Week 6 Paper Topic:  Why Do Some Managers Hate the Performance Evaluation?Some managers would rather get a root canal than go through the performance evaluation process with their direct reports.  W

Edwin Villa Rivera

Prof. Teresa Buehler-Rappold

Management Theory and Principle Milestones

American Military University

3 FEB 2019

Boeing

Introduction

Boeing as a company is regarded as one of the few success stories of the aviation industry. In perspective, the company has been operational for over a century securing its dominance in the aviation sector. Founded in 1916, the aviation inventor William Edward Boeing situated the company in Seattle and was initially called Pacific Aero Products Co (Boeing, 2019). The name was changed after just one year to Boeing in a bid to honor the founder. During this period, the company was able to develop its first aircraft termed Model C two-place. Designed in 1916, it was used in the first world war with the American government purchasing over 50 of these seaplanes (Boeing, 2019).

This marked the first financial achievement of the company. It marked the beginning of the long-standing relationship between the American Military and Boeing. The great depression that rocked the 20th century had undesired effects on the American market including Boeing. The company was banking to use the 1930s as the best time to launch their first commercially successful aircraft. This limitation paved the way for the company’s rival McDonnell Douglas Co. to be the first with its DC-3 to enter the commercial aviation field (Boeing, 2019). It was successful all the way to the Second World War. It was attributed to carrying over 90% of U.S air travelers and mail. However, after the publicized launch of the Boeing 707, the company became a multinational known for its quality, safe and fast planes (Boeing, 2019).

The company’s organizational structure became the driving force of the company as it was able to handle all its assembly, procurement, deliveries, and testing among other functionality through its widely spread organizational structure (Boeing, 2019).

Organizational Structure

Boeing as a company utilizes the matrix structure of management mainly due to its diverse number of activities conducted. A typical hierarchy structure has many limitations to the needs of the company whereas the matrix structure is desired around making communication as efficient as possible. This can be viewed from the various case studies conducted concerning the company’s communication flow. The matrix system allows the employees to specialize in their specific departments. By utilizing the matrix structure, the company increased its accountability for both project teams and leaders. With each department having a primary vice president, the sectors within the organization include; executive board, commercial planes, Production, Accounts, Human Resources, international and legal department, and policies.

Each role is strategically placed in order to adhere to the company’s mission, values, and vision. Boeing as the company I recognized for several facts, the company has been in the front line in developing aircraft that are fuel efficient and produce less of a carbon footprint with its flag bearing plane the Boeing Dreamliner (B787) (“Boeing: Boeing History”, 2017). The company is not only known for its civil aircraft but have also been participants in the space race and the development of military aircraft. The business plan that Boeing has been operating under was the globalization of its products as well as the differentiation of it niche “Boeing: Current Market Outlook”, 2017). This business plan was developed around their twenty-year projection of the needs of the aviation industry as well as the ever-evolving market. Finally, it is important to appreciate the vast number of employees managed and supervised by this structure. The company has well over 140, 000 employees in over various countries globally.

Organizational Function

The Boeings mission statement is based on connecting, protecting, exploring and inspiring the world through its aerospace innovations (Boeing, 2019). This in mind, the company’s departmental heads are selected and tasked to meet the stated company mission. The company though utilizing a matrix organizational structure, it is highly centralized with the top executives making the decisive decisions for the company and passing them down to lower levels for execution. This is regarded as the vertical structure, considering that the organization utilizes a matrix organizational structure, differentiation is applied. Differentiation refers to the composition of varying units that labor on the different tasks applying their numerous skills (Christensen, Lægreid, Roness, & Røvik, 2014).

Moreover, the structure also implements integration whereby the different units identified previously can be placed in a single project in a coordinated manner thereby reducing delivery times. The horizontal perspective of the structure arrives when the structure comes to the subdivision of departments. With each department is ahead who oversees the divisions’ operations and employees. It is these departments that the lower level managers report to the division heads. The division heads then report the outcome of the orders to top manager, lead financial as well as operations manager. When both horizontal and vertical structures are applied, they often work undistinguishably. The vertical structure establishes the communication route from top management to the other levels whereas the horizontal structure dictates the manner by which authority is assigned (Kwasa, Bloebaum, & Mesmer, 2015). The horizontal structure, on the other hand, divides the organization into integral departments tasked with their specific duties.

As identified in previously, the company has several departments all divided to run independently of each other. This departmentalization is strategic to the mission, and values of the organization. In the company’s mission statement, Boeing aspired to connect and protect, this is achieved by the Engineering, operations and Technology department. They are accountable for the advancement, testing, and execution of new technologies that protect the environment and increase passenger safety. Air means of transport was ranked the safest mode of travel by most authorities globally and it is due to such departments in Boeing that have played a crucial role in maintaining it. (“Boeing: Boeing History”, 2017)

Exploring is the next factor in the company’s mission and this is achieved by both the Engineering and Business development and strategy departments. The engineering department maintains the need to explore as it continues to develop planes from composite material other than the widely accepted aluminum alloy. (“Boeing: Boeing History”, 2017) Business development and strategy, on the other hand, explore the needs and requirements of the industry and buyers to innovate their future planes. These actions identify Boeing as being a forward thinking and innovative company that is not limited by the current norms.

By researching on various materials and designs, Boeing has been in the forefront in the aviation industry. This is demonstrated by the Boeing 707, first commercial jet plane, the Boeing 747, the first wide-body long-range aircraft and most recently the Boeing 787, the most efficient plane during its launch. The final portion of Boeing’s Mission statement is inspiring the world, this is demonstrated by the human resources, communication, and internal governance among others. The success of these departments in growing Boeing have become benchmarks for other companies as they strive for success.

Analysis of Boeings Organizational Structure

It has been identified that the manner by which Boeing has been structured is in correlation with the company’s organization’s mission statement as well as core values. Other departments that are not appreciated include the human resources department whose sole duty is to develop and execute plans or objectives that will grow the company. The marketing department, on the other hand, leads the company towards strategic markets, helps the company in generating revenue and finally develops the Boeing brand. The operations department plays the most critical role from a personal perspective. Without this department, the majority of ground or lower operations would halt.

The department is tasked with the duty of purchasing, logistics, quality control and assessment of the final product among many other duties. Many organizations call it the procurements department but it should be appreciated for its dedication to keeping the company flowing. As for the top management, their roles are lengthy but to the company their play a core role in supporting the matrix structure by adding value where needed. Secondly, they remove cropping barriers and offer direction where needed.

An overall analysis of the company shows that each organizational function has a purpose and residence in relation to the management of the company (Kazanjian, 2017). This led to the development of an ever-improving culture that makes departments strive to outperform previous records. Additionally, the company appreciates the notion of employees being the most important stakeholders. This is seen through the communication channels, with continued support on the organizational structure the companies expected to continue supporting their employees.

Conclusion

Boeing as a multinational company has created leaps in the aviation industry and it can all be attributed to the management structure employed. The matrix structure has allowed the following, first, different departments are able to work independently of each other. This promotes diversity in terms of projects. Secondly, the company constantly experiments with new technology that is later applied to some of its products as upgrades. Finally, the utilization of resources is at a record high in terms of efficiency. The majority of the resources within the company are shared therefore each department has identified means of exploiting the least amount for the most results.

References

Boeing. (2019). History. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/history/

Boeing. (2019). Vision. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/principles/vision.page

Christensen, T., Lægreid, P., Roness, P. G., & Røvik, K. A. (2014). Organization theory and the public sector: Instrument, culture and myth. Routledge.

Kazanjian, R. K. (2017). 3. Creativity, complexity, and organizational learning: Implications for leadership and governance. Handbook of Research on Leadership and Creativity, 40. (

Kwasa, B., Bloebaum, C. L., & Mesmer, B. (2015). Value Impact of an Organization Structure in the Context of Value-Driven Design. In 56th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference (p. 1364).