Fortune 500 CEO of Boeing - Term Paper Example

As stated in the ‘executive biographies’, The honors and recognition he received include John W. Dixon Award (2011) from the Association of the U.S. Army, Turning Point Award (2012) from the U.S. Army War College Foundation, Semper Fidelis Award (2012) from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, and National Management Association's Executive of the Year (2008). McNerney has been a big success as a strategic leader throughout his extensive career. The key aspect of his strategic leadership is the emphasis he gives to the growth of others.

Unlike many other entrepreneurs, Jim gives more importance to his crew than the company’s strategy or product. He disclosed this strategy to Fortune's Geoffrey Colvin; “I start with people's growth because I believe that if the people who are running and participating in a company grow, then the company's growth will in many respects take care of itself” (Colvin). Another unique quality of this strategic leader is that he seldom fears change but enjoys it. Admittedly, in the current global market, the Boeing Company has numerous potential opportunities. . This situation offers potential opportunities to the Boeing Company and its leader.

The firm has a strong global network and it assists the company to spread its elements of risk. This strength also benefits McNerney to easily raise adequate resources whenever necessary. An efficient research and development department would be helpful for the organization to vie with its market rivals. Similarly, the Boeing Company and its leader face some potential challenges too. Firstly, the increasing price of titanium and aluminum is likely to threaten the market position of the organization.

Referring to the law of demand, the demand for Boeing aircrafts may decline if their price increases. Hence, the company may struggle to maintain its market dominance. In addition, intense competition in the industry also affects the competitiveness of the firm. The growing competition can be a tough test for McNerney’s leadership and a major challenge to the company’s future. The company has been increasingly depending on the US government contracts. This over reliance might adversely affect the firm’s viability if the federal government terminated the contracts with the Boeing Company for some reasons.

Finally, the US government has recently introduced some strict regulations on the purchase of military equipments. This change also may affect the business operations of the Boeing Company. Some major steps taken by McNerney at 3M include changes in research and development activities. Those steps gave specific focus to customer orientation. Since then the company has been focusing more on the growing Chinese market. Some changes, including strict financial control were termed