Human Resources Management Boeing Research Paper

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HR Boeing

Human Resources Management at Boeing

Company Overview

Corporate Citizenship

Corporate Governance Strategies at Boeing 5

CSR and Ethical Training

Boeing's CSR Progress

Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and the leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Boeing has built a model that focuses on operating sustainably and being good corporate citizens. However, to effectively integrate an effective CSR model so that the employees use this on a tactile level this will require a significant training effort. This analysis will provide a brief overview of the company, their CSR statements and desired outcomes, as well as provide some analysis on the training that the organization will need to conduct in order to meet its objectives.

Company Overview

Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and the leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined; Boeing also designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems (Boeing, N.d.). The organization also sells its goods and services internationally to over 150 countries which makes it one of the U.S.'s largest exporters. Boeing also is one of the prime contractors for the International Space Station (ISS) and provides services to NASA to further space exploration (Boeing, N.d.).

Boeing's history and its current operations are impressive. To propel its current operations it has over one hundred sixty thousand employees in the United States as well as in more than sixty-five countries. If you count Boeing suppliers then the figures are literally in the hundreds of thousands of employees throughout their international supply chain networks. The company's international headquarters are in Chicago and had total revenues that exceed ninety billion in 2014; seventy percent of its commercial airplane revenues come from outside of the United States (Boeing, 2015).

Corporate Citizenship

Boeing recognizes that in the future it will be necessary to uphold a growth strategy that includes sustainability and the fact that they must be good corporate citizens. The concept of corporate citizenship appeared in the literature in the 1980s and has been continually developed since that time; yet there has not been definition for corporate citizenship that has been agreed upon (Matten & Crane, 2006). There are many parallels in this model to other models such as corporate social responsibility and corporate ethics.

Furthermore, many compare the roles of corporate citizens to private citizens. For example, corporations should have the same responsibilities as private citizens which include an economic component, a legal component, an ethical component as well as a philanthropic component (Carroll, 2003). This seems like a relevant model since it has been argued that corporations have many of the same rights as citizens and thus they should also have similar responsibilities.

Boeing defines there aims at being good corporate citizens by highlighting three essential functions in a corporation: products/services, business practices, and community engagement (Boeing, 2012). By defining the model, the organization can have a better chance of building the principles into the culture. It also allows for a more systematic approach in training programs to ensure the concept of Boeing as a corporate citizen is disseminated throughout the organization and its suppliers throughout the supply chain.

Figure 2 - Boeing's Corporate Citizenship Model (Boeing, 2012)

Corporate Governance Strategies at Boeing

Boeing's organization is structured in a way in which business is conducted by its employees, managers and corporate officers who are ultimately led by the chief executive officer as well as with oversight from the Board of Directors. The Board's Governance, Organization and Nominating Committee are responsible for periodically reviewing and updating Boeing's corporate governance principles and current practices (Boeing, 2012).

The board and the officers of the Boeing Company recognize the importance of being responsive to the concerns of the shareholders; both internal and external. Because of the importance of being a good corporate citizen, Boeing has constructed a Code of Ethical Business Conduct whose purpose is to assess the different areas of ethical risks, provide guidance to help them continue to effectively recognize and deal with ethical issues, and help to continue to foster and sustain a culture of honesty and accountability (Boeing, 2012).

The Governance, Organization and Nominating (GON) Committee reviews annually the skills and characteristics required of directors in light of the Board's composition. This assessment includes consideration of experience in areas that are relevant to Boeing's global activities, such as operations, international business, manufacturing, finance, government, marketing, technology and public policy, as well as other factors such as independence, absence of conflicts of interest, diversity and age. Directors should have a reputation for personal and professional integrity, honesty and adherence to the highest ethical standards, and be committed to acting in the long-term interests of all shareholders.

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Boeing recognizes the value of diversity and the Board seeks diversity of background, experience and skills among its members (Boning, 2011)

CSR and Ethical Training

Even though Boeing has a well-developed platform on corporate citizenship and effective corporate governance structure, this does not necessarily guarantee that these values will permeate throughout the organization. In order to have these values manifest in the organization's operations, the employees must receive effective training to ensure they understand and apply these principles. There are various approaches to training employees in CSR and corporate ethical skill sets

There is a significant amount of pressure on organizations to fulfill their CSR obligations both internally and externally of the organization itself. Companies like Exxon, Nike, and Pfizer have learned the hard way in which a negative CSR image as well as the negative publicity this creates can damage a company's competitiveness. There have also been much new legislation passed that mandate some levels of CSR reporting.

In other cases, some companies such as Ben and Jerry's and The Body Shop have used their dedication to CSR concepts and principles to craft new niches in the market. These companies base their entire business model on CSR practices to gain a competitive advantage (Maon, Swaen, & Lingreen, 2008). Therefore CSR principles can not only be used to prevent damage from unethical actions and negative publicity, but it can also be used as an asset that differentiates it from its competitors. Boeing seems to be leaning towards more of a proactive approach to corporate citizenship that can add value to the brand from the consumers' perspective.

However, the research on ethics and CSR in organizational settings is still developing. These subjects are complex and difficult to simplify into universal principles. Therefore, in most cases the training programs will have to be developed specifically for the organizational culture and the specific outcomes it hopes to achieve. In Boeing's case, stated dedication to being good corporate citizens and integrating into hundreds of thousands of individuals in the organization and its supply chain across the world is a difficult proposition.

However, there have been many attempts to build working sets of best practices that can help Boeing in this goal. Boeing can use these best practices and tailor them to their corporate citizenship goals. Sekerka (2009) identified some of the best practices that were being utilized in CSR and ethical training among the high tech sector in Silicon Valley. These best practices were divided into different categories based on their content and context based upon their design. It was found that many companies take a proactive approach to CSR training and included institutionalized ongoing education to reinforce their effectiveness (Skerka, 2009). Thus Boeing should also integrate an aspect on-going training into their CSR training programs to maintain its salience.

It is also reasonable to suspect that Boeing will have to develop different CSR training approaches for different levels of employees as well as for employees in different countries and different cultures. With a supply chain that is so complex, implementing training will require a great deal of organizational change to integrate CSR practices into different cultures (Buckley & Caple, 2009). Most organizational cultures have some level of natural resistance to change and adopting CSR practices is unlikely to be any different however it is the ability to overcome inhibitions to change that separate various groups (Jones, Hobman, Bordia, Gallois, & Callan, 2008).

CSR training outcomes will also have to be adapted to the various applications in many different industries. For example, in commercial aviation the desired outcome may involve fuel efficiency however that outcome might not be as important in military applications. Developing CSR technics to cover all of these industries and their different applications will have to begin at a strategic and broad level and then be narrowed down into more tactical considerations.

Designing training programs will also have to suit the situations of the employees as well. For example, the Holton's Factors Model (Min, 2010) breaks down the actual training program into three key elements; the individual's motivation to acquire the skills, the climate in which the skills are transferred, as well as the design of the training program. Thus the specific outcomes and the specific factors of the employees and their motivations will all….....

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