ACCT20080: Case: Boeing’s 737 MAX- Explore the Interaction Between Organisational Context and the Issue: Research Paper, RMIT,, Singapore

CASE: In 2019, flaws became apparent with the Boeing 737 MAX design

1. Explore the interaction between organisational context and the issue (moral intensity, moral language and framing).
2. What role do organisational schemas/scripts and moral language play in ethical decision making within this case?
3. How can unethical/poor decisions be avoided?

Structure

1. Introduction (200 words)

• Give the brief context of the case but don’t reproduce the case
• Impacts
• Your stand (is it ethical or unethical overall?)
• The methodology (how are you going to go about writing the board paper – using academic references, theories, etc)

2. Body (1600 words)

• Bring out the unethical issue(s), then explain why are they considered unethical?
• 1 ethical issue identified is profit vs stakeholder
• Formulate an argument, support the argument with theories from the lecture slides provided and academic references.
• Provide some counterarguments as well.

3. Conclusion (200 words)

• Reiteration of the main points mentioned above.

4. Recommendations for the board to consider(bullet points, not counted in word count)

Examples:

• Have a whistleblower in the organization
• Change leadership

Questions to consider:

1. Who is the leader in Boeing? (is he an egoistic or virtue leader?)
2. Does the leader has a High Internal or External Locus of control?
3. Talk about ethical leadership
4.  Is there a dilemma when leaders make a decision?
5. What kind of management style? (Moral/immoral/amoral)
6. What is the culture of Boeing? Did the formal culture work for this Boeing 737 MAX case?
7. This may be an ethical organization, informal culture overrides the formal culture (controlled by shareholder etc)
8. Are there any moral agent or whistleblower in the organization?
9. Is there a moral yardstick between the shareholder, stakeholder and other countries?
10. Should the organization use-value or compliant approach?
11. Use Stakeholder Theory for Crisis management