Strategic planning must take into account many elements. Some of these elements are the company's mission, vision, values, objectives, critical success factors and differentiation strategies. Southwest Airlines approaches strategic planning from a very different perspective than other airlines. Where other airlines increase their profits through additional fees and amenities, Southwest instead prefers to take a quantity and affordability approach. Southwest Airlines has a transparent vision, mission, goal plan and strategic implementations in accordance with their strategic planning. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original Essay Southwest Airlines' primary strategy is to get passengers to their destinations on time at the lowest possible fares while ensuring that customers have fun and ensure customer loyalty (Heskett & Sasser, 2013). The airline's differentiation strategy lies in its local focus and smaller scale than other airlines. While other airlines focus their marketing and efforts globally, Southwest focuses on more local flights on shorter routes. Additionally, Southwest boasts a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere; while other airlines offer luxury upgrades and more free items such as full meals. Some of the major challenges of strategic planning, especially for large, complex organizations like Southwest Airlines, are finding a way to gain competitive advantage, finding the appropriate differentiation strategy, and ensuring that implementations through of strategic planning do not weigh on the company, but rather stimulate the company. productivity, loyalty and profits. Determining which elements can be offered and which should be dropped is a unique balancing act. Although Southwest offers the “Bags Fly Free” policy, they cannot profitably offer free meals on their flights. Finding a unique balance in strategic planning is sometimes very complicated and difficult. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Leaders must make the best decisions based on their knowledge, experience and the information given to them. Their decisions affect not only the profitability and long-term health of the company, but also the organization's employees and customers. Fluctuations in the prices of commodities such as oil for aircraft also cause fluctuations in the price of airline tickets. Leaders of large organizations must consider many factors in their strategic planning. So far, Southwest has proven that it executes its strategic planning well.