BOEING Strategic Business Plan

Strategic Plan for Boeing
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Executive Summary
Many people aspire to travel by air at least once in their lifetime. One of the companies that make this a possibility is the Boeing flight company. Boeing produces the highest number of civilian aircrafts in the world that are used in the transportation of both people and goods. The company also manufactures military hardware such as fighter jets and refueling tankers. This equipment is used in the protection of the borders of many nations as well as during war with enemies such as terrorists who have become a menace in the current world. In addition, Boeing has involved itself in the manufacture of military and commercial satellites. The military satellites are used for surveillance to ensure that the respective countries are safe from enemies or other intruders of the peace stability of respective nations. The company has had a unique way of carrying its operation over the years. The company believes in the creation of quality equipment to bring the people together.
Strategic Plan for Boeing
Company Overview (NYSE: BA)
Boeing is the largest company that deals with aerospace products in the whole world. The company has been essential to the American industrial productivity since its inception. The company deals with a large variety of products. The company employs thousands of employees in its manufacturing plants in the US. In addition, the company has given opportunities to many more people in its research and development incubators all over the world.

The company produces the largest number of commercial airplanes compared to other competitors. The company is public because its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s shares are traded as NYSE: BA. The company has offices in different countries on all continents.
Company History
Boeing was started in 1916. The founder of the company was William Boeing after he bought a shipyard in Seattle along the Duwamish River. William used the shipyard as his first factory where he started building airplanes (Lombardi, 2016). However, the company was only incorporated in 1916. The company benefited immensely from the United States of America joining the First World War. Boeing was contracted to produce military aircrafts for the US military. After the war, the firm started producing other products due to the high number of military planes in the market. In the 1930s, the organization started assembling commercial airliners such as the Boeing 247. Investment in research and development made the company improve its products greatly thereby increasing production and producing sophisticated products such as satellites. This has made Boeing maintain the position of the largest aerospace company for many years. The company has been ranked among the Fortune Global 500 companies severally.
Products and Services
Boeing is a large multinational that deals with several products to satisfy the local and foreign market. The company deals with several types of products such as commercial airplanes. Boeing produced the largest number of commercial airplanes followed by Airbus. The company has customers from all corners of the world due to the high quality of the airplanes produced. Commercial airplanes, in this case, refer to both passenger and cargo transport planes. Examples of these aircrafts include Boeing 737, 747, 767,777 and the 787 Dreamliner’s. Boeing also produces military equipment such as the F-15E Strike Eagle jets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft as well as the Boeing KC-767 fuel tankers. In addition, the company produces several types of satellites for both civilian and military purposes (Tadghighi, 2014). Boeing also deals with the provision of services in and outside America. Under the division identified as Boeing Capital, the organization deals with lending of asset-based services as well as leasing equipment to potential customers. In addition, the company also deals with providing spare parts for its customers as well as the servicing of equipment produced by the firm.
Vision and Mission
All companies are required to have a vision and mission statement in order to enable third parties understands what the aspirations of the company are. The mission statement of Boeing is incorporated into the company’s vision. The purpose and mission statement states that “Connect Protect, Explore and Inspire the world through Aerospace innovation (“Boeing: Vision”, 2018).” This statement is candid on what the aspiration of the company is in relation to the aerospace industry. The company seeks to run healthy business and introduce quality products and services in the market in a bid to open new markets.
Corporate Culture and Values
Successful organizations usually have a corporate culture embedded in how the company operates. The culture is used as a cornerstone to guide all the company employees in a bid to bring unity and achieve the objectives of the company. New employs require to be inducted into the company culture after before embarking on the real employment. Boeing has created a corporate culture that has helped the company achieve tremendous growth over the years. Without this culture, it would have been difficult for the company to achieve its status. First, the company requires that all employees remain committed to working towards the company’s mission and vision. This form of commitment is crucial to the success of the company. A committed employee always works for the best interests of the employer.
The company also requires all the employees to maintain integrity in their course of business. Integrity enables a company to avoid issues such as corruption and negative energy in the workplace. Integrity is a key element in the business culture of American companies. Whenever a company is found of breach of integrity in its operations, huge penalties are given to such firms. All employees are supposed to subscribe to a code of conduct created by the company. The code of conduct is composed of the company policies, regulations and all applicable laws that employees are expected to follow. In order to evaluate whether the corporate culture is observed by the employs, Boeing integrates various functions such as corporate audit, corporate, administration services, and compliance risk management (“Boeing: Ethics & Compliance”, 2018). The managers in different departments are required to ensure that all employees comply with the code of conduct and corporate culture. Finally, Boeing encourages its employees to maintain openness in order to boost transparency. Openness means that the employees should report any matter that they view as contrary to the aspirations of the company. This form of communication provides the opportunity for the company to provide customers with the best service possible.
SWOT Analysis
It is important for a SWOT analysis to be conducted in order to find the status of a company. The analysis provides planners with an idea of the areas that require attention in order to create an elaborate plan that encompasses all the needs of the organization.
Boeing has several strengths that have enabled the company to maintain steady growth for many years. The company has the advantage of high-quality products. Many customers have credited Boeing for the production of high-quality products that are engineered to meet the expectations of the customers. Many people have accepted these products since the inception of the company. The company also has the strength of a high-developed research and development facility as well as employees. The aerospace industry requires companies to embark on serious research to improve the current products and introduce new ones. Boeing has put in place these centers as well as employing highly qualified people.
Boeing has been affected by several weaknesses in its quest to expand even further. Some of the weaknesses include expensive products. Boeing is often accused by several quarters of overpricing their products in order to earn more profits at the expense of customers. This has led to the company losing in some markets. The customers prefer to purchase the goods from other producers who are less expensive. The company has the weakness of maintaining a large workforce due to the large operations. Many employees are hard to supervise leading to delivery of poor services.
Boeing has several opportunities available to enable the company to improve its standings in the aerospace industry. When these opportunities are exploited, the company benefits immensely. One of the opportunities available for Boeing is a large market in the developing world. A large market translates to more revenues for a company due to increased demand for goods. The developing countries have opened their markets to international companies to provide transport and technological equipment. Markets such as China, India, and Africa have been identified as some of the best areas a company needs to focus on to increase sales. Secondly, the company has the opportunity of filling the gap the left by other aerospace companies that are closing shop. The aerospace industry is capital intensive, and companies have to rely on government support to flourish. Boeing already has government support as well as enough capital to carry out its operations. Therefore, the company should embrace these opportunity to improve its standing.
Boeing is also exposed to various threats in its course of business. These threats hamper how the company runs its operations. Identifying these threats assists a company plan on how to avoid suffering in the future as a result of the threats. The biggest threat that the organization faces is competition. Competition is a common threat to all business. Competition leads to a company losing some share of the market segment if proper policies are not put in place. In this case, Boeing has to restructure its operations in order to avoid falling victim of competition. Secondly, the threat of emerging trends may affect the operations of the company. Emerging trends are the new ways that people are adopting in their lives. Emerging trends lead to a change in the types of equipment needed in the market. In order to remain competitive in the market, a company must align its operations to take into considerations emerging trends.
Competition
Boeing faces competition from various companies that deal with aerospace equipment. Though the industry has few companies, the market for the products is not as large as other consumer goods. Many developing countries are forced to buy from other producers of aerospace equipment due to several reasons such as expensive equipment. Other producers provide the similar products but at low prices. Additionally, the influence of the American government on the sale of some products and related technologies has made Boeing face numerous challenges from its competitors. The company faces competition from domestic rivals such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics in the provision of military-related technologies. These two competitors have made Boeing lose some lucrative government tenders in the recent past. For instance, Lockheed Martin won the tender for the design and manufacture of the fifth generation jet fighters for the United States Air force. Additionally, Boeing has faced competition from foreign military plane design bureaus such as the Russian Sukhoi and Mikoyan Gingrich design bureaus. These two Russians companies have won tenders worth billions of dollars to manufacture military planes for other countries at the expense of Boeing due to low prices. It is reported that some of the products from these companies are more technologically advanced and cheaper.
In the civilian sector, Boeing faces competition from the equally large and technologically advanced Airbus Group from Europe. Airbus provides civilian aircraft for many European countries as well as other countries (Al-Najjar 2017). The challenge raised by Airbus comes about in technology. Since Airbus was formed after the merger of several European aerospace companies, the company rivals and in some cases exceed Boeing in technology. Moreover, competition from Brazilian aerospace company Embraer and Canadian Bombardier Aerospace in the provision of smaller planes has dealt Boeing a huge blow in the market. Finally, Chinese, Japanese and Russian companies have started the manufacture of civilian aircrafts for their home markets and exports thereby affecting the sales of Boeing.
Management Team
Boeing has a competent management team that has managed to enable the company to achieve the set targets each year. The management team is responsible for charting the way forward for the company. The company holds several boards meetings occasionally in order to steer the company ahead. Among the top leadership in the company includes Dennis Muilenburg. Dennis is the Chief Executive Officer of the company (“Boeing: Executive Biographies”, 2018). He is accountable for the day-to-day running of the company. He possesses a university degree in Aerospace Engineering as well as a master’s degree in the same field. Dennis has been one of the longest-serving employees of the company having been employed in 1985. He brings a lot of wealth to the board due to his vast experience in the company affairs.
Another senior employee in the management board is Raymond Conner. Conner serves as the chair of the company. Previously, he worked as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer until Dennis Muilenburg replaced him. Mr. Conner is a business executive having earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He also brings about vast experience in the management of the company because of his tenure as the group CEO. Other members of management include Timothy Myers who acts as the President of Boeing Capital Corporation. Kelvin McAllister is the Executive Vice President of Boeing in charge of Commercial Airplanes. Leanne Caret serves as an Executive Vice President and head of Space, defense, and Security department. Finally, Stan Deal serves as the head of Boeing Global Services and Group Executive Vice President.
Financial Outlook
The financial outlook of Boeing as a world leader in the aerospace industry will likely remain the same over a long period. The company has continued to search for new markets for its products by participating in airshows as well as innovating new technologies. As of the end of 2016, the company recorded revenues amounting to around 94 billion dollars. The company delivered about 926 aircrafts to its customers. The company had a backlog of 5700 airplanes on order. The company had cash and marketed securities that amounted to about 10 billion dollars. In 2017, the operating cash increased to about 10.75 billion dollars (“Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results and Provides 2017 Guidance”, 2018). The enterprise had a market capitalization of around 188 billion dollars as at the end of 2017. These figures provide a bright financial future for the company.
Strategies
Over a long period, Boeing has managed to construct and implement various strategies that have assisted in the company’s growth. The company has focused on research and production of quality equipment to attract customers. In addition, vigorous marketing and expansion in new markets have assisted the company a lot. In a bid to continue growing the company’s portfolio, it has to continue with the strategies that it has implemented to attract more customers. The company must also build relationships with competitors in and out of the United States to exchange new technologies for the good of the company. Finally, Boeing should try to reduce the cost of its products to be in line with its competitors. This can be achieved by other strategies such as outsourcing production to other areas with low production costs.
Conclusion
Boeing is a very important company in the aerospace industry. The company has contributed immensely to the development of technologies in the transport and military fields. Though the firm has maintained its position in the industry, a lot more is required due to the competition that has developed lately. Many countries have identified how lucrative this industry is thereby supporting homegrown companies. Therefore, Boeing should continue with its development strategy to woo new markets by adopting new strategies.
References
Al-Najjar, N., Al-Najjar, N., Aoyagi, I., Aoyagi, I., Goldstein, G., Goldstein, G., … & Singh, S. (2017). Boeing and Airbus: Competitive Strategy in the Very-Large-Aircraft Market.Kellogg School of Management Cases, 1-16.
Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results and Provides 2017 Guidance. (2018). Investors.boeing.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018, from http://investors.boeing.com/investors/investor-news/press-release-details/2017/Boeing-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-Results-and-Provides-2017-Guidance/default.aspx
Boeing: Ethics & Compliance. (2018). Boeing.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018, from http://www.boeing.com/principles/ethics-and-compliance.page
Boeing: Executive Biographies. (2018). Boeing.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018, from http://www.boeing.com/company/bios/
Boeing: Vision. (2018). Boeing.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018, from http://www.boeing.com/principles/vision.page
Lombardi, M. J. (2016, May). Making Dreams into Reality: The Epochal Stories That Define the Boeing Company. In 27th Advanced Aerospace Materials and Processes (AeroMat) Conference and Exposition (May 23-26, 2016). Asm.
Tadghighi, H. (2014, January). Helios simulation of rotors in hover: The Boeing company. In Proceedings of the 52nd Aerospace Sciences Meeting (pp. 1-9). Reston, VA: AIAA.