Case Study: Blanchard And Peale Model

Blanchard and Peale Model

1) Is it Legal?

The actions which led to the initial legal conflict between Boeing and Lockheed was that Mr. Branch had used information obtained from when he previously worked at Lockheed to gain a competitive edge over Lockheed, in an attempt to win the government contract to produce rockets for satellite launches. As if the fact that the documents with the Lockheed logo on them were labeled “proprietary information” was not enough, Lockheed even reminded Branch of their confidentiality agreement. Branch, along with his supervisor Erskine, were obviously aware of their actions, and had various reasons to be believe that they were not acting ethically or legally. As far as the unethical acts performed by former Boeing CEOs Condit and Stonecipher, such as having affairs with employees, using company money for personal use, and misusing company email, they were not necessarily illegal in the eyes of the law however they most certainly did not adhere to company policy.

2) Is it balanced?

The issues presented in the case are not balanced because they are not fair to all parties involved in either the short term or the long term, and they do not promote win-win relationships because Boeing was attempting to illegally use confidential Lockheed information in order to win the competition for the government contract over Lockheed.

3) How does it make me feel?

If Branch, Erskine, Condit, and Stonecipher took the time to evaluate their actions beforehand, they most likely would have realized the consequences of their actions, and would probably not feel too satisfied with their unethical business decisions. They would not wish for their actions to be published on the front page of the local newspaper, or fo...

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... harm”. This can not be said about Branch and Erskine because their intent by using Lockheed’s confidential information was to cheat them out of winning the contract, intentionally causing unfair harm to Lockheed. Condit and Stonecipher also did harm by costing the company money that should have been used for business means, not personal use.

Recommendations to Management

Even though the Federal government did not require Boeing to admit any wrongdoing with the settlement of these issues, major damage had already been done to Boeing’s reputation. To gain back trust, Boeing must be extremely careful with their business decisions moving forward. Boeing must be weary of who they hire to represent their company, and deeply consider the choice to hire employees from competing companies. Boeing should also be careful in how they handle their business in future crises.