Describe the type of international strategy the company has chosen.
Since the airline industry was not financially stable due to wars and terrorism activities, Lufthansa became a member of the largest alliance of airlines called the Star Alliance. They used this as a strategy to survive in the globalization of the airline industry.
Lufthansa used this strategy because there were high barriers to mergers and acquisitions of airlines due to regulations. Therefore, the alliance gave companies the power to penetrate global markets and also manage their companies on an individual basis.

Explain what means the company has used to expand internationally.
Lufthansa is known for surviving financial turmoil in the past when others were engulfed in bankruptcy and receiving bailout packages their governments. Lufthansa was close to bankruptcy and facing fierce competition from low cost no frills airlines the company sold fifty percent of its stake in the Thomas Cook Tourism Company to KarstadtQuelle. They also sold parts of LSG Sky Chef which handled catering. Lufthansa wanted to raise money and cut cost. Before this strategy Lufthansa acquired Swiss Air as a way to expand globally. They used that strategy to look for share holdings in other airlines. That was the reason why they did away with Ground Globe Airport Service and financial divestments in order to concentrate on corporate strategy to expand internationally.

Identify and describe the elements and objectives of Lufthansa’s cooperative strategy.
Lufthansa decided to create what is called the Lufthansa Regional, where fifty percent of German and European flights belong to Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa also decided to lease aircrafts complete with crew and maintenance teams. This was operated via the cooperative wet lease department made up of Augsburg Airways and Contact Air. Lufthansa had partial ownership in Air Dolomiti, City Line, Eurowings, and Bmi. Lufthansa had several objectives to survive in the high priced competitive market, the company needed to lower its cost structure and this was achieved by decreasing wages by hiring foreign nationals, acquiring smaller planes, cutting the level of service on the planes, and running bases in second tier airports. Lufthansa also increased their point to point service.
Describe the uncertainties and challenges related to operating beyond the company’s national boundaries.
Lufthansa was German based company and operating out of the borders of Germany will certainly cause them to face challenges and uncertainty. The company will be faced with social, cultural, and political issues when operating in other countries. Lufthansa will be forced to appoint and employ foreigners into their global offices to deal with such issues. The differences in diversity will force Lufthansa to make changes within the company’s regulations, culture, and values.

Describe the potential risks of cooperative strategies
The potential risks Lufthansa may encounter since one third of the work force is non German, the company can easily lose its workforce. Morale can also be low with existing German employees due to lack of integration into the normal flow of communications and consensus building. A potential risk for Lufthansa is not having employees trained properly because training programs has to be developed in different languages and for different cultures.
Management is also faced with the new emergence of issues concerning global warming. Therefore Lufthansa has to strategize a way to reduce emissions from its air traffic without the risk of losing their license in certain countries. Socially, in order to be accepted in certain countries without losing business, Lufthansa has a program called the help alliance that supports children in need, protects endangered species and introduces fuel efficiency initiatives.

Explain the use of organizational structure and controls to effectively support Lufthansa’s strategy.
Some of Lufthansa organization strategy is incorporated into the Star Alliance organization structure which is made up of corporate office, commercial, products and services, loyalty marketing, and information technology. Lufthansa itself consists of Lufthansa Holdings and Lufthansa Regional. Within this structure Lufthansa manages its organization effectively with various departments such as catering, logistics, passage, MRO, IT Services, leisure and travel, Swiss Air, Lufthansa Regional and Lufthansa’s Core Fleet.

Describe what strategic leadership actions should be recommended for developing human capital at Lufthansa.
In order to develop human capital at Lufthansa the company should have an overall strategic plan, annual performance goals; analyze the outcome of the strategic plan and how it is used in decision making. All human capital plans should be integrated with Lufthansa’s strategic plan. The organization structure of Lufthansa needs to be updated. The management team in each organizational structure should meet the needs of its customers efficiently and effectively. A workforce plan and summary should be updated frequently, training and recruited will have to updated in all languages and cultures. All performance indicators and viable metrics are to be made available to management and performance appraisals of human capital also need to be upgraded. The competency of every employee in the organization needs to be analyzed and retiring human capital should train younger employees.