Memorandum
TO:
Dr.Melendez
Department of Management and Organizations
FROM:
Lauren Pederson [LMP]
BNAD 302
RE:
The Boeing Case; Documentary
Downfall: The case against boeing
DATE:
November 9, 2023
(1)What concerns have been raised about the FAAs role in the Boeing Max scandal?
There are certain concerns about the Federal Aviation Administration’s role in the Boeing Max scandal.
For instance, the huge concern that they continued to let this malfunctioned aircraft take off countless
times around the world, completely disregarding the two past crashes. This comes after the deaths of over
300 people and confusion surrounding why those planes went down. The FAA should’ve grounded all of
the aircrafts that were under Boeing's control for safety reasons. However, Boeing didn’t care about
safety and they now wanted money and to do that, they had to keep their planes in the air. In addition, the
FAA knew about the new sensor MCAS and decided to side with Boeings on their rule to not require any
flight simulation. The reason Boeing swept the new MCAS technology to the side was because flight
simulation was required, and it takes time to train pilots. Also, when asked why Boeing didn’t mention
the new MCAS system, their response was, “We didn’t want to overwhelm the pilots with too much
information”. A rival company was already pulling ahead of Boeing, so they decided to ignore the need
for new training and unfortunately, the FAA had their back in the decision.
(2) How did Boeing’s shift in interest towards having a shareholder first mentality affect the company’s
ethical behavior?
Boeing used to be a company that employees loved working at and valued their work. After the merger
with McDonnell Douglas the morale completely shifted. They fired over 12,000 employees, swapped out
all quality equipment and parts for the cheap version, had limited staff on the floor, and even moved the
headquarters to Chicago. These people were so dedicated to Boeing that they were proud to say they
worked there. Then, it all went downhill once McDonnell got involved, because he was money hungry.
Boeing used to be a company where people could speak freely and step in when they think something is
wrong, now they couldn’t dream of doing that without being fired. McDonnell also rushed all of the
important deadlines and decisions, skipping through important details. The work environment went from
a welcoming place that was productive in its work, to a closed minded environment that only cared about
money and meeting deadlines.
