Student Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Case Notes
Chapter 14: Organizational Culture
Case 14.1: Changing the Culture at Boeing
Case Description
Boeing is one of the largest aviation manufacturers and designers in the world. It is also one of
the largest employers in the world, which is the result of its massive operations across the world
stemming from high demand for its products and the acquisition of other companies to improve
its offerings. In recent years, Boeing has come under fire for accidents with its airplanes that
resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. Looking into what went wrong, major cultural flaws
were discovered. Where these flows stemmed from remains to be seen, but there is strong
evidence that it was a combination of acquisitions of other companies (and their cultures) and an
overall shifting in Boeings culture to begin with.
Learning Objectives:
14.1: Define organizational culture, and describe the seven characteristics.
14.2: Compare and contrast market, bureaucracy, and clan cultures.
14.3: Demonstrate understanding of the two characteristics of strong cultures by providing
examples.
Question & Answers
1. Do some additional research and explain why cultures change when one acquires
another company, as was the case with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. How did this affect
the culture at Boeing?
Student Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Ans: When a large company acquires another large company, it isn’t just acquiring its assets and
2. Explain why employees at Boeing did not speak out about safety concerns with the 737
MAX. Why does this result in a toxic organizational culture?
Ans: To say that the McDonnel Douglas employees brought this into Boeing would be to ignore
the complexity that this issue is rooted in. While the new Boeing employees definitely
3. Evaluate the steps proposed to change the culture at Boeing—integrity, excellence, and
safety. Do you feel this will succeed? What else should the company be doing to change the
culture, if anything?
Ans: Excellence is the area that Boeing has the most control over. It will cost more in the near
term as it will require them to hire the top talent in the world, but bringing in that talent could
Note:
In this guide, some suggested answers are provided. Most of these questions are there to make
students think and interrelate concepts from the current and previous chapters and, hopefully, to
generate a more integrated understanding of organizational behavior. However, some responses