Please read the instructions carefully. You will need the Boeing Case and SPSS file to answer some questions. Use the snipping tool or print screen to show your SPSS output. Please email me with questions.
Mid Term Case: Boeing
Taking Flight
The Boeing Company ( www.boeing.com ), together with its subsidiaries, is an aerospace company that operates in six principal segments. The first five are collectively known as Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) and include Commercial Airplanes, Aircraft and Weapon Systems, Network Systems, Support Systems, and Launch and Orbital Systems. The sixth principal segment is Boeing Capital Corporation (BCC). The Commercial Airplanes operations principally involve development, production, and marketing of commercial jet aircraft and providing related support services, primarily to the commercial airline industry worldwide. W. James McNerney, Jr., was the CEO as of 2011, and the company is a leader in the global defense and aerospace market. The companys revenues in recent years are provided in Table 1.
Table 1 Boeing Revenues, 20002010
Year
Revenue in U.S. Dollar Billions
2000
$51.3
2001
58.2
2002
53.8
2003
50.3
2004
51.4
2005
53.6
2006
61.5
2007
66.4
2008
60.9
2009
68.3
2010
64.3
In April 2004, Boeing announced its first new plane in 10 years, the 787 Dreamliner, a powerful but fuel-stingy midsize aircraft. This aircraft is capable of transporting passengers on long-haul routes that now are the province of jumbo jets. With spacious interiors, large luggage cabinets, and huge windows, it promises to be a change maker. The 787 was the result of considerable marketing research, which is an ongoing process at Boeing. Nicole Piasecki, vice president of the Marketing and Business Strategy division, claimed that Boeing had researched the market for more than 40 years. It has studied passengers, airlines, airports, and the dynamics of air travel on a global scale. Internal and external secondary sources of data were analyzed first and then primary research was conducted.
To understand the needs of its customersairlinesthe company went beyond just determining the airlines needs; it also tried to comprehend the needs of airline passengers, as well as those of the aircrafts financiers. Based on its research, Boeing concluded that the declining emphasis on hub-and-spoke travel will generate the greatest growth in smaller mid-market airplanes and lesser growth in jumbo jets. Growth in air travel has been met by an increase in new nonstop markets and by frequency growth instead of an increase in airplane capacity/size. Based on these findings, the company developed the 787 Dreamliner.
On July 18, 2010, the 787 Dreamliner made its international debut, landing at the Farnborough Airport, United Kingdom, in support of the Farnborough International Airshow. Built by an international team, this aircraft provides airlines around the globe with a new level of efficiency in operations, with a 20-percent reduction in fuel use when compared to similar-sized airplanes. It also brings a new level of passenger comfort to travelers, including bigger windows and more personal space as well as an environment designed to help them arrive at their destinations feeling refreshed.
The Dreamliner should revive Boeings somewhat tired product line and stem Airbuss market-share depredations. More than 3,000 midsize aircraft, including the Boeing 757 and 767 and Airbus A300, A310, and A330 models, will be reaching the end of their operating lives by 2025 or so, along with various Lockheed and Douglas models. The sales opportunity is huge. Yet, the Boeing sales force must be more effective than ever before in the companys history.
Mr. McNerney wants to put a very strong marketing and sales organization in place to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead for the 787 Dreamliner. His years of experience have shown him that salesperson loyalty is very important, because of the long-term nature of contracts with the major air carriers of the world. Being driven by fundamentals, McNerney wants to understand what drives a sales-persons loyalty toward the place of work. He hopes that this research effort will inform him on how to develop his business-to-business sales force in the future through improved selection, training, and leadership of Boeing salespersons. He commissioned TNS, one of the leading custom marketing research firms, to undertake the research. The research firm of TNS adopted the following methodology.
Methodology
The project began with an exploratory phase that involved a thorough analysis of secondary data. Both academic and trade sources were examined. This was followed by eight focus groups with B2B field salespersons from a variety of industries. The findings of the exploratory phase were used to design a descriptive survey. A telephone survey was administered to a cross-section of business-to-business salespersons ages 18 to 65 in the United States and in the Canadian metropolitan areas of Toronto and Montreal using a list obtained from Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). This age qualification enabled the company to reach the population of potential adult workers in the specified regions, avoiding most retirees. The final sample size comprised 1,000 adults in the United States and Canada. This sample size ensured a sampling error of less than 3 percentage points. Expecting a cooperation rate of 33.3 percent, the sample frame consisted of 3,000 people from the SMEI list.
All U.S. telephone interviews were handled from TNSs office in Atlanta, using trained interviewers and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). Interviewing of the Montreal and Toronto metropolitan areas was conducted locally by a Canadian affiliate of the company to best facilitate regional French and English dialects.
In terms of the survey duration, TNSs experience has shown that a 30-minute telephone interview is not desirable. The completion rate suffers, because people judge it to be too long a period of time to cooperate and either refuse to participate or to complete the full interview. Therefore, the duration of the telephone interview was limited to 10 minutes. The questionnaire used is presented at the end of the case. The data obtained were analyzed. A formal report was prepared and presented to Boeing.
