Boeing’s #1 problem is not that they lack a culture of accountability.
It’s that they *hate unions* and *hate criticism.* So many of Boeing's major actions in the last 20, even 30 years have had to do with their attempts to break unions and escape political pressure in Washington State. The payoff is pressing workers without enough training, denigrating and overruling the work of union employees, and outsourcing work to avoid increasing union employment. This has cost them $10s of billions.
I think you've hit the nail on the head, and more: any culture, corporate or other, which finds criticism to be anathemic will never and *can* never hold itself responsible for any of its failings, and will always resist change outright due to the fact that making a willing and positive change means admitting a lack of perfection.
The result hasn't just been a loss of billions, but a gradual and continual onset of stagnation and decay within Boeing, once one of the most trusted names in aeronautics.
So too Boeing's loathing of unions, because of one simple axiom:
Unions effect change.
And they effect change in part through exposing the weak links, the abuse, the inconsistencies and inefficiencies in the corporate structure as seen through the lens of workers' rights.
Criticism, in other words. Healthy stuff, like listening to your doctor when they say to cut back on a chain-smoking habit.
But some folks take that as an attack...
Glenn Fleishman
Jennifer Kayla | Theogrin 🦊