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Boeing 777

Boeing 777- Strategic Management in the Aircraft Industry.

1. Introduction;
Boeing represents a company that recognises the necessity of adaptability and flexibility to survive and succeed in a dynamic industry. Boeing has fought to survival the past 90 in light of fierce competition from rival companies and continues to compete with the primary challenger, Airbus. Aircraft producers are required to invest huge capital into programs where the failure of a single project has the potential to sink the entire firm (Cohen 2000, p.154). In its successful Boeing 777 program, the Boeing Company has adopted a strategic approach that departed from its classical style. This saw the restructuring of the development, management and design processes as well as the manufacturing system. The overarching strategic intent of the Boeing 777 program was to directly and exactly meet the demands of their customers while reducing error and costs in the design and production process. The employees working on the program have been encouraged to continuously contribute to the program, regardless of their position. A focus to achieve a “Customer satisfaction” and “A participatory workplace” (Cohen 2000, p. 163) was a revolutionary approach to developing the new ‘super air carrier’. This report will examine the Boeing Company and specifically the Boeing 777 project. By analytical examination of the internal and external environment and by developing the firm’s “SWOT” analysis we can examine how the company’s strategy fits within these market contexts. Therefore; allowing us to formulate a strategy to suggest how the firm may to continue the success of the 777 program into their future programs.

2. External Environment Analysis;
The external environment in which the firm operates, dictates the context in which the firm attempts to achieve its objectives. Without understanding the current external environment or an analysis of future trends, an effective strategy or ‘plan...