"Wait - W H O did you say was in my office? ..." you asked your partner.

"Really and truly - Scott Kirby is in your office. He came in about 10 minutes ago and I really didn't recognize him at first. He said he wanted to talk and really wanted to keep the conversation under the radar ... everyone's radar."

You and your partner exchanged aglance, and then walked into your office - and there he was, the new President of United Airlines actually sitting in your office. Kirby began by explaining that he'd been in town and before heading back to the airport, he's stopped in to see you. The former Chairman at United Airlines, Jerry Greenwald had recommended he stop in since he knew that Kirby was looking for some advice and he knew a professor at Walsh and knew the reputation their consulting business was gaining.

You glanced down again at the articles he'd just handed you ...

• United Airlines' Dash for Cash Comes at a Costhttps://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/01/united-airlines-dash-for-cash-comes-at-a-cost.aspx
• https://www.flightglobal.com/news/airlines/strategy
• United Airlines paints dire coronavirus scenario for 2020https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/united-airlines-paints-dire-coronavirus-scenario-for-2020/137173.article

When he'd arrived, Kirby had explained that he was aware of the issues facing his company with the Pandemic and changes in the industry, and even had some thoughts on what to do to address them, but since the combination of issues facing the company were varied, complex and interconnected he also realized that he needed some additional help ... but specifically some outside perspective.

He'd also brought several other articles. Disheartening headline after disheartening headlineappeared ... and they weren't only from the U.S. press either, United Airlines was making the global news - but not in a good way.

After Failed Bond Issue, United Airlines Will Be Forced To Avail The Full $4.5 Billion CARES Act Loanhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2020/05/21/after-failed-bond-issue-united-airlines-will-be-forced-to-avail-the-full-45-billion-cares-act-loan/#721284b34726

United Airlines Asks All Passengers to Take Health Self-Assessment as Part of Check-In Processhttps://hub.united.com/2020-06-10-united-airlines-asks-all-passengers-to-take-health-self-assessment-as-part-of-check-in-process-2646170996.html

United Airlines' new CEO Kirby takes the reins, aiming to 'get through hell as quickly as possible'https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/19/united-airlines-scott-kirby-vows-to-get-airline-through-coronavirus-crisis.html

United Airlines' US bookings plunge 70% as coronavirus spreadshttps://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/coronavirus-drives-united-airlines-us-bookings-down-70percent.html

You both let Kirby talk for a while, but in the end, he summarized his main concerns:

"Look, I know that we've grown to a tremendous size and we've had tremendous success as well.It hasn't been a perfect ride but we've managed to come out on top after facing hardships before. But now it seems as though we're really being confronted with different issues on so many fronts, I'm not sure what the best approach is ... and what we should do first."

You and yourpartner could not dispute that. If your management studies at Walsh College had taught you anything, it was to be extremely aware of the competitive and environmental factors that could create success... or failure.

You both had kept them in mind when you'd started your own firm. In the beginning, youhad hoped to break even (or at least come close to breaking even) and gain a few good clients. Knowing that many businesses fail in their first year, you had both worked very hard to position your new firm well against the competition - applying everything you had learned in your Walsh College classes. In these first years, you have collectively gained a reputation that has served you well and many local businesses have sought out your services thus far.

You both also knew that while many large consulting companies would love to grab the business - and the headlines - from a name as big as United Airlines,those same companies - no matter how objective they would like to think they are - probably had hidden agendas. The one important thing that Walsh Strategic Consultinghad going for itwas the ability to tell the whole truth - no matter what that truth was - because you had never hesitatedto share the 'bad' news along with the good.

So, as you saw Kirby to the door, and then sat reflecting on all that he had shared with you, you both concluded that it was clear he really did need to rethink who United Airlines was right now ... and where they might want to consider going in the future.

Your training in systems thinking allowed you to not only view United Airlines as an organizational system itself but also to view the larger competitive environment - and see any (and all) of those companies whose products and services really did pose a competitive threat to United Airlines, both in the short-term as well as in the long-term, as part of the system to be considered as well.

As you reflected on your conversation, you organized the topics into major categories to make sure that you not only considered the entire system, but also so that you could propose some recommendations to address the issues. It would be essential not only to achieve someshort-term competitive advantagesto better position the company against its current and bigger competitors, but also to explore the possibility of some Blue Ocean space to provide the long-term, above-average rates of return they had achieved in the past.

Based on the work you have done for clients in the past, you knew that the best approach was to describe a report for Kirby that firstfocused on a solid analysis of United Airlines itself, and what they've worked to accomplish up to now, and then give him somevery specific and pointed advice as to what he should do next.

Your focus therefore was leveraging the historic strengths of the organization and the brand, to determine the best strategy to continue that success.

Part I - United Airlines Analysis

Company Description and Current Business Assessment

• Abrief, high levelidentificationanddiscussionof thekeyhistoricalstrategiceventsthat have shaped the organization into who they are today
• A review and analysis of the current United Airlines mission statement and its effectiveness
• An identification of the main currentUnited Airlinesstakeholders

1. who are these stakeholders?
2. what 'stake' does each hold?
3. has management been able tobalance these competing stakes?

External Environmental Analysis

• Identify and discuss theexternalenvironmental variablesimpactingUnited Airlines's current situation
• What are the most important of thePESTEL/general environmentforces
• Identify who/what these elementsare
• Why each is important
• What is the potential for these elements tochange over time
• What is the projected impactof these elements when/if they do change
• Identify and discuss theIndustry/Porter forcesthat impactUnited Airlines
• Explain clearly the impact of each of the forces

Market / Competitive Landscape Assessment

• Identify and discussUnited Airlines' mostsignificant competitors
• Analyze thecompetitive rivalryof the industry
• What are theconditionsof 'rivalry' at this point?
• What are thedrivers of competition?
• What are thebehaviorstaken by the organizations?
• What are (or are anticipated to be) theoutcomes or resultsof these actions and behaviors?
• Is this afast or slow cycle market?
• Whatkind and level of threat do these competitors posetoUnited Airlines?

Current Business-level Strategy Assessment

Identify and discussUnited Airlines' current business-level or positioning strategy, ensuring coverage of each of the following areas:

• Mainstrategic positioning approach
• Customersand customer relationships
• Value chain activitiesthat support the current strategy
• Resources- tangible and intangible
• Core competenciesofUnited Airlines

SWOT Analysis- inYOUR OWN words/work and using high quality research for support

• Assess the internalstrengths and weaknessesofUnited Airlines- using your own research from high quality business publication sites
• Be sure to properly cite each S/W element
• Speculate on the externalopportunities and threatsfacingUnited Airlines - using your own research
• Be sure to properly cite each O/T element

Company Identity Analysis

• At this point, and based on your analysis of the company thus far, what areYOURanswers to these questions:
• What are the biggest issues/challenges facing the company right now?
• WhoISUnited Airlines now?
• Who are theyNOT?

Part II - Proposed United Airlines Red Ocean Potential Opportunities

Proposed Red Ocean Tactics

• Identify and describe2-3 Red Ocean strategiesthat would allowUnited Airlinestocompete more effectively in their current system/situation
• Based on your answers to the questions above:
• what are themain environmental and competitor considerationsthat make these strategic initiatives the best choice forUnited Airlines?
• Identify and describe2-3 high level strategic activitiesUnited Airlinesshould considerto achieve these initiatives

Possible Blue Ocean Tactics

• Identify and describe anypossible Blue Ocean strategiesthat would allow United Airlines the opportunity to find some competition-free space to describe new and uncontested value proposition
• Describe what that Blue Ocean space might look like

Kirby knew that he really needed to start preparing for the next Board meeting and quarterly earnings report, and as a result have given you one week to describe your report.

Your goal over the week is to research and assimilate information onUnited Airlines, make sense of it from a strategic perspective, and describe a report Kirby could use as he contemplates the next course of action.You know that doing a good job here could almost instantly catapult your new company onto the national stage, so it is important to put your personal and professional best foot forward and leverage all the knowledge you gained studying strategic management in your time at Walsh College!

Knowing too that as a busy executive - busier now that the company is under more scrutiny- your goal is to produce a clear, concise, and comprehensive summary thatanswers the questionshe posed. Theformatof your report therefore - after itspecifically addresses all of these essential questions-is of no real concern(butfor a professional report such as this one you would NOT simply copy the questions in and insert answers).Kirby is most interested in thecontentof youranswers-and thesupportfor those answers- so that he can quickly and easily access the information needed to craft the plan that could really carry United Airlines forward in a very unique manner.

• Conduct additional research to both put the case in its historical context ... and bring it forward to the present day and address the questions
• the linked articles are intended to give you a good start - and are NOT intended to be everything you'll need to prepare an assessment of the company