...Organizational Ethics ETH/316 May 4, 2015 Organizational Ethics My intent in writing this paper is to describe how ethical principles can address organizational issues. The organization that I have chosen to explore is the Boeing Company specifically and the aerospace manufacturing industry as a whole, more generally. I will cover the role that external social pressures play in influencing the industry in both their compliance with government and professional ethics. I will also endeavor to highlight how the pressures brought to bear on the industry by the public and the government is relevant to their decisions both corporately and individually by their employees. Finally, I will share my thoughts on the relationship between legal and ethical issues with regard to the industry. To begin then, let’s explore what role external social pressures have in influencing the Boeing Company and by extension, the aerospace industry’s organizational ethics. The level of trust that must be present by the public in the company that builds the airplane they fly in is best described in the words of the Boeing employee code of conduct “…must not engage in conduct or activity that may raise questions as to the company's honesty, impartiality, or reputation or otherwise cause embarrassment to the company.” (Boeing, 2014) Boeing and the entire aerospace industry are hyper aware of their image and the...
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...Code of Ethics In March of 2005, Boeing’s Board, “asked for and received” CEO Harry Stonecipher’s resignation, this action was taken following an investigation into a personal relationship between Stonecipher and a female executive of the company (MSN Money, 2005, p.1). Stonecipher was brought in to put a series of scandals behind the company and had been credited with a more aggressive marketing approach. As a result of this ethics scandal, responsibility for reinventing the “Ethics and Business Conduct Program” fell to the Ethics and Business Conduct Committee within Boeing. An intricate part of the Revised Ethics and Business Conduct Program is the corporate purpose and commitment: “Purpose / Summary- This procedure provides an overview of the Boeing Ethics and Business Conduct program and employees’ responsibilities. It establishes the company’s ethics and business conduct education requirements and gives information on how employees can resolve business ethics concerns. This procedure applies to all employees of The Boeing Company, including subsidiaries, contingent labor, consultants and others acting for the company unless otherwise approved by the vice president of Ethics and Business Conduct” (Boeing, 2007, p. 1). “Company Commitment-The company is committed to fostering an environment where integrity is valued and is the foundation for all decisions. The company will maintain a culture that encourages open and honest communication...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and Moral Issues in Business At first thought ethics and morals are the same meaning. However, they are completely different and have different meanings to different people. This paper will look at the differences between ethical issues and moral issues, the differences between personal and ethics and business ethics and provide examples of everyday ethical problems in the business world today. Ethical Issues and Moral Issues To understand the differences in ethical issues and moral issues, you must know the definition. Ethics is “ethics is a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and social moral experience, in such a way as to determine the rules that ought to govern human conduct, the values worth pursuing, and the character traits deserving development in life.” (De George, 2010 p, 13). Moral “is approved by this society” according to De George, (2010) in Business Ethics. I work at the Boeing Company, our ethics policy does not allow for accepting business courtesies. This can create the perception of favorability, especially when concerning vendors and suppliers. However, there are cases when the employee can accept the gift and that is if it would only promote a successful working relationship and goodwill of Boeing interests. If not accepting a gift would harm the business relationship and create a cultural rift, then the employee is expected to accept the gift and to report and turn it in to...
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...Question 1: Identify why Boeing experienced this and possibly other unethical behaviours. Are these explanations reasonably accurate in your opinion? Are there any other causes that come to mind? The first major core problem with the company is people are not willing to speak up when they know something is wrong. They are willing to turn a blind eye to the wrong doing due to a few reasons, they feared retaliation, they wanted to win a contract, they just didn’t want to cause trouble or there was no proper system in place in order to bring these issues to light. By people not voicing the wrong doing by one of these reasons it ultimately caused others in the company to continue or to begin unethical behaviour. Another problem with the company is that executives had allowed bureaucracy to consume them and they learned to hide in it. This ultimately created a non flexible and flawed system. One of the results that occurred from this flawed system was when Boeings former chief financial officer was caught holding illegal job negotiations with a senior pentagon official, furthermore a manager was stealing 25000 pages of proprietary documents from his former employer. If that was not bad enough the shocking truth that women were paid less than men also surfaced. (cleaning up Boeing 1) Furthermore many lapses of unethical behaviour were discovered on the structure of Boeings Company. Leaders were too busy on developing a bureaucratic system, while management itself was...
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...Boeing Management Planning Paper Marcia Davis MGT/330 January 12, 2011 Sylvester Taylor Boeing Management Planning Paper Boeing like many successful companies today does not stand still or rest on their laurels of previous accomplishments. If they do they can become vulnerable to competition, technology, changes in customer preferences, and the business environment. Instead, they use their current successes to continue to build a competitive advantage for the future, constantly seeking new ways to remain flexible, innovative, efficient, and responsive to their customers. One of the most important ways of accomplishing this is to make sure that their organization structures and systems remain adaptable. A business must always be prepared to meet the complex and ever-changing challenges that managers and their organizations constantly confront. Boeing like many other companies has to use innovations in design and manufacturing as well as a focus on quality and other vital factors in the development of airplanes. Not long ago Boeing was in turmoil in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorists attacks. (Bateman & Snell 2009) Boeing suffered turnover in their executive ranks that caused uncertainty coupled with their chief rival European-based Airbus surpassing them in annual sales, Boeing decided it was time to make some changes. The Boeing Company business has many members including employees, managers, chief executive officer James McNerney, and the board...
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...Management Planning at Boeing In this paper the planning function of management for the Boeing Company will be evaluated. In addition, this paper will discuss the influence that legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility have had on management planning at Boeing. The few of many factors that influence the company's strategic, tactical, operational and contingency planning are profitability, innovation, and competition. W. James (Jim) McNerney, Jr., is chairperson of the board, president and chief executive officer of The Boeing Company. McNerney oversees the strategic direction of the Chicago-based, $68.3 billion aerospace company. With more than 157,000 employees across the United States and in 70 countries, Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and a top U.S. exporter (Boeing, 2010). The Boeing Company's business is run by its employees, managers and corporate officers led by the chief executive officer, with oversight from the board of directors. The Board of Directors of The Boeing Company (“Boeing” or the “Company”) has adopted the following corporate governance principles to assist the Board in the exercise of its responsibilities and, along with Boeing’s Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws and charters of the committees of the Board, provide an effective framework for Boeing’s governance. The Board believes these Principles should be an evolving set of corporate governance guidelines, subject to review and modification by the...
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...companies need to focus on the need for expertise and experience needed to take on important issues such as legal issues, business ethics, and corporate social responsibility. Management structure helps them accomplish this goal. It is wise to consult professionals experienced in these fields to counsel upper management on these issues. A proper business plan is needed in order for a company or organization to evolve. In this paper I will cover corporate social responsibility on planning, the influences of legal issues, business ethics, the influences of legal issues, the planning function of management, and analyzes at least three factors that influence the company's operational, strategic, tactical, and contingency planning. The Planning Function of Management Boeing is a multinational company that started in 1916 as the Pacific Aero Products Company. The management plan that William Boeing started has continuously evolved with the times as the function of Boeing Company has changed. In the beginning William Boeing had to secure a loan using his personal finances in order to pays his employee’s wages. In their early days the Boeing Company produced furniture, dressers, and counters for other businesses. By flying mail in a Boeing plane from Vancouver to Seattle, they were able to gain enough experience to start a new division in the Boeing Company. The Influence of Legal Issues Legal issues can be among some of the first issues that a new company has to deal with...
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...into consideration for the organization to achieve effective contribution, coordination, and perfect adjustments for organizational success. This paper will evaluate the planning functions of Boeing. Boeing is the largest manufacture of military planes and commercial jetliners and “One of the world’s” leading aerospace companies. Boeing specializes in manufacturing and designing of defense systems, communication systems, launch vehicles, and various other systems. Boeing operates the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA), Boeing functions of management is the important factor to the success of the company. Boeing Management Planning Functions Boeing has many departments therefore lack of planning would place the company in a vulnerable position for failure to motivate employees and meet deadlines. Boeing has developed a very unusual organizational structure, which assumes two business solutions tied together with nine levels that define the corporate functions. Boeing’s planning functions of management consist of engineering, technology, and operations, human resources management, business development, finances, international operations, internal governs, legal department, and public relations/environmental management. Boeing employs effective and simple management actions for planning, acting, analyzing, and...
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...Executive Summary Airbus and Boeing have constituted a duopoly in the large jet airliner market since the 1990s, leading to fierce competition. Boeing is an American company while Airbus began as a consortium of European aviation. The two are presently facing issue that tarnish their political, legal, and ethical reputations. Airbus argues that Boeing has received over $16 billion from the US government in addition to help from countries like Japan. The U.S. fires back arguing that since 1992, Airbus has been receiving EU government loans. Boeing’s scandal with Lockheed and the discovery of wing cracks in the Airbus A380s have damaged both companies’ ethical reputations. The following recommendations will ensure that, while Boeing and Airbus compete in the commercial airline industry, their actions will be ethical and legal, while adapting within the current cultural and political bounds of the global market. Introduction Boeing: the world’s largest aerospace company Since its foundation in 1916 in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, Boeing has become the largest aerospace company and a leading producer of military and commercial aircraft. Boeing’s military aircraft come equipped with satellite, missiles, launch vehicles and advanced information, and communication systems. The number one U.S. exporter have about 160,000 employees across the United States and in 70 countries, making it one of the most diverse and talented companies that thrive through their innovative...
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...is a daily focus at Boeing Corporation. The organization faces daily challenges to produce products to fit the consumer wants for air travel, comfort, and efficiency. While Boeing deals with a constant need for innovative ideas it also deal with the challenges of its main competitor airbus whom has historically been subsidized by many of the European nations to compete with Boeing for a larger share of the market. Boeing management, through excellent planning, an ethics policy that demands large returns for shareholders, and constant work to comply with ever changing legal demands of the industry has led to the constant success of the company. "It was the jet Boeing didn't build that averted what could have become one of the worst crash landings in the company's 91-year history--and cleared Boeing to conquer the skies again."(Masters, 2007). Boeing's Management team's work hard to plan what project's will be best for customers, lead to the largest returns to shareholders, and keep a reputation of being a world leader in the aviation industry. "In October 2002, executives of the aircraft manufacturer met with a group of global airline representatives at a conference center on the Seattle waterfront. The executives were trying desperately to figure out what to build next to hold off a soaring Airbus."(Masters, 2007) Boeing had made plans to build a high speed jetliner prior to this meeting. Through careful planning and expert decision making Boeing officials found that...
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...preference can impact organizational ethics. Ethics are defined as the basic concepts and fundamental principles of right human conduct. It includes the study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land and concern for health and safety. Organizational ethics relates to how an organization responds to internal and external stimuli (Business Dictionary, 2011). Unfortunately, while ethics are made up of ‘basic concepts and fundamental principles’ these concepts and principles are not necessarily absolute, or universal. While the law concerns what we must do, ethics concerns what we should do. Such a broad and non-specific definition of organizational ethics can naturally lead to conflicting views on what constitutes ethical behavior and what does not. One person’s view of what the organization should do in a given situation might differ greatly from someone else viewing the same situation. As such, personal differences and preference can greatly impact organizational ethics. As an example, one area that garners significant ethical debate is that involving workplace relationships between supervisors and subordinates (Siegel, 2005). Utilizing this one area of ethical concern we can observe significant differences in how individuals view the ethical appropriateness of workplace relationships and subsequently how organizations then develop their norms for ethical behavior. One camp can eloquently present...
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...world of aviation, these contracts are even more lucrative. Competition is fierce, and any advantage that can be gained is used. Unfortunately, sometimes these advantages come with unethical consequences. In 2003, an incident took place between two of aviation’s heavyweight contractors, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. At stake was a large contract to build Launch vehicles for the Department of Defense, in this case specifically the United States Air Force. It was alleged that Boeing gained access to company records and information belonging to Lockheed Martin. The records contained cost estimates and other financial and production information pertaining to the project. Boeing purportedly used this information to adjust their own project estimates which in turn made them more competitive in the contract negotiations with the United States Air Force. Boeing was also involved in another incident during 2003 in which Boeing was involved in leasing aircraft to the United States Air Force. Originally the plan was for the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force to purchase the aircraft from Boeing. But the plan was changed because it was determined by Boeing and the Air Force that it would be cheaper to lease the aircraft than to buy them. It was also reported that the United States Air Force did not allow others to submit bids for...
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...Boeing Rocked by Scandal Jerry Gosh PHL/323 April 25, 2010 Chuck Thompson The Boeing Scandal In a New York Times, article my eyes affixed on a topic about The Boeing Company. Since the merger of McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Boeing, Boeings reputation started a downward spiral of ethical misconduct that tarnished the company, causing the companies aircraft market to plummet. The ethical misconducts lead to the resignation of Boeings chief executive, Philip M. Condit, in 2003. The world's largest aerospace company needed to change its reputation fast to stop the onset possibility of a corporation sell out of even worst the end to the Boeing corporation. Boeing called Harry C. Stonecipher out of retirement to be the next chief executive. Mr. Stonecipher was the key person who helped lead the merger of McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Boeing back in 1997. The number 1 priority is to restore Boeings credibility of these two areas, Defense Department, and Boeings civilian customers. The struggles of a company, long admired as one of the greatest American industrial successes, as it tries to expand its military business to compensate for losses to a European rival, Airbus, in commercial aircraft. During investigations, the chief financial officer, Michael Sears, for Boeing was dismissed for connections of ethical misconduct (Bowermaster, 2003). The investigations uncovered business dealings of misappropriation of funds proposed in supplying refueling tanker...
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...determining objectives, deciding in what types of activities the company will engage, choosing corporate and business strategies and determining the resources needed to achieve the organization’s goals (Bateman & Snell, 2008). When it comes to a huge corporation such as Boeing, the planning function becomes even more important because there are so many different divisions within the corporation that must be accounted for. In Boeing’s case, they are a multinational corporation that provides their services all throughout the world so they have to plan on a worldwide scale which is a much more difficult task than planning as a domestic company. Boeing’s planning functions are well thought out and executed to the fullest of their ability as they are very focused on their stakeholders needs, motivating their workforce, enabling teams, requiring alignment of plans, analyzing performance, and endlessly improving their systems and processes (Howe, 2011). By focusing on customer service, Boeing continues to be very successful in business which allows them to continue to plan for the future. By setting goals within its many departments such as the engineering department, mechanical department, and sales department, Boeing continues to remain...
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...Management Planning at Boeing Brian Newton MGT/330 December 1st, 2014 Steven Friloux Management Planning at Boeing To be successful in today’s competitive business world, organization and strong leadership is key. At The Boeing Company, this is no different. As one of the largest corporations in the world, they strive to set goals and plan a future around reaching those goals in a way that they can be the most prosperous. In the complex business economy of today, there are always influences that affect the way leadership paves the way. Issues regarding legality, ethics, and responsibility that follow being a major corporation are just a few. These play a major role in strategic, tactical, operational, as well as contingency planning. The Boeing Company and its leadership continually reach toward improving the organization, and the daily planning is inspired by numerous factors that shape who they are. Planning Functions Having an organized plan can be important to success and growth of a company, and Boeing follows the basic template of the planning process. It begins with the initial goal to be set, followed by an evaluation of the situation to determine what resources will be needed. This analysis is drawn from different areas such as past and current work conditions and how they can improve. A derivative plan is also brought to the table before finalizing the final decision. And lastly is...
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