Individual Assignment #01

Airbus executives get swept away by a corruption investigation, The Economist, February 8, 2018. Airbus is currently undergoing changes to their leadership after a corruption scandal broke in 2014. It was reported that Airbus was acquiring contacts through the bribery of officials. Since the scandal broke, both the chief executive Tom Enders, and Fabrice BrĂ©gier have announced that they will be stepping down from their positions. In fact, it was actually an internal review of supplier payments that shed light upon the fact that bribery had been occurring in the securing of contracts. The article states that Airbus reported the irregularities to “Britain’s Serious Fraud Office and to Frances’s equivalent body for lying to export-credit agencies about bribes given by third-party consultants to secure sales”.
            Due to the allegations against Airbus, the company could possibly face fines similar to those that Boeing and Rolls-Royce once paid when facing similar allegations. The article claims that as a result of the investigation those fines can reach up to $3 billion. Tom Enders believes the best possible approach is to fully cooperate with investigators in hopes of securing a settlement. The article also highlights Airbus’s decreasing margins, in the time period 2012-2016 the average margin was 4.3% compared to Boeing’s 7.5%. Some of the main concepts argued in this article are ones about corruption and business ethics. Airbus acted unethically when engaging in bribery, thus leading to an investigation in Airbus business practices.
            Our book, Exploring Business by Karen Collins, defines business ethics in chapter 2.2 as “application of ethical behavior in a business context”. So, when Airbus bribed officials to win contracts, one could argue that they violated the conduct of business ethics. Airbus is attempting to save face by searching for a “new generation of top executives” (The Economist). This article relates to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility from our Foundations of Business class. When engaging in bribery, Airbus was not doing what was best for the stakeholders.
https://www.economist.com/news/business/21736580-management-shake-out-may-reawaken-national-rivalries-european-aerospace-giant-airbus

Plans for completing Individual Assignments:
IA02- due 4/13/18
            In order to complete this assignment on time I plan on starting to search for a role model by 3/5/18, if at this point I cannot find anyone I will then ask the professor with help. I will complete this assignment before 4/3/18
IA03- due 4/20/18
            For this assignment, I plan on starting it no later than 3/10/18
IA04-due 4/25/28
            I will attend one of the approved events during the month of March.
IA05-due 4/15/18
            I am still waiting to decide on my favorite guest speaker, currently I am leaning towards Dr. Macagno, who spoke about corporate social responsibility.



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