Question

What is "supporting evidence strategy" and how would you relate this to Boeing?

STRATEGIC EVOLUTION

            Boeing has been able to capitalize on continuous innovation as the world’s largest aerospace company. The organization has thrived in the marketplace as “building something better” that has contributed to its success. Boeing recognizes the marketplace of the twenty-first century will contain many new competitors formed from mergers and alliances that are currently taking place. There are three strategic groups that has evolved over time due to changing shifts for market demand:

Large Commercial Jet Aviation Market

Regional Aviation Market

General Aviation Companies

Intended Strategy

The company’s strategic planning and guidance is to address and focus what will keep the business from reaching the next level of success. This involves overall operations and challenges, and planning to overcome goals of achievement. The organization looks at workplace conflicts, resolutions, organizational design and team building, workplace training and training for new change implementation and client survey, and group building. Boeing recognizes that implementing a workforce planning process to prepare the organization through stakeholder engagement, organizational readiness assessment, team selection, analytics and training. The foundational success must be prepared and supported to execute the process. Executive sponsorship (strategic workforce planning), scoping for success (scope workforce planning utilizing change approach), stakeholder planning (understanding who is involved in planning, and strategies to address concerns and enlist support), socialization (engaging leaders in the process to review the concept and address concerns before implementation), risk assessment (outlined risks associated with the initiative and developed actions to mitigate risk).

Boeing’s major competitor in the large commercial aircraft industry would be Airbus Industries. Boeing was the first to be in the large commercial aircrafts industry until Airbus came along. Airbus capitalized the market by making planes that addressed the needs of their buyers, which were midsize cost-efficient planes. This plane was the A-320, which competed with the Boeing 737; both are the best-selling planes for each company in the same category.

Boeing has become aware of building the most effective planes to meet their customer’s supply and demand. In order to do so, the company has thought to reshape their strategy and with their suppliers. Boeing’s strategy in 2004 was to move up the value chain, meaning that they are going to focus less on details and more on their core competence, integration and assembly. To accomplish this was to streamline their list of suppliers to a select few and to those that provide quality products with the best value. One strategic plan to outsource the assembly of parts of the airplane to reduce cost and control capacity at its main plant. They have outsourced to countries where labor is much cheaper. In return, they have obtained aircraft sales from these countries, which is also two of the largest and fastest growing airplane markets in the world. This has become the “offset agreement.” Developing strategic partnerships is the ability to distribute some of the risk associated with large investments required in building an aircraft. Boeing has reassured its inhouse engineers the agreement is not to downsize employees however to compete efficiently in a global industry and is required for success in the future. The business model adaptation gives Boeing more flexibility, control, and a better flow of cash (Kahn, 2018).

IT evolution investment in the 20^th century supported an increasingly decentralized hierarchical functional corporate organization structure and shifted during the early decades of the 21^st century toward an IT-enabled global network organization structure. Boeing shift to an ecosystem focus changed from inward to an outward IT strategy. This network organization encompasses IT breakthrough in products, manufacturing, and supply chain management. Strategic IT shifts from systems to IT ordering and integration architecture, Ubiquitous IT enables creation of bold corporate strategies and operation, and bold IT strategy and execution require CEO leadership and broad oversight (Nolan, 2012).

Emergent Strategy

Boeing has many strong competitive advantages, and internal resources that help define its core values. The main source of Boeing’s competitive advantages is its core competencies, which help develop Boeing’s resources into strong competitive advantages in the airline manufacturing industry. Boeing also has operational strength internally, which allow them to better manage and sustain their competitive advantage in the market. Boeing has a strong set of competitive advantages at which it uses to market share and the airline industry. The company’s unique business strategy is to design the product according to customer wants, and on time.

Boeing’s core competencies are to repeat business to meet the customer demands and needs – understanding and responding to what its customers would like in an aircraft; and designing and implementing specific needs or demands.

Developing effective control system to manage supplier relationships to overcome delay problems.

To fill competency gap between Boeing’s vision and strategies.

To improve service delivery efficiency.

To improve internal and external communication

Resources	Competences
Threshold Resources	Threshold Competencies
Strong financial position International customers Acquisitions, strategic alliances, and subsidiaries Addition services (see unique resources below)	Research and development activities Ability to manage multiple divisions at the same time Strong order backlog Provision of financing facilities Strong association with US government and other government institutions like NASA and US Air Force
Unique Resources	Core Competencies
Airport technology Boeing Capital Corporation Commercial Aviation Services Fuel conservative services Training and flight service	Lean manufacturing policy Large scale system integration Latest technology-based commercial aircrafts Global Airline Inventory Network

Answer 1

Supporting evidence based strategy refers to creation of strategy where various policy choices are analysed based on objective evidence available and then decisions are taken.

In the case of Boeing, the supporting evidence strategy heped it in strategic evolution by identifying first the the market and its players. It understood that the competition in the airspace market is boosting due to various players and alliances and mergers . It identified three strategic groups in the market such as Large commercial jet aviation market, rgional aviation market and general aviation companies. This is a type of supporting evidence which indicates that the company now needs to make strategies to target the market based on its competency. Hence Boeing effectively created a strategy to innovate based on new technology, create a strong organization based on increased stakeholder engagement, enhanced planning etc. Next based on evidence after identifying the market, it also identified its closest rival Airbus. Both were competing in the same market i.e large commercial aviation market and Airbus was getting more successful. This lead Boeing to change its strategy and inprove its value chain by outsourcing more to reduce costs, developing strategic partnerships and becoming more IT oriented organisation.

Boeing has since focussed more on its core competency by identifying its strengths and opportunities available. By adopting lean manufacturing policy in airport technology, providing additional services , increased research and development, it has ensured to maintain its core competency and provide products based on the customer demands within the scheduled time.

Hence based on supporting evidence Boeing managed to evolve its strategy to maintain its financial position and compete in the airspace market.