Boeing in Uncontrolled Descent

For John, BLUF:  A tad sctalogical, but the point is a shift in focus from engineering and flying to management has damaged the performance of Boeing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Boeing is everything wrong with American capitalism

Here is the sub-headline:

Boeing’s descent is a case study in how American capitalism has become so rotten. Robert Reich explains.

From Nation of Change, by Professor Robert Reich, 16 July 2024.

Here is the lede plus six:

Excuse my language, but why is Boeing such a shitty corporation?

Their planes are literally falling apart in the sky.

At least six Boeing planes have had parts fall off this year—including an exit door in mid-flight. A whistle-blower has accused Boeing of a “criminal cover-up” of its safety failures.

But beyond this one company, Boeing’s descent is a case study in how American capitalism has become so rotten. Let me explain.

I’m old enough to remember when people used to say “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.”

But in 1997, everything changed when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas and became the only major maker of commercial aircraft in America. With no domestic rivals, it no longer needed to stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

Executives at Boeing who once specialized in engineering were replaced with Wall Street types who looked down on the engineers. One money-hungry CEO described those who cared too much about the integrity of Boeing’s planes, and not enough about its stock price, as “phenomenally talented assholes.”

It took the Professor a few paragraphs to get to the punchline.  An emphasis on "management' rather than engineering, has caused Boeing to lose its edge as an aircraft producer.  This issue has recently been discussed by Doctor Matthew Stewart, in his book:  The Management Myth:  Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong:  Debunking Modern Business Philosophy.

Here is the link to the Post on Professor Reich's own blog page.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff