Boeing vs. ethics
"Boeing may not practice the ethics it preaches":
The Boeing Co. gives a lot of emphasis to the subject of corporate ethics. It has a detailed companywide policy stating that "the highest standards of ethical business conduct are required of Boeing employees." The company has an Office of Ethics and Business Conducts, a Boeing Ethics Line for employees to pose questions, ethics advisers in its business units, and compliance education programs. Its Web site even includes an online quiz, called the "Ethics Challenge," in which employees and outsiders can answer questions about potential ethical dilemmas.
That's part of the record, anyway. Here's another part: paying up to $54 million to settle lawsuits that it placed defective gears in Chinook helicopters sold to the Army. An administrative settlement with the Department of Defense for $6 million related to the allocation of costs for the 777 program. A $3.8 million payment for violations of the Arms Export Control Act. A $75 million settlement for improperly billing the government on research and development costs.
In fact, says the Project on Government Oversight, Boeing has in the past 12 years been involved in 36 cases in which it paid $358 million in fines, penalties or settlements (Boeing says it hasn't reviewed POGO's calculations to say whether it disputes them).
Ouch.