The Boeing Blues
* The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing, is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. It is also a member of the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC).
What is the MIC?
* World War II highlighted the need for optimum coordination between military and industrial operations, initiating the evolution of the Military-Industrial Complex (the United States military establishment and those industries producing military material, viewed as together exerting a powerful influence on foreign and economic policy). Working under a cloak of secrecy, the MIC forms alliances with select members of Congress and select special-interest groups to create and maintain a state of perpetual military preparedness for war and the development of war technologies. Most of their projects are top secret in order to protect national security. There is very little transparency regarding the nature and financing of projects. These alliances make the MIC the most secretive and powerful organization in the United States and globally.
* Boeing is split into multiple divisions including defense, Commercial, and Global Services (a division offering aircraft maintenance, modification and repair, among other services). Boeing has historically relied on Defense to paper over the gaps when Boeing Commercial stumbles; a benefit of being a member of the MIC.
* There have been years of safety issues. A United Airlines 737 Max reported that the flight controls jammed as the plane landed in Newark. The FAA flagged issues with de-icing equipment on 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner planes, prompting concerns that the engines could lose thrust. A Latam 787 Dreamliner flight from Australia to New Zealand plunged mid-flight, injuring 50 people, some of whom were thrown out of their seats into the ceiling of the plane. The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the company, and the FAA expressed extreme frustration with Boeing’s responses to its queries as it investigates the loss of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight. The latest generation of Boeing’s 737 first came under scrutiny when two Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. Rather than further design changes, that would have risked the 737’s original type-certification, Boeing opted for a major software change that was not disclosed to the FAA or described in its pilots manual. I wonder if a non-member of the MIC could get away with that?
* Boeing’s problem is that the engineers have essentially been squeezed out of its culture and approach. Its historic commitment to engineering excellence has been abandoned and replaced by an obsession with Return on Net Assets.
NO COMMON SENSE
ANALYZE THE EXAMPLE
* What supports and barriers were in play?
* What were the dynamics?
* Who, or What, won the Tug-of-War?
* Discuss the outcome with your friends and family.
* Use Post #4 as a reference for the relationships and dynamics between supports and barriers.
