Boeing is one of the lading aerospace companies in the world. It is the largest player in manufacture of jetliners and military planes in the world. The company also specializes in designing and manufacturing of defense systems, launch vehicles, communication systems, and many others (Lind 2006, p. 169). Boeing also operates space shuttle and the International Space Station in conjunction with NASA. Boeing has a number of military and commercial airplanes with customers in about 90 countries in the world. With more than 158,000 employees in more than 70 countries, good management has been an important factor in success of the company (Boeing Corporation, 2007). This paper will look at the management function in Boeing and different factors that impact on management planning.
Management planning is central to success of the company. Careful management and planning has enabled the company to produce popular 7-series commercial airlines and conquer the space (Boeing Corporation, 2007). The company has many departments and therefore lack of planning would confine the company in a vulnerable position of failure in meeting deadlines and having unmotivated workers. In planning, the corporation has developed an unusual organization structure assuming two business solutions that are further tied to nine levels defining corporate functions. The two business solutions under which planning revolve include commercial airlines and the integrated defense systems. The planning function of management include business development, engineering, operations and technology, finances, human resources management, international operations, legal department, Internal governance, and public relations/environmental management. Coordinating functions of all these departments is a real daunting task but the company employs simple and effective management actions for planning, acting, analyzing and emphasizing on methods that have positive results. Management planning in Boeing follows five close steps (Spindler 2008, p. 11). The first step is defining objectives which lead to production of high innovative products. The second step is initiative toolkit which balances and aligns customer satisfaction and growth. This includes customer satisfaction, productive growth through adoption of advanced technology, and others. The third factor is improvement in financial performance where there is evaluation of how profits are affected by steps taken to foster customer satisfaction and productivity growth (Spindler 2008, p. 10). The fourth factor is delivered results which are evaluated on stock prices and benchmarking performance to the laid down plan. The last step is the way in which the plan is executed and how this affects all stakeholders including customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities. However, there are different factors that impact on management planning in the company including legal issues, ethics, corporate social responsibility, and others.