For Many Years, Southwest Airlines Distinguished Itself as the Low-Cost

question 54

Multiple Choice

For many years, Southwest Airlines distinguished itself as the low-cost airline. Now, many other low-cost competitors have entered the market. Similarly, Southwest was one of the first airlines to offer online ticketing. Now, all airlines have online ticketing. These examples suggest that

• A)no single strategy is likely to be sufficient to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
• B)a situation analysis does not accurately predict a firm's strengths.
• C)customer excellence cannot be achieved.
• D)product excellence is the only true source of a sustainable competitive advantage.
• E)innovation is pointless because competitors will develop copycat offerings.

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Definitions:

Unit Contribution Margin

The difference between the selling price per unit and the variable cost per unit. This metric indicates how much each unit sold contributes to fixed costs and profit.

Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis

A management accounting method used to understand the relationship between costs, sales volume, and profit at various levels of production.

Variable Costs

Financial outlays that adjust based on the volume of production or sales, for instance, materials and workforce expenses.

Fixed Costs

Costs that do not change with the level of output or production volume, such as rent, salaries, and insurance premiums.