I believe that Southwest’s strategy can be copied to a certain degree depending on competitors’ determination. Southwest’s operations involves low cost methods to get customer to places while the culture focuses on promotion of its satisfaction-based culture- both internally and externally; people seem to love giving into the company more than they love the company’s returns. A big airline is most likely to be the competitor. It is very likely that the corporation can introduce a system of short-haul, cheap flights via a standardized fleet with ease. The billions in revenue generated from other divisions can provide the capital required; they can even have the option to operate at a loss for a while. The question, then, turns to one of sustaining this division by attracting customers from companies like Southwest. Besides setting low prices and attempt to maximize efficiency, the question becomes: can the division’s efficiency outstrip that of Southwest’s? As stated, Southwest’s culture inspires employees to work, thus productivity and efficiency increases. This is the key behind the company’s success: fostering culture and turning the results into profit. Can a big company replicate or build the culture? Replication is difficult because usually big wigs are reluctant to change their own culture of following rules to the letter like traditional big companies to an upbeat style of Southwest. Instead of satisfying customers, maximizing shareholder value takes priority and this choice could be detrimental to the divisions’ cause (shareholders may also not be happy at the prospect of operating at a loss); this case has been proved in the form of Continental Lite. When the bosses are fixed in maintaining their company’s own identity culture, I’m not sure that it will work out despite good numbers from operations. Also, a corporation can also lose its own, effective