l percentage of the aircraft market. Of these three manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus offered the greatest range of aircraft choices. Boeing offered a total of 12 aircraft, with a broad combination of range and seating combinations. Airbus offered a narrower range of seating combinations, but a total of eight aircraft with suitable range differences. McDonnell Douglas offered the narrowest combination to the market, with only five aircraft. These comprised the MD 80 and MD-90 at the short- and medium-range end, and the MD-11 at the long-range end of the spectrum.
From one perspective, the fact that McDonnell Douglas only had five planes from which to choose could have been an advantage: there were presumably fewer production costs associated with the smaller product offering, for example. However, since airlines and leasing companies are purchasing the planes now that will be used into the early twenty-first century, and since there is a tendency toward purchasing the short and medium-range planes with medium to high seat capacity, McDonnell Douglas may be unable to even take full advantage of the order boom (Reich, May 5, 1993), p. 6).
Boeing's Response to Production Demand
Key to understanding Boeing's organization is understanding how it responded to the increased pressure on its production schedule in the late 1980s. Boeing recognized the need to increase its workforce, and did so by brining in new workers; operating in the Seattle area gave it an economic advantage in hiring over its chief competitor, McDonnell Douglas, which operates in the high-priced labor market of Southern California.
Boeing recognized that new inexperienced workers would be a drain on the company, and so encouraged prospective employees to seek training before hiring on with the company. Once employees were hired, they were given on-the-job training, but not in the traditional sense. Boeing gave new hires six to eight weeks of training be...