Once a darling of America’s high-tech engineering and manufacturing industry, aircraft manufacturer Boeing has faced a recent string of dangerous and high-profile failures.
From door-plug failures and loose parts to FAA investigations, it’s been a rough 2024 for Boeing. So, what has happened to bring Boeing to such a low state of affairs? Some observers (and employees) are blaming pressure from management and poor culture.
Toxic Culture Leads to Disaster
In a recent congressional hearing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned Congress that fixing Boeing would be a “very long-term project.”
“Ahead of the hearing, Democratic lawmakers released the results of a damaging internal staff survey that Boeing conducted in May, which found more than half of Boeing workers felt that ‘schedule pressures’ had caused their team to lower its standards,” writes Natalie Sherman in an article for BBC. “Less than two-thirds felt they had the training or tools and materials to do their job properly. Boeing said it knew it had work to do.”
While the FAA and Boeing told lawmakers that they have been taking steps to reverse course, lawmakers are skeptical. Senator Richard Blumenthal accused Boeing leadership of “recycling” safety commitments they’d made the previous year. In other words, a lot of talk with little action.
Culture Change Mandate
To the extent Boeing’s woes are driven by a culture of corner cutting and profit-over-safety, the manufacturer certainly has its work cut out for it. It’s notoriously difficult to change corporate culture, especially in the long-term. That’s because institutional habits build up over time and embed themselves in the psyche of people throughout the organization. Even if a significant portion of a company turns over, incoming staff learn bad habits from those who remain.
A poor culture and ineffective leadership can be a devastating combination in any industry. But when it comes to aviation, it can be a genuinely deadly combo. In many ways, Boeing has been lucky that safety issues haven’t led to catastrophic loss of life. As the attention of lawmakers, regulators and the media are focused on Boeing’s safety record, the company should have the motivation it needs to fix its culture. The true test will be whether or not it can effectively execute positive change at the organizational level.
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.