united continental holding

Text book use for this class is: Strategic Management: Concepts by Fred R. David, Prentice Hall. 14th edition, 2013. ISBN 978-0-13-266423-3.

Cite references for specific sources of statistics, information, and ideas you drew upon in writing your paper, both in the narrative and in your bibliography.

Case Analysis, Part 1
Using strategic management concepts and methods, critically evaluate the strategic situation of a transportation or tourism organization you will be assigned. Your write-up should cover items 1-7 in the list of written case analysis steps on page 363 of the text. Update information in the case to the present time. Include an analysis of the organization’s financial condition in your assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. Follow the guidelines on case analysis and formatting provided in the text and the grading rubric. Limit your report to nine double-spaced pages exclusive of title page, table of contents, exhibits, and bibliography. This assignment will be due on Tues. Oct 29. Submit in hard-copy format and upload an electronic version to your individual dropbox on the course website on Laulima in Word format or its equivalent.

CASE ANALYSIS, PART 1
A. INTRODUCTION
___ A brief introduction that articulates the purpose, contents, and organization of the document is provided.
___ The date to which the analysis pertains is provided.
___ A brief overview of the organization is provided.
B. MISSION STATEMENT (2 points each. ___ points out of 12 points)
___ The organization’s existing mission statement is provided.
___ The proposed mission statement clearly answers the question, “What is our business?” ___ The proposed mission statement, at a minimum, identifies the organization’s customers,
markets, and product or services.
___ The proposed mission statement contains from three to six additional appropriate
components identified on pp. 51-52 of the text.
___ The proposed mission statement is less than 200 words. ___ The proposed mission statement is customer-oriented.
C. VISION STATEMENT (2 points each. ___ points out of 6 points)
___ The organization’s existing vision statement is provided.
___ The proposed vision statement clearly answers the question, “What do we want to
become?”
___ The proposed vision statement is no longer than two sentences.
D. EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT 1. External Audit/Assessment (Various points each. ___ points out of 24 points)
___ The audit assesses local, national, and international conditions and/or trends in each of the following forces: economic (2 points); social, cultural, demographic, and environmental (2 points); political, governmental, and legal (2 points); technological (2 points); and competitive (2 points). (10 points total)
___ The assessment evaluates and discusses the strategic implications of the above conditions and/or trends for the organization’s industry. (7 points)
___ The assessment draws heavily on outside research on the industry. (7 points)
2. External Factor Matrix (1 point each. ___ points out of 6 points)
___ Fifteen to 20 significant factors that affect the industry and the organization, including both opportunities and threats, are listed.
___ Opportunities and threats are clear and unambiguous. In particular, the opportunities listed are really opportunities and the threats listed are really threats.
___ The opportunities and threats are consistent with information identified in the external audit/assessment.
___ Weights and ratings used in the analysis are justified.
___ The EFE is technically correct with respect to weights, ratings, and weighted scores.
___ The results and implications of the EFE matrix analysis are briefly discussed.
3. Competitive Profile Matrix (1 point each. ___ points out of 6 points)
___ The CPM includes the organization and at least two of its major competitors.
___ Eight to 14 appropriate critical success factors are listed.
___ Critical success factors are appropriately weighted, rated, and scored.
___ Weights and ratings used in the analysis are justified.
___ The information in the CPM harmonizes with the competitive analysis portion of the
external audit/assessment.
___ Results are discussed and significant conclusions are drawn.
E. INTERNAL ASSESSMENT/AUDIT
1. Financial Ratio Analysis (2 points each. ___ points out of 12 points)
___ The financial ratios listed in Table 4-6 on pp. 111-112 of the text are correctly calculated and presented.
___ A three- to five-year internal historical trend analysis is shown in tabular format for each ratio.
___ A three- to five-year internal historical trend analysis in the form of line graphs is shown for each ratio.
___ The organization’s ratios are compared to the industry average for at least the most recent year for which data are available.
___ The organization’s ratios are compared to one or more main competitors over the same three- to five-year period examined for the above analyses.
___ The conclusions and implications of the financial ratio analysis are discussed.
2. Key Internal Forces (Various points each. ___ points out of 24 points)
___ The most important strengths and weaknesses are identified (10 points)
___ The assessment evaluates and discusses the strategic implications of the above strengths
and weaknesses for the organization (7 points)
___ The assessment draws heavily, though not exclusively, on outside research on the
organization. (7 points)
3. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (1 point each. ___ points out of 7 points)
___ Ten to 20 of the organization’s significant strengths and weakness are listed.
___ Strengths and weaknesses are clear and unambiguous. In particular, the strengths listedare really strengths and the weaknesses listed are really weaknesses.
___ The strengths and weaknesses are consistent with, and emerge from, the key internal
forces and financial ratio analyses.
___ The results of the financial ratio analysis are explicitly included in the IFE matrix
analysis.
___ The IFE is technically correct with respect to weights, ratings, weighted scores, e.g.,
strengths are rated as “4” or “3” and weaknesses are rated as “2” or “1.”
___ Weights and ratings are justified.
___ The results and implications of the analysis are briefly discussed.

RESOURCES FOR CASE RESEARCH

A. Information on the external environment

1. U.S. travel forecasts from U.S. Travel Association (http://www.ustravel.org/research/travel-industry-forecasts)
2. Regional statistics and local forecasts from large banks
3. Business Cycle Development (U.S. Department of Commerce)
4. Chase Econometrics Associates’ publications
5. U.S. Census Bureau publications on population, transportation, and housing
6. Current Business Reports (U.S. Department of Commerce)
7. Economic Indicators (U.S. Joint Economic Committee)
8. Economic Report of the (U.S.) President to Congress
9. Long-Term Economic Growth (U.S. Department of Commerce)
10. Monthly Labor Review (U.S. Department of Labor)
11. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics (United Nations)
12. Statistical Abstract of the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce)
13. Statistical Yearbook (United Nations)
14. Survey of Current Business (U.S. Department of Commerce)
15. U.S. Industrial Outlook (U.S. Department of Defense)
16. World Trade Annual (United Nations)
17. Overseas Business Reports (by country, published by U.S. Department of Commerce)
18. World Fact Book (by country, published by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency)
19. Specific socioeconomic indicators:
a. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) from The Conference Board (http://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm),
b. U.S. unemployment rate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Series LNS14000000 (http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost)
c. Median sales price of existing single family homes from the National Association of Realtors (http://www.realtor.org/research)
d. S&P 500 and NASDAQ stock indices from Yahoo! Finance.com (http://finance.yahoo.com/)
e. Travel Price Index (TPI) from the U.S. Travel Association (http://www.ustravel.org/research/economic-research/tpi)
f. GDP in chained 2005 dollars from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/national/index.htm#gdp)

B. Industry information

1. Analyses of companies and industries by investment brokerage firms
2. Analyses of tourism-related industries on http://globaledge.msu.edu/Global-
Insights/By/industry
3. Business Week and The Economist (provide weekly economic and business information)
4. Fortune (each April publishes listings of financial information on corporations within
certain industries)
5. Industry Survey (published quarterly by Standard and Poor’s)
6. Industry Week (late March/early April issue provides information on 14 industry groups)
7. Forbes (mid-January issue provides performance data on firms in various industries)
8. Inc. (May and December issues give information on fast-growing entrepreneurial
companies)
9. Market intelligence information on current market trends in the tourism industry. Mintel
and Keynote in particular produce data on a variety of different market sectors and geographical regions within the tourism industry. The data can be effectively used for conducting a comprehensive situational analysis for a tourism organization and the implications this might have for its future strategic direction.
Mintel – www.mintel.com
Keynote – www.keynote.co.uk
Euromonitor – www.euromonitor.com
Travel and Tourism Intelligence – www.t-ti.com
Tourism Intelligence International – www.tourism-intelligence.com
Insights www.tourismtrade.org.uk/uktrade/MarketIntelligence/ResearchAndStatistics/Insights/Insi ghtsHomePage.asp?ComponentID=12702&SourcePageID=11370
Gartner – www.gartner.com

C. Company information

1. An excellent source of company information, including financials, is the Mergent Online (http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu/ezproxy/details.php?dbId=38218) data base. You can access this data base as follows:
a. Go to the UHM Website
b. Click on Libraries
c. Click on Hamilton Library
d. Click on Browse by Subject
e. Click on Business
f. Click on Company Information
g. Choose “Mergent Online”
h. Click on “Mergent Online”
i. Login j. Click on Basic Search
j. Enter the company name
k. Click on the company name
l. Click on the tabs, e.g., “Competitors,” to obtain the information you need
2. Annual reports (prepared by individual corporations and usually included in 10-K reports)
3. Stock analyst comments on a company
4. Moody’s Manuals on Investment (a listing of companies within certain industries that
contains a brief history and a five-year financial statement of each company)
5. Securities and Exchange Commission Report Form 10-K (annually), Report Form 10-Q (quarterly), and Report Form 14-A (annual proxy statement including in-depth information on board of directors)
6. Standard and Poor’s Register of Corporation, Directors, and Executives
7. Value Line Investment Survey
8. COMPUSTAT, Compact Disclosure, CD/International, Hoover’s Online Corporate
Directory, and SEC’s Edgar database (computerized operating and financial information
on thousands of publicly held corporations)
9. Electronic tourism and hospitality newsletters. The following websites provide daily
and/or weekly news updates on tourism organizations’ strategic maneuvers, including acquisitions, mergers, alliances, business development and disposals. Many of the websites publish the quarterly financial updates of the leading tourism organizations.
Travelmole – www.travelmole.com
Eturbonews – www.eturbonews.com
EyeforTravel – www.eyefortravel.com
Tourism Industry Digest – www.e-tid.com
Travel Weekly (US) – www.twcrossroads.com
Travel Weekly (UK) – www.travelweekly.co.uk
Travel industry news – www.itravelnews.com
Caterer and Hotelkeeper – www.caterer-online.com/news
Hotel News Now – www.hotelnewsnow.com/
Hotel News Resource – www.hotelnewsresource.com
10. Travel industry company reports and financial information. These websites are excellent
for retrieving the company reports and financial status for a host of tourism-related organizations. The reports can be retrieved in full text online.
Yahoo! Finance http://finance.yahoo.com
Financial Times Company Reports http://ft.ar.wilink.com/(0n3yt255ddqumbnhijioap45)/index.aspx Carol www.carol.co.uk

Most of the leading tourism organizations also provide information in the investor relations sections of their websites. A few examples of where these can be accessed are outlined below:
Tour Operators
Thomas Cook – www.thomascook.co.uk
TUI – www.tui.com/en/ir/
MyTravel – www.mytravelgroup.com
First Choice – www.firstchoiceholidaysplc.com
Airlines
British Airways – www.bashares.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=69499&p=irol-index
American Airlines www.aa.com/content/amrcorp/investorRelations/main.jhtml?anchorEvent=false easyJet – www.easyjet.com/EN/Investor/investorrelations_financialreports.html
Ryanair – www.ryanair.co.uk
Cruise Lines
Carnival – www.poprincesscruises.com Star Cruises – www2.starcruises.com/Investor/index.html Royal Caribbean www.royalcaribbean.com/aboutus/investor.do;jsessionid=0000dsCON1HV8iQ6BVPiAZ MZCJw:v29bc620
Attractions and Theme Parks
Tussauds Group – www.tussauds.com/Tussauds/WebSite.do?id=13.54.118
Disney – http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors
Hotels
Hilton – www.hiltongroup.com
Intercontinental – www.ichotelsgroup.com
Accor – www.accor.com/gb/finance/accueil.asp
Tourism eMediaries
Lastminute.com – http://cws.huginonline.com/L/131840/last_index.html
eBookers – www.ebookers.co.uk/corporate/home_ir.html
Travelocity – www.sabre-holdings.com/investor/index.html
Priceline – www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=pcln&script=2100

E. Ratio analysis information
1. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Prentice Hall)
2. Annual Statement Studies (Risk Management Associates; also Robert Morris Associates)
3. Dun’s Review (Dun and Bradstreet; published annually in September-December issues)
4. Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (Dun and Bradstreet)
5. To find industry financial ratios:
A. Find the industry code. In the past, U.S. industries were classified by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. SIC is being phased out and replaced by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Industry financial ratios are often grouped by SIC or NAICS codes, so it is important to know these codes for your industry. Go to census.gov/naics and type in some keywords.
B. b. Try to find free industry financial ratio sources online. Bizstats.com has some free, basic ratios, Yahoo! Finance has investment ratios on broad industry groups such as airlines, and the Census Bureau collects some ratio-type information (mainly related to payroll and employment, but other figures as well) every five years in the Economic Census. See Census.gov for details.
C. c. Alternatively, go to the library and ask for the “ratio books” or their electronic equivalents. There are three main sources:
(1) Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios by Dun & Bradstreet
(2) Almanac of Business & Industrial Financial Ratios (aka the “Troy Almanac”)
(3) Risk Management Association Annual Statement Studies d. Look up your industry in the above sources. In the Troy Almanac and the RMA book,
you can do this directly by NAICS code. The Dun & Bradstreet ratios book uses the older SIC system, but the Census department has a page for that, too: census.gov/epcd/www/sic.html.

F. Other websites
1. ADNet: Data on the information technology industry (www.companyfinder.com)
2. Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/
3. Bloomberg: Information on interest rates, stock prices, currency conversion rates, and
other general financial information (www.bloomberg.com)
4. CEO Express: Links to many valuable sources of business information
(www.ceoexpress.com)
5. CIA World Fact Book: International information by country (www.cia.com)
6. CNN company research: Provides company information (http://money.cnn.com/news/crc/)
7. Competitive Intelligence Guide: Information on company resources (www.fuld.com) 8. Datamonitor: http://www.datamonitor.com
9. CorporateInformation.com: Subscription service for company profiles
(www.corporateinformation.com)
10. CorpTech: Database of technology companies (www.corptech.com)
11. Dun & Bradstreet’s Online: Short reports on 10 million public and private U.S.
companies (www.smallbusiness.dnb.com)
12. Ecola’s 24-Hour Newsstand: Links to Web sites of 2,000 newspapers, journals, and
magazines (www.ecola.com)
13. The Economist: Provides international information and surveys (www.economist.com) 14. EDGAR: http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
15. Forbes: Information on America’s largest private companies (www.forbes.com)
16. Fortune 500: Statistics for largest U.S. corporations (www.fortune.com or
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
17. Global Edge Global Resources: International resources
(http://www.globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/)
18. Google Finance: Data on North American stocks (http://finance.google.com/finance)
19. Google Scholar: Articles and books on an organization
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en
20. Guide to Financial Reports: How to read a financial statement (www.ibm.com/investor/help/guide/introduction.wss)
21. Hoover’s Online: Financial statements and profiles of public companies (www.hoovers.com/free/)
22. Industry Standard: http://www.thestandard.com/
23. Information Please Almanac: http://www.infoplease.com/
24. Kompass International: Industry information (www.kompass.com)
25. MarketWatch: http://www.marketwatch.com/
27. Money Central: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/home.aspx
28. Money magazine: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/
29. Morningstar: http://www.morningstar.com/homepage/default.aspx
30. Motley Fool: http://www.fool.com/
31. Paywatch: Database of executive compensation (www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/)
32. Researching Companies on the Internet: http://www.learnwebskills.com/company/ (Tutorial on finding free online information about companies.)
33. Reuters Stocks: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks
34. The Scannery: Information on international companies (www.thescannery.com)
35. SEC International Registry: Data on international corporations
(www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/internatl/companies.shtml)
36. Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals: Information on competitive
intelligence (www.scip.org)
37. U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/, including “American Fact Finder,” which
provides demographic and socioeconomic information on nations, states, counties, and
municipalities (http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html)
38. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Official filing of public companies in Edgar
database (www.sec.gov)
39. Wall Street Journal: Business news (www.wsj.com)
40. World Federation of Exchanges: International stock exchanges (www.world-
exchanges.org/)
41. Yahoo Finance: Data on North American companies (http://finance.yahoo.com/)
42. Etrade: https://us.etrade.com/e/t/invest/markets

G. Literature database resources
1. ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest)
2. Business Source Premier (EBSCOhost)
3. Mergent Online (https://www.mergentonline.com/)
4. ReferenceUSA
5. Regional Business News (EBSCOhost)
6. Value Line
7. Wall Street Journal (You can limit your search to this newspaper in ABI/Inform Global
Proquest’s Advanced Search feature)
H. General reference works (usually found in the reference section of libraries):
1. Business Periodical Index (on computers in many libraries)
2. Directory of National Trade Associations
3. Encyclopedia of Associations Reference AS22 .E5 2005 Latest volumes
4. Funk and Scott’s Index of Corporations and Industries
5. Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios Reference HF5681 .R25 I53 Latest volume
6. North American Industry Classification System: United States, 2002 Reference HF1042
.N6 2002
7. Market Share Reporter Reference HF5410 .M35 v.1 & v.2 (2005) Latest volumes
8. Mergent Corporate News Reports Monthly Reference HG4961 .M47
9. Mergent Industrial Manual Reference HG4961 .M67
10. Mergent’s Industry Review Reference HG4961 .M68
11. Moody’s OTC Industrial Manual Reference HG4961 .M7237
12. Risk Management Association Annual Statement Studies. Industry Default Probabilities
and Cash Flow Measures. Reference HF5681 .B2 R6
13. Statistical Abstract of the United States Reference HA202 Latest volume
14. Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
15. U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook Reference HC101 .U54 2000
16. Wall Street Journal Index
17. World Almanac & Book of Facts Reference AY67 .N5 W7 2005 Latest volume

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