People digging into Boeing's specific history are likely doing themselves a huge disservice. It's too easy to say, "Oh well I won't acquire a company like McDonnell Douglas!" But that's not the issue. The issue is a culture (nationally/globally) of financialization. You're vulnerable to it even if you don't acquire MDA, or if you don't acquire anyone at all.
The fundamental issue is simple: Mistaking side-effects of the system for the goals of the system. The goal of a company shouldn't be to make number-on-spreadsheet go up. The goal is to produce excess value, capture some amount of it, and pass the rest onto your customers. The amount that you capture will affect the spreadsheet, but the real goal of the organization must be to produce that excess value and pass on a meaningful portion of it to your customers!
The whole meme that companies exist to maximize shareholder value is just that: a meme, and a recent one at that. Boeing is the natural outcome of believing it like a zealot.
The fundamental issue is simple: Mistaking side-effects of the system for the goals of the system. The goal of a company shouldn't be to make number-on-spreadsheet go up. The goal is to produce excess value, capture some amount of it, and pass the rest onto your customers. The amount that you capture will affect the spreadsheet, but the real goal of the organization must be to produce that excess value and pass on a meaningful portion of it to your customers!
The whole meme that companies exist to maximize shareholder value is just that: a meme, and a recent one at that. Boeing is the natural outcome of believing it like a zealot.