, may be limiting in its use value to an analyst or decision maker?
4. What factors might inhibit the success of the optimal strategic alternative identified? How can the issues you identified be addressed and corrected?
5. Growing an organization is not always about increasing the size of the firm. If expansion is not the main focus, what other elements lend themselves to growth of the firm? How might each be achieved?

Prepare this assignment APA Style Guide.