Planning function of management for Boeing Essay

The purpose of this paper is to explain the planning functions of management for the organization known as Boeing. Boeing is an aerospace company; they build passenger airplanes, military aircraft, satellites, and missiles. Boeing’s planning functions of management is influenced by internal and external factors. These factors such as the economy and competition directly influence the strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning. â€Å"Boeing is the largest manufacturer of satellites, commercial jetliners, and military aircraft in the world. The company is also a global market leader in missile defense, human space flight, and launch services. Chicago-based Boeing has an extensive global reach with customers in 145 countries. Boeing operates under the strictest principles of corporate governance. With 152,091 employees, Boeing posted 2004 revenues of $52.45 Billion.(FCSR, 2008)The state of the economy is a huge external factor of how the Boeing organization operates both, strategically and tactically. In 2001, the economy was hit hard and along with many other company’s Boeing was suffering financially. Boeing was saved when they were offered a contract with U.S. Air force worth $49.2 billion (Advantage Business Media, 2007). Boeing also teamed up with Saudi Arabia Airlines in 1995 (Boeing, 2001). Boeing’s competition is another external factor that influences the organization both tactically and strategically. The company known as Airbus is Boeing’s biggest competition. Airbus is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets (Yahoo, 2008). Recently Boeing has been having internal issues affecting their assembly line and has cause a shortage in production which in turn has been affecting deadlines. With Boeing experiencing problems clients have been turning to Airbus to fulfill their needs. Lockheed Martin is Boeing’s biggest competition in defense systems (Yahoo, 2008).Currently; Boeing and Lockheed Martin are working together on some projects to help meet the high demand. The government is another factor that influences how the organization operates. Regulations affect the amount of output that Boeing can manufacture. When Boeing designs a new plane, before Boeing can test fly them they must first obtain a certificate issued by the U.S. Government; The  U.S. Government has designed this system of requirements to insure that each new plane is safe before the plane is flown. There are many safety requirements that must be met before the plane is approved to be flown; these requirements are enforced by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. These requirements affect the production of Boeing’s airplanes by causing a delay before the aircraft can be cleared for use. The planning function of management is affected by several legal issues. In 2005, a lawsuit was filed against Boeing. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Kansas, alleges that Ducommun’s Gardena plant made more than 1,900 defective parts used on at least 32 of Boeing’s airplanes, including 737s, 747s, 757s and 767s. The planes were delivered to the U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as foreign military forces in Japan and Italy between March 1998 and November 2004. (Pae, 2005)The three employees who filed the lawsuit, were members of a Boeing audit team, contend that the parts did not conform to Federal Aviation Administration requirements. Boeing was aware of the problem but continued to sell the airplanes, falsely claiming that they were FAA approved, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges that Ducommun kept two sets of books for manufacturing parts – â€Å"fake books† for Boeing and the FAA and â€Å"real books† for itself. (Pae, 2005) Boeing is a company that is respected for cooperate social responsibility. Boeing has joined the Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is now entitled to display The Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility’s Gold Seal of Approval as a Socially Responsible Company. (FCSR, 2008) The Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility encourages corporations to be Socially Responsible, and to assist them in achieving commercial success in ways that respect ethical values, people in need, their communities and the environment. (FCSR, 2008)Boeing has a very strict code of ethics policy that is in place to protect both the corporations interest and the interest of it’s’ employees. Boeing employees are required to obey all aspects of the code of ethics set forth by the company. The code of ethics adopted complies with the standards set forth in the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance rules. The Boeing Company will administer ethics and compliance programs to promote its commitment to integrity and values as set forth in the Boeing values and Code of Conduct and to ensure compliance with laws,  rules, and regulations. These programs will inform employees of company policies and procedures regarding ethical business conduct and help them to resolve questions and to report suspected violations. Managers are responsible for supporting implementation of ethics and business conduct programs, and monitoring compliance to the company’s values and ethical business conduct guidelines through such programs. Managers are responsible for creating an open and honest environment in which employees feel comfortable in bringing issues forward. Retaliation against employees who raise genuine concerns will not be tolerated. (Boeing, 2008)All employees must sign and abide by the Boeing Code of Conduct, which requires that they understand the code, and ask questions, seek guidance, report suspected violations, and express concerns regarding compliance with this policy and the related procedures. (Boeing, 2008) To support the requirement for complete and accurate financial records and reporting, all employees of the Finance organization have an additional Code of Conduct for Finance. (Boeing, 2008)In Conclusion, There are several issues that can impact outcomes for management planning for the Boeing Company such as legal issues, ethical issues, and social responsibility, Along with factors can influence the companies planning operations both strategically, and tactically. The examples of these factors given in this paper are the economy, the government, and Boeings competitors such as Airbus. Even though Boeing has had its ups and downs from production problems to several legal issues Boeing has remained a globally known leader in their industry, respected for their cooperate social responsibility and known for their strong code of ethics. References Boeing. (2008). Ethics. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/ethics/Boeing. (2008, February). Retrieved September 14, 2008, from Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility: http://www.fcsr.plPae, p. (May, 2005). Boeing sued by three workers. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/28/business/fi-ducommun28Vandore, E. (2008, January 17). Airbus, Boeing Swamped by Orders. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.comYahoo. (2008, March). The Boeing Company Profile. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from Yahoo: http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/10/10221.html