{"id":374,"date":"2013-02-25T18:04:18","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T18:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sherryumlah.com\/home\/?p=374"},"modified":"2018-12-07T15:12:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T15:12:07","slug":"the-boeing-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sherryumlah.com\/home\/the-boeing-company\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BOEING COMPANY"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Innovative Leader in Aerospace, Defense, and Commercial Airplane Manufacturing
\nBy Cody Baumann, Bart Kaliszczak, and Sherry Umlah
\n02\/25\/2013<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Company Overview<\/h2>\n

Boeing is an international aerospace company that is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.\u00a0 Many people are aware of Boeing\u2019s commercial jetliners, but the company does much more than manufacturing planes.\u00a0 As an aerospace company, they also manufacture military aircraft, missiles, and defense systems and they\u2019re a prime contractor for the International Space Station (\u201cThe Boeing Company\u201d).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Origin
\nBoeing\u2019s origin stemmed from the 20th<\/sup> century collaboration and merge of five companies including:\u00a0 the Boeing Airplane Co., Douglas Aircraft Co., McDonnel Aircraft Corp., North American Aviation and Hughes Aircraft.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Today, over 170,000 people are employed by Boeing across the globe.\u00a0 These people make up the two business units of Boeing, including Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and their three business support units: Boeing Capital Corporation, the Shared Services Group, and Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology (\u201cHistory\u201d).<\/p>\n

<\/a>A Fortune 500 Company
\nIt\u2019s no surprise that Boeing ranked #39 on the Fortune 500 list in 2012, although they did slip a few spots from #36 in 2011 (\u201cFortune 500 2012: Fortune 1000 Companies 1-100\u201d).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Corporate Culture<\/h2>\n

As a company that prides itself on being founded on innovation, aspiration, and imagination, Boeing\u2019s employees strive to commit to a set of core values that include leadership, integrity, quality, customer satisfaction and good corporate citizenship.\u00a0 These values are illustrated by some of their current successes including being named the number one innovator among aerospace and defense companies for the fifth straight year.\u00a0 They engage in the community through volunteerism and an employee-owned and directed community fund giving program (\u201cAbout Us: Culture & Values\u201d).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Corporate Objectives<\/h2>\n

Boeing\u2019s corporate objectives are similar to any business\u2019 goals.\u00a0 They hope to continuously improve upon the quality of their products and streamline their processes.\u00a0 They also intend to retain financial strength of their capital resources by maintaining and retaining current commitments, orders, and customers.\u00a0 They\u2019re dedicated to maintaining commitment to integrity and relationships.<\/p>\n

Technical excellence and a skilled workforce is a high priority for Boeing.\u00a0 They intend to expand their technical capabilities so that they can remain competitive in their markets.\u00a0 They plan to do this through making good hiring decisions, training their workforce, and keeping a capable and focused management to guide the company\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Corporate Structure<\/h2>\n

<\/a>Business Units<\/h3>\n

Boeing is divided into two main business units including Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space and Security.\u00a0 There are three supporting units that include Boeing Capital Corporation, Shared Services Group, and Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology.\u00a0 In addition, Boeing has several subsidiaries that support its customers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Organizational Structure & Leaders<\/h3>\n

The following personnel represent the chief leaders (CEO\/CTO\/CFO\/President and Executive President) of Boeing\u2019s business units:<\/p>\n

(\u201cAbout Us: Executive Biographies\u201d).<\/p>\n

The following personnel represent the Senior Vice Presidents of Boeing\u2019s business units:<\/p>\n

(\u201cAbout Us: Executive Biographies\u201d).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Employees<\/h3>\n

Boeing employs over 170,000 people worldwide.\u00a0 Of these employees, roughly 140,000 of them have completed a college-level program and earned a degree.\u00a0 Their workforce is made up of highly skilled individuals.<\/p>\n

Some of Boeing\u2019s employees are represented by IAM District 751: the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. As a union, they represent roughly 45,000 workers of The Boeing Company located in Puget Sound, California, Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho (\u201cAbout District 751\u201d).<\/p>\n

Employee Training
\nBoeing conducts unpaid, pre-employment training before offering any candidates a position with Boeing.\u00a0 They also facilitate training as part of a joint program with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.<\/p>\n

The On-Hour Training program is also provided to employees to teach them the skills required to perform work assignments, and meet the requirements of the company, customer or government regulations.<\/p>\n

<\/a>SWOT Analysis<\/h2>\n

<\/a>Strengths
\nAs a large international company, Boeing has a lot of strengths. It is the largest aircraft manufacturer and the second largest aerospace and defense contractor. Its size and financial performance can withstand financial problems like the credit crises that happened a few years ago.<\/p>\n

To keep its image of being big and strong, Boeing hires very skilled engineers and contributes a lot in research and development.<\/p>\n

Another strength that can be considered is Boeing\u2019s strong supply chain. . A strong supply chain allows resources and products to be moved from one place to another for further development. This, however, can also be seen as a weakness when a loss of control enters the process as Boeing depends on outsourcing to third-party vendors.<\/p>\n

Another potential strength of Boeing is their willingness to take risk in innovative technologies including the new 787 Dreamliner. The new plane product is made out of a light carbon fiber that makes it lighter and more fuel efficient. In theory, this plane saves their customers fuel costs and makes the product more desirable than their competitors\u2019 products.\u00a0 Their willingness to take risk in the name of innovation can also be viewed as a threat, however.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Weaknesses
\nBoeing also has a few weaknesses that correlate with their strengths. The supply chain is a characteristic of strength for the company when everything goes perfect. However, if something goes wrong then the entire production line is delayed, costing the company money. \u00a0\u00a0The long production time makes it difficult for Boeing to react immediately to market demands and fix procedural issues.\u00a0 Also, because the cost of production is high, errors in production are also costly.<\/p>\n

Boeing is an international company so it outsources a lot to make their product to basically make it cheaper. This caused a large number of problems for the 787 because suppliers were not always able to meet their demands, causing delays, or the parts would not fit correctly (Hiltzik).<\/p>\n

Boeing had a few more problems. A few airplanes had problems with their braking system, a fuel leak and a crack appearing on the cockpit window (Avila, Akiko, and Hosford). Since airplanes are very large and complicated they take a long time to manufacturer. Boeing is unable to react immediately to demands and airplanes are costly to manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Boeing is also regulated by corporate government laws so many of their business decisions must be made with limiting rules and factors that are imposed upon them.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Opportunities
\nBoeing has a lot of resources that help with research and development. Boeing can make new products to expand their market, nationally and internationally. Research in technology helps make aircraft faster and cheaper. There is a growing demand for airplanes because the countries are developing and growing internationally.<\/p>\n

In recent events, Boeing has the opportunity to fix their image and reassure their products are safe and of high quality. The mishaps associated with the 787 Dreamliner have caused a lot of trouble for Boeing in the media and provide an opportunity for Boeing to find safety solutions and restore their reputation.<\/p>\n

In addition, Boeing faces internal employee concerns while trying to maintain their workforce.\u00a0 Many employees are represented by the IAM union, which can lead to strikes and delays in production.\u00a0 Boeing has an opportunity to fix employee relations and listen to their concerns.<\/p>\n

Another opportunity Boeing has for improving business is the potential for streamlining production and addressing issues within their supply chain as it relates to outsourcing.\u00a0 Boeing must ensure its third-party vendors are skilled and able to produce parts in a timely and affordable manner to prevent future delays in production and delivery and malfunctioning of parts.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Threats
\nBoeing has a few threats. The main competitor of Boeing is Airbus in the airplane industry. Boeing also competes with Lockheed Martin Corporation and \u00a0Northrop Grumman Corporation, in the aerospace and defense field. They each compete for market shares.<\/p>\n

Bad global economy can hurt Boeing\u2019s profits. Since countries may try to reduce costs by recycling and refurbishing old aircrafts and this would hurt Boeing\u2019s future orders.<\/p>\n

Boeing is a large manufacturer in aerospace technology and defense, but they are very dependent on government contracts.<\/p>\n

Some of Boeing\u2019s manufacturing plants are unionized and their employees are prone to striking when needs go unmet.\u00a0 This can cause manufacturing and supply issues when employees strike.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s mostly good that Boeing is willing to take risks to advance in innovation, new technologies come with flaws and bugs and require thorough testing.\u00a0 This puts Boeing in the media spotlight and at risk for reputation blemishes as a result of defects being illuminated for the public to scrutinize.\u00a0 Their decision to install lithium ion batteries to power their new 787 Dreamliner was a risky technological decision, albeit innovative and bearing the potential to save customers 21% in fuel savings.\u00a0 While the lightweight battery allows for the benefit of cheaper fuel costs and can hold more charge compared to other battery types, there is a downfall.\u00a0 Lithium ion batteries can easily short circuit, which can generate a lot of heat, cause\u00a0 thermal issues, and risk catching fire.\u00a0 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has specific requirements regarding battery temperature and imposes measures and regulations to prevent safety issues related to batteries.<\/p>\n

The threat of skilled, unionized employees going on strike due to unmet requests is also a reality.\u00a0 Boeing has faced strikes in the past, and the company is currently risking facing another due to issues related to employee pensions.<\/p>\n

Due to recent issues with the company\u2019s 787 Dreamliner malfunctions and being grounded, Boeing\u2019s customers are losing a lot of money.\u00a0 LOT Polish, alone, is losing $50,000 per day since they own two of the grounded 787s.\u00a0 Revenue loss for customers could result in Boeing losing customers.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Competitors<\/h2>\n

The following companies compete with at least one of Boeing\u2019s business units:<\/p>\n