What Went Wrong with Boeing’s 737 Max? – Case Solution

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What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max? Case Answers

1. What are the ethical issues involved in this case concerning Boeing’s 737 Max? Please give your answer under these three classifications: Systemic, corporate and individual.

The Boeing’s 737 Max crisis opened the floodgates for the identification of ethical issues involving the case.

For the systemic ethical issues, there are problems concerning the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the regulators and aviation authorities. There are regulatory failures and inadequate oversight by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other regulators and aviation authorities, which allowed Boeing to self-certify critical safety features of the 737 MAX aircraft.

Based on care, utilitarian or justice ethical lenses this is ethically wrong as they failed to care for the passengers.

As to the corporate ethical issues, Boeing is accused of caring more about making money and beating its competitors than keeping people safe. They rushed the development and approval of the 737 MAX to compete with Airbus.

Additionally, they’re criticized for not telling airlines and pilots about problems with a system called MCAS, which played a part in two deadly crashes.

On a utilitarian perspective, Boeing’s rush for profit ended up causing terrible accidents, hurting passengers, crew, and society overall. Prioritizing quick gains over long-term safety was a bad move.

On a justice point of view, Boeing wasn’t fair to people relying on their planes. They didn’t share important safety information, putting people’s lives at risk for their own profit. It’s just not right.

And considering the virtue ethics perspective, Boeing didn’t show good character. They put profits before honesty, integrity, and responsibility. They should have cared more about doing the right thing and keeping people safe.

According to Care Ethics lens, airlines have a duty of care to their passengers and aircrew, which includes ensuring the safety of the aircraft they operate. If they failed to adequately address safety concerns or disclose critical information, it would constitute an ethical violation.

Delving into the individual ethical issues, we take notice of Boeing CEO and the company’s executives, managers, and other employees. At the same time, investors, shareholders, and other stakeholders are also part of ethical issues.

In 2019, Boeing’s CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, told Congress that Boeing has a strong safety culture and denied knowing about internal messages raising concerns about MCAS. This contradicts fairness and accountability principles within the company.

The General Manager & Chief Project Engineer of Boeing’s 737 MAX program approved the MCAS redesign for FAA Certification, but without making essential changes. This decision overlooks key safety concerns and fails ethical standards across various perspectives, ultimately contributing to tragic outcomes like the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.

Potential ethical lapses among Boeing executives and managers in their decision-making processes, including downplaying safety concerns and withholding critical information from regulators, airlines, and the public.

In the case of Boeing executives and managers, their actions, such as downplaying safety concerns and withholding critical information, show lack of virtues such as honesty, integrity, and responsibility. By prioritizing short-term interests and avoiding accountability, they demonstrate a lack of moral character.

Additionally, if investors and shareholders prioritized their financial interests over the well-being of passengers and aircrew, they could be seen as violating principles of justice by unfairly exposing others to risks for personal gain.

On the other hand, Congressman Sam Graves tried to excuse Boeing’s mistake by saying if pilots were trained in the US, they could handle emergencies better. This overlooks the victims and their families, downplaying Boeing’s errors and concentrating too much on pilot training.

2. Boeing’s handling of the Boeing 737 MAX crisis raises significant ethical concerns regarding its responsibilities to customers and society. The company’s actions and responses demonstrate a failure to prioritize safety, transparency, and accountability, which are fundamental ethical duties for manufacturers. Please discuss.

Firstly, Boeing’s decision to prioritize…