OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Understand the four ethical communities
2. Apply an ethical community to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The situation is a quality issue with a Boeing aircraft, specifically the 737 MAX. This
currents issue involves the fuselage. The fuselage has misaligned drillholes. Initially, this
error was not caught by the quality measures in place at Boeing. Since the error seems to
be from outsourcing the fuselage. My role as auditor is to find out how, why, and who is
responsible for this happening. Hopefully, my findings will help in preventing this from
happening with other outsourcing operations.

2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

Ethics did not directly enhance the issue of misaligned drillholes in the Boeing 737
aircraft. The recent manufacturing flaw involving misaligned and duplicated holes in the
rear pressurization bulkhead of the 737 Max planes was a quality control issue that
stemmed from a production oversight rather than ethical considerations. The problem was
identified during factory inspections, where Boeing inspectors found fastener holes that
did not conform to specifications on certain airplanes. This issue led to a delay in
deliveries of some 737 planes as Boeing works to address and rectify the problem.

How ethics enhanced this issue in a positive light and prevented a major issue from
developing comes from Boeing’s ethics or soul. For an organization, group, or family,
soul can also be viewed as a resolute sense of character, a deep confidence about who we
are, what we care about, and what we deeply believe in (Bolman and Deal, 2021, p. 412).
Boeings ethics reinforced the issue with the misaligned drill holes by emphasizing the
importance of honesty, fairness, and compliance with project specifications. A not so
small portion of credit goes to the employees who have bought into the culture of
Boeings ethics. Every year the employees reaffirm their commitment to do their work in

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 a compliant and ethical manner, and respect one another, by reading and signing the
Boeing code of Conduct (Ethics and Compliance).

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical community metaphors (see
Exhibit 20.1 in Bolman and Deal) for an alternative course of action regarding your
case.

My recommendation for an alternative course of action regarding the misaligned drill

holes would be to emphasize the importance of safety. I would implement safety checks
throughout the process and to get the people to buy into the added task. I would utilize
the existing ethical culture as my argument. The ethical culture is working for Boeing,
and to keep it flourishing. I would strongly suggest to management that they try to tap
into the core fabric of what is making ethical culture work. I would demonstrate a side-
by-side comparison with a Temple to an Organization in hopes that it would continually
inspire and motivate employees to keep, nurture and foster an ethical culture. An
organization like a Temple can be seen as a hallowed place, an expression of human
aspirations and beliefs, a monument to faith in human possibility (Bolman and Deal,
2021, p.419).

The basis of my comparison would for the sole purpose of inspiration and motivation
compare the purpose of the Temple to an Organization. The basis of my comparison
would put the focus on faith. That should be the meaning and identity that these two
places have in common at their core. The are both tangible locations that are frequented
by people who share the same beliefs and have hope for the future.

The purpose of the Temple is that it is a place of worship and holds a significant religious
and spiritual importance for specific faith traditions. The purpose of an organization
serves as a guiding principle that influences decision-making, shapes strategy, drives
culture, and inspires employees. It is in the unity that these two separate entities prosper.
I would circle back around to re-emphasize that the ethical culture in place is the reason
this issue did not escalate into a major safety catastrophe.

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 4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about ethics.

During the observation of the process where the misaligned drill holes for the 737 Max aircraft
were discovered. It became apparent that the people involved cared a lot about quality. There is
no evidence to support negligence. It was during the routine inspection process that the issue was
reported. At first, the misaligned holes didn’t seem like a big issue. What could have happened is
the wiring that goes into these holes could have been damaged in flight causing a catastrophic
incident. Going forward I will continue to advocate for more frequent safety checks in the
production process. The takeaway from this incident is the renewed awareness of the need for
continuous improvements in safety protocols.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS: artistry, choice, and

leadership. John Wiley & Sons.

“Ethics and Compliance.” Www.boeing.com, www.boeing.com/sustainability/ethics-and-

compliance#anchor1.