[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

So of course those who were left saw the Boeing engineers as "idiots" - they couldn't understand what they were doing, why it took so long, and why it costs so much. That's a very (all too) common view of engineering work from the outside looking in; and a view that got MD into the predicament it was in then, and subsequently allowed MD management to force Boeing into its current situation.

And that's where the failure began, as chronicled by many industry experts - when Mickie-Dee's management was given charge over Boeing engineers. The tail wagging the dog in the most engineering-intensive undertaking mankind has ever tackled. We all knew it was wrong, and where it would lead.

MD had a long, sordid history of undervaluing engineering. They saw it as just another commodity, that could be purchased off the shelves of a world market. Maybe the "talent" they had at the time led them to that conclusion, or maybe that attitude led to the "talent" they were left with - a real "chicken or the egg" question. But I digress...

They were the first to significantly outsource engineering. We simply never did that at Boeing, until MD bean counters came in. Prior to that, Boeing had always valued the engineering culture that was developed here, and understood that it could not be matched anywhere. That culture has always attracted the cream of the crop, because engineers knew they would be working not only with other engineers, but more importantly, for other engineers. The rest wound up at places like, well, MD - where they didn't "engineer" a damn thing, but turned into "project managers" riding herd over incompetent suppliers, wondering why engineers are such "idiots"...

I have no first hand knowledge of the Boeing/MD merger, but wow does that resonate with me. Change the name and that describes the cultural change of my employer.....which is currently in bankruptcy.