Management
Question 1 of Case
The ethical behavior in the organization is a set of the principles that assists support and provide guidance to the organization in its policies, programs and business decisions. However, the ethical values and philosophy prevailing in the organization if not followed properly can affect the productivity, reputation and also affect the stakeholders and also it affects the bottom line badly (Murray). At Boeing, the stakeholders of the organization got affected in 2002. The company has settled the lawsuit of the shareholder for the amount $92 million in the year 2002 and the investors have to bear all the losses resulted from the settlement of the lawsuit. Furthermore, the government contract was also lost, and the company was banned from bidding on the contacts for about 20 months. This has cost the company 1 Billion dollars in the sales and has affected the employees and investors. The employees have, however, become deprived of the job as a consequence of this. Furthermore, the company has frequently changed CEO, which has affected the financial results. This is because the organizations changing their CEOs recurrently suffer from losses because the management of the organization gets affected (Coughlan, and Schmidt). Under a CEO, the organization got vision, and they become motivated for achieving the organization’s goals. Moreover, The CEO is also responsible for paving the way to development and also play an essential role for executing strategic goals of the company that ultimately create the value of stakeholders. In a nut shell, the stakeholders, who are mostly affected by such scandals, were the employees and the shareholders of the company Boeing as they have to face the consequences.Question 2 of Case:
The corporation must be socially responsible if it has to survive for a longer period of the time. A company should establish a policy as well as build a culture that protect the organizations from the ill-performance and wrong doings ( Vandekerckhove). From the case, it is evident that, under the leadership of Condit and Stonecipher, Boeing has used the obstructionist or the defensive stance to the social responsibility. The organizations adopting this stance perform in a neutral way and consider only profit maximization. To earn profits is the most important goal they have than to perform the actions in a socially responsible manner. The organizations however make the point to follow the law so that others are unable to take any legal action against them. According to the defensive approach or stance, the organizations usually avoid or deny the acceptance of their responsibility. Considering the fact mentioned in the case, the lawsuit of the shareholder upon merger or amalgamation with Mcdonell Douglas was resolved without any admittance of the wrong deed or illegal action. In the same way, the incident of Darleen Drutun has also led to the court case. Also, McNerney is outsider to the company i.e., Boeing and does not have any personal belongings that he bring about to the organization. So, he is about to take a proactive stance or a proactive approach to the social responsibility, in which the companies go far away from the compliance side and create a competitive edge by using another strategy such as CSR strategy ( Mullerat).
Question 3 of Case :
The opinions regarding the proposed actions of McNerney in order to improve the ethics at Boeing may vary and differ. It is also possible that MCNerny will become successful in improving the ethics at the company. This is due to the erason that he is not internal to the organization; he is external to the company i.e., an outsider. He may possess the objectivity and the vision that are not present in Stonecipher and Condit. Sometimes the outsiders present better solution to the organizational problems than the insiders. The outsiders are usually vigilant, and they have knowledge and experience as they have visited several organizations and are aware of the tactics and problem solving skills of another organization. Such tools can be applied in the organizations facing problems and the difficulties can be overcome. For example, at Boeing the problem of improving the ethics is prevailing, the outsider may present his suggestion for the solution of the problem. It is possible that his suggestion may prove a blessing for the organization as it may solve the ethical issues and improve the condition of the company. Further, McNery has committed for changing the things at the company. He has focused on the accountability and on the openness by making plans for changing the prevailing practices of compensation in order to ensure the adherence and loyalty towards ethical values and principles. He has focused on the change of the practices in the organization for the successful running of the organization. A company that does not change according to the latest trend remain deprive of the growth and is unable to satisfy the needs and wants of their customers, as well as its employees. The survival of the company depends on the adoption of change (Weick, and Quinn). This, in both words as well as in action McNerney has stressed on the need and requirement for change.
References
Murray, David J. Ethics in Organizations. London: Kogan Page Limited, 1997. Print.
Coughlan, Anne T., and Ronald M Schmidt. "Executive compensation, management turnover, and firm performance : An empirical investigation." Journal of Accounting and Economics. 7.3 (1985): 43-66. Print.
Vandekerckhove, Dr Wim. Whistleblowing and Organizational Social Responsibility: A Global Assessment. Burlington - Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2012. Print.
Mullerat, Ramon. Corporate Social Responsibility: The Corporate Governance of the 21st Century. USA: Kluwer Law International, 2011. Print.
Weick, Karl E., and Robert E. Quinn. "ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT." Annu. Rev. Psychol.. 50.1 (1999): 361-386. Print.
