Boeing and Entrepreneurship
Report by Barrington Black – s9303206
Introduction
William Boeing was an engineering student whose love of aviation led him to form what is now the largest airplane manufacturer in the world. After making his fortune in real estate he decided that he wanted to design and build better aircraft having not been impressed by the then current models of airplane. The Boeing Airplane Company was established in 1917.
Whilst industry consensus had far from confident views of aircraft and it’s place in society, Boeing used his own money to guarantee the wages of his 28 staff and by the end of 1917, with world war materializing, Boeing made his first order of 50 planes to the US Navy. A year later Boeing had 337 employees. By the 1950’s, and after two world wars, Boeing had been present through the most rapidly changing era of all time and armed with scientists, engineers and state of the art facilities, was poised to look into the future and well beyond common ideas.
To fully understand the entrepreneurial culture present in the Boeing company today it is important to know that the founder himself was well and truly an entrepreneur. William Boeing and the Boeing Company journey is one of self belief, team building and risk – Classic entrepreneurial venture traits.
Boeings portfolio of technology, design, research, communication and management systems is of the most advanced in the world and continues to be at the forefront of industry standards. To not only maintain this standard but improve on the company’s position, special programs have been introduced to train and retrain employees on how to think and work in an entrepreneurial manner. This manner of thinking ensures that the employees not only work in a particular way but also work in an entrepreneurial environment - growing ideas, working together and producing the best results. It’s these results which have fueled the success of Boeing’s overall strategy, growth.
Environment
The diagram above illustrates not only the state of mind Boeing employees are in but also show where the company’s strengths are as an organization. To keep this situation and transfer it’s attributes into a workin...
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...inancial support and
• mentors
This infrastructure incubates ventures that take the employees from idea development all the way through to working on the actual project once it has been approved.
The Higher Learning program at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, is at the cornerstone of strategic business development for Boeing and is replicated by other programs in universities globally that harness the thinking and ideas present in these environments.
Conclusion
Boeings attention to the development of entrepreneurial programs has not only increased the levels of satisfaction its employees have in their careers at Boeing but also increased the companies over all capacity to grow profitably. With new venture programs, an aggressive idea incubation strategy and global resource alliances, Boeing has projected a $5.5 Billion dollar profit coming into the next financial year.
These characteristics will ensure that Boeing will continue to grow and build a propensity to stay ahead of the market as well as create new ones – not such a far cry from the hopes and dreams of that industrious engineer - Mr William Boeing.
Resources www.boeing.com
This paper analyzes the goals and actions of Boeing by analyzing its critical success factors as well as its strategic roadmap.
“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” William Pollard’s, a 20th century physicist, words show us the power of being proactive, and igniting change to strengthen a company’s productive climate (Sellers, Boone, Harper, 2011). Acme Airlines flight attendants lacked incentive to improve the quality of their work, as a result of distrustful management and overall frustration within the company. Acme took successful steps to rebuild their FA program into a more relationship oriented work environment. Through an understanding of effective leadership, we will use the
Since the time of the World Wars and the Wright brothers, aviation has become a huge part of global society. The Orville and Wilbur Wright’s names will forever be remembered into United States history as the first men who were the first to fully realized human flight. Their successful invention of a working, powered airplane brought about whole new ways of wars, including new strategies for both offense and defense. Many technological advances might not have occurred without the need for new weapons and systems for airplanes. Travel and commerce would be much slower without the usage of airplanes. Orville and Wilbur have made a lasting impact on the world with their invention of a working, human-controlled, powered airplane; who knows what the world would be without it.
United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the United States and worldwide. Also, it is ranked as the oldest commercial airline that was founded by Walter Varney. United Airlines started as an Air Mail Service and then extended its services to be an Air Carrier. In 1927, William Boeing started his own airline, Boeing Air Transport, and started buying any other air mail companies, which included the Varney’s Air Mail Company. After a while, Boeing started manufacturing aircraft and parts, which allowed him to extend his company to a bigger organization. Also, within Boeing’s company, he bought several airports to expand his organization. In 1929, Boeing’s company has changed its name to be United Aircraft and Transport Corp. (UATC).
Innovation is an essential ingredient in today’s competitive landscape (Denning, 2011). Unless innovation moves beyond initiative and becomes part of an organization’s DNA, innovation is doomed to fail. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has embrace innovation as an essential part of its culture. The innovation and importance of the Southwest culture is demonstrated throughout customer service, business strategy and green initiatives.
To achieve the above goals and fulfil Boeing’s mission, the following objectives will guide company:
Victor Frankenstein serves as an instrument of suffering of others and contributes to the tragic vision as a whole in this novel. He hurts those surrounding him by his selfish character and his own creation plots against his master due to the lack of happiness and love. The audience should learn from Frankenstein’s tragic life and character to always remain humble. We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.
Boeing has looked at everything from the design of the anti-collision lights, to the reduction of small gaps in the airfoil. This has created an aircraft that is extremely aerodynamic and efficient at any task it performs. The 737 was originally created on May 11, 1964, however it wasn’t until November 9, 1964 that production was officially approved. On February 19th 1965 Lufthansa placed its first order for the 737-100, and on the 9th of April 1967 the 737 flew for the first time. In 1970, Boeing had less than 35 orders for the 737 and considered canceling the program.
Technology Innovation: - Boeing should carefully analyze the market to evaluate the trends in the airline industry and aggressively invest in a new product line (top dog strategy) that could counter Airbus’s A380.
Southwest Airlines is one of the most successful airlines in the United States. There has never been layoffs or strikes in the history of the company, although there were several times when layoffs could have been justified, including the months following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. However, Southwest's Mission statement says “Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.” (Southwest, 1988). The Airline has always believed that their corporate culture is one of the keys to their success. The culture recognizes that employees have emotional intelligence and that their attitudes and morale are key to the teamwork and creative environment.
...ember 25). Boeing hails ME investments. Times of Oman [Muscat], p. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1073420766?accountid=27203
Burns, Alisa. “Frankenstein of the Future.” Frankenstein Commentary. N.p., Sept. 2002. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
I. Introduction Southwest Airlines has come from an underdog to being one of the best airlines in the industry. This reputation translates from its strategic management of resources. The Co-founder and former CEO, Herb Kelleher, established a unique corporate culture that leads to high customer satisfaction, employees’ morale, and is one of the most profitable airlines in the industry (Jackson et al., 2012). Corporate culture concentrates on empowering the workforce. It shows through Southwest Airlines core values that “happy employees lead to happy customers, which create happy shareholders” (Jackson et al., 2012).
The folio entitled “Codex on the Fight of Birds” acknowledged his attempts to design and create a man-powered aircraft/gliding device. Leonardo’s efforts however did not succeed (LEONARDO, MARINONI, p2-3). Despite this research and study it was not until the 19th century when Sir George Cayley proposed the blue prints for the modern aeroplane. Cayley’s proposition was a machine that that had separate systems for lift, control and propulsion. In 1853 he built his first glider with passengers (Britannica 2013). Between 1850 and 1900 dozens of inventors and innovators had worked on the concept of flight taking on from one another. This lead to the greater understanding of aviation. It was not until 1903 until we saw the famous Wright brothers develop the first sustained heaver than air flight recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) (FAI 2007). From here the development of aeronautics was accelerated. In 1905 the Wright Flyer III was developed and could be fully controlled by the user. Shortly after in 1906 Alberto Santos Dumont developed the first known flight without the use of a catapult, certified by the FAI. By 1908 the Bleriot VII was innovated the first aircraft to have a joystick and rudder. This was the replaced but he Bleroit XI in 1909 (Crouch 1982, p21-22). Ten of these aircraft were produced and sold to Romanian Air Force (one of the very first
As Boeing’s CEO, Frank Shrontz promised to increase earnings and return on equity. Boeing had a history of making money when its competitors did not, but Mr. Shrontz wanted higher returns. The airline industry was characterized by large cash outflows for R&D and manufacturing and long payback periods over long life cycles for each new airframe design. Companies had to have deep pockets to keep the operation going while waiting for a return on their investments. If Mr. Shrontz could increase the return on equity for Boeing, it would increase the likelihood of Boeing’s continued success well into the future.