Boeing Planning Function of Management at Boeing

As a provider of military equipment, a developer of defense technologies and an innovator in the field of aeronautics, the Boeing Corporation is a complex global network of divisions, departments and geographic contexts. For a corporation such as Boeing, a leading force in the development and retail of military technology, and lately with a focus on missile guidance systems and other non-commercial endeavors, the era of globalization presents both opportunities and challenges in the areas of planning and management. Changes in the global marketing scheme have created a considerably more open market for the company which, given its recent history of decline and contraction, is in a position of need with regard to enthusiastic buyers and new markets. By contrast, its position of dominance in the American market is likely also to be imperiled by the competitive entrance of foreign firms in the American market. This dynamic provides a context for the present discussion on the various dimensions of the planning function of management at the Boeing Corporation and offers us some understanding for the questionable decisions made by Boeing in recent years.

Legal Issues:

In particular, Boeing has been embroiled in a number of legal scandals which have cast the global firm into internal and organizational chaos. Though today Boeing is still among the largest aircraft and defense contractors in the world, it operates under a heavy set of litigation-based pressures. Each of the cases which has been brought against Boeing in recent years is a clear demonstration of its willingness to risk legal breach in the interests of market dominance and profitability. So is this denoted by a 2010 decision by the World Trade Organization which, according to Boeing's own media center, has charged that Boeing received billions of dollars in illegal subsidies from the U.S. government. Boeing's management would respond to these...

Boeing would go further to attributed its malfeasant behavior to a lack of clarity over laws on the global trade front. Its official statement on the matter would note that "today's ruling underscores our confidence in the WTO processes and dispute-resolution procedures. We applaud the body for its work and continue to look to Airbus/EADS and the EU to recognize that in today's global market, it is essential that everyone play by the rules and abide by the WTO requirements. Playing by the rules, for Airbus/EADS, means withdrawing their still-outstanding A380 prohibited launch aid subsidy and financing the A350 on commercial terms." (Boeing1, p. 1)
Ethics:

The decision cited above would only be one in a recent litany of charges against Boeing, which today carries a wide array of scandals along with its name. Indeed, we find with closer consideration that there are detectable contradictions between Boeing's recent line of charges and its official business ethics policies. To the latter, Boeing's official position states that "Boeing will conduct its business fairly, impartially, in an ethical and proper manner, in accordance with the company's values and Code of Conduct, and in full compliance with all laws and regulations. In the course of conducting company business, integrity must underlie all company relationships, including those with customers, suppliers, and communities and among employees." (Boeing, p. 1)

This position carries many of the traditional ethical expectations of a major corporation operating from the United States and throughout the global community. Its continued importance on the global scale is underscored by such recent contracts as that awarding it the development of two new Chinese airlines. And yet, in addition to such decisions as that rendered by the WTO and described above, Boeing's behaviors on a number…