Wjet Strat Man

External Forces Model Key: Political

Economical

Socio-cultural

Technological

Environmental

Westjet’s Primary Stakeholders are the owners (notably Gregg Saretsky, President & CEO), employees (approximately 8,600 in 2012), customers, suppliers, shareholders, and Board of Directors.

A large part of Westjet’s success comes from their strong corporate culture. The high level of employee job satisfaction is evident, and this creates a positive environment for customers, and in turn, creates revenue for the company. (As opposed to their main Canadian rival, Air Canada, which has a unionized work force, and encounters strike action and disruption of flights on a regular basis).

Westjet’s Secondary Stakeholders are governments, competitors, interest groups, and the general community.

Westjet gives back to the general community by donating to numerous charities, including Ronald McDonald House, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Canada, and Kids Help Phone Canada. In addition to these charitable donations, Westjet has created two of their own social investments, ‘Westjet Cares for Kids’, which works with 10 national charities for children’s health and wellness, and ‘Westjetters Caring for Our Community’, which empowers employees to actively give back to their communities.

Westjet’s major primary activities are engineering/maintenance, operations, marketing and sales, and finally, service. Like any airline, engineering and operations are integral to Westjet’s success – well maintained planes, and well trained pilots enable flights to be consistent and seamless. However, what sets Westjet apart (their core competency) from other airlines is their impeccable customer service. Air travel is stressful enough – but breezing through boarding pass and baggage lines, boarding your on-time flight, all while being greeted by a smiling pilot and flight attendant, make the experience all that much more enjoyable, for a fraction of the...