What is your reaction to Airbus’ statement in its brochure ‘The Airbus Way’ that the cultural diversity of the company is ‘the key to Airbus’ success’? Problems at Airbus You will be asked to address a number of questions relating to the problems experienced by a company which has its roots in several European countries: Airbus SAS.

Once you are familiar with the history of the company, as outlined in the first article, read the extracts that follow. These are taken from articles written by interested observers concerning the problems at Airbus. The final extract is taken from a brochure published by Airbus itself.

Airbus was formally established in 1970 as a European consortium whose goal was to gain a share of the aircraft construction market dominated till then by the US. It began as a consortium of French and German companies, to be joined later by Spanish and British companies. When outlining the history of the company, the Airbus website (http://events.airbus.com/about/history.asp) talked of ‘overcoming national divides, sharing development costs, collaborating in the interests of a greater market share, and even agreeing a common set of measurements and a common language’ and, by doing so, changing the face of the business, and bringing the benefits of real competition to airlines, passengers and crews.

The company has produced a series of successful aircraft, including the world’s first twin-engine widebody jet. According to the company’s document (‘The Airbus Way’, p. 15):