Convenience

Case Questions
1.
Take a
situational view of organization design
:
What roles have
technology
and
environment
played in the development of alliances and virtual
organizations in the airline industry? In what ways
does the
corporate-level strategy
of joining an alli-
ance affect an airline’s
organizational functions
?
2.
In what ways might the
divisional (M-form)
designs
of most airlines lend themselves to the
requirements of alliance membership? In what
ways might they be compatible with the organiza-
tional needs of the alliances themselves?
3.
According to one industry analyst, “in a scale busi-
ness … size does matter.” What does he mean by
“a scale business”? Why is the airline industry “a
scale business”? Once you’ve thought about these
188
Part 3:
Organizing
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two questions, how would you describe the “spe-
cific opportunity” which, as
virtual organizations
,
airline alliances are designed to exploit?
4.
Have you ever been on a flight that involved a
codesharing
arrangement? Did you notice then—
or do you realize now—that there were advantages
to the practice of codesharing? Based on what you
know about airline travel, list a few of the possible
advantages of codesharing for passengers.
Case References
“Orbitz: Flightstit,” Orbitz.com, May 3, 2010, www.orbitz.
com, accessed on November 13, 2013; David Grossman,
“The Anomalies of Code Share,”
USA Today
, June 23,
2006, www.usatoday.com, accessed on November 13,
2013; Star Alliance, “Star Alliance Statistics,” July 2013,
www.staralliance.com, accessed on November 13, 2013;
Andrew Clark, “United and Continental Merge to Create
World’s Biggest Airline,”
The Guardian
, September 17,
2010, www.guardian.co.uk, accessed on November 13,
2013; Susanna Ray, “AMR May Seek Alliances as Mer-
gers Erase Lead in Size,”
Bloomberg Businessweek
, May
3, 2010, www.businessweek.com, accessed on Novem-
ber 13, 2013; and “The Winners and Losers of the US
Airways, American Merger,” forbes.com, accessed on
November 13, 2013.