As they pushed engineers to continually test the limits when it came to the launches. This is because, the leadership inside NASA and at the different subcontractors created an atmosphere that made this possible. (Gross 1997) (Space Shuttle Challenger Case Study n.d.)
The Influence of the Media

Given the high profile nature of the program, meant that there were considerable pressures to be ready for the next shuttle launch. This is because, the various managers and executives wanted to maintain a favorable image of the program in the minds of the general public. The only way that this can be accomplished is through: not having these problems leaked to news media. As a result, there was pressure that was placed on: employees and managers to overlook some of the design issues. (Space Shuttle Challenger Case Study n.d.) the reason why, is because all of the negative press they would receive, if…...

mla

Bibliography

Space Shuttle Challenger Case Study, n.d.

Gross, a, 1997, 'The Challenger Disaster,' Augmentation, vol. 11, 75 -- 93.

Harvard Format. http://libguides.library.uwa.edu.au/data/files2/49275/Harvard%20LibGuide%20-%20All%20Examples%20PDF.pdf

Judgment in Managerial Decision Making
Almost everyone has, at some point, been a victim of groupthink -- perhaps by thinking of speaking up in a meeting, and then deciding not to, so as not to appear unsupportive of the team's stand. Although such occurrences are quite common, and may appear quite normal, they are indicative of faulty thinking. Groupthink is, in basic terms, "a phenomenon that occurs when the desire for group consensus overrides people's common sense desire to present alternatives, critique a position, or express an unpopular opinion" (Mind Tools, 1996). Groupthink is detrimental to the process of decision-making because it drives out challenge, giving rise to poor-quality decisions (Bazerman & Don, 2008).

The Challenger disaster perfectly demonstrates how groupthink can lead to negative outcomes. Months before the space shuttle take-off, Marshall Engineers discovered a few faulty parts in the flight but opted to proceed with the launch, so as to…...

mla

References

Bazerman, M.H. & Don, A.M. (2008). Judgment in Managerial Decision-Making (7th ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Mind Tools. (1996). Avoiding Groupthink: Avoiding Fatal Flaws in Group Decision-Making. Mind Tools. Retrieved 31 March 2014 from  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_82.htm 

SHU (n.d.). The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: A Study in Organizational Ethics. Seton Hall University. Retrieved 31 March 2014 from  http://pirate.shu.edu/~mckenndo/pdfs/The%20Space%20Shuttle%20Challenger%20Disaster.pdf

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on January 28, 1986 as the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up into pieces just 73 seconds after its launch. The destruction blew the shuttle into flames and dust causing the death of all seven crew members. Even though the crash was a sad moment in the history of NASA and United States Space programs, it is still being studied merely to figure out what went wrong. Aboard the space shuttle was Christa McAuliffe, who was supposed to telecast live and teach in classrooms globally. Her loss and the loss of the other crew members left NASA dismantled. (Forest, 1996 p1).
Most of the blame is placed on flawed decision making and the fact that mismanagement led to the decision of launching the shuttle.. As soon as the shuttle launched, the hardware solid rocket booster (SB) "O" ring failed and thus led to the explosion.…...

mla

References

Amabile, T. et al. (2002) Creativity Under the Gun. Harvard Business Review, August.

Amabile, T. (1998) How to kill Creativity. Harvard Business Review 76, 5 (September-October ), p.76-87.

Bazerman, M. And Chugh, D. (2006) Decisions without Binders. Harvard Business Review, January.

Bower, J. And Gilbert, C. (2007) How Managers' Everyday Decisions Create or Destroy Your Company's Strategy. . Harvard Business Review, February.

NASA
After the Challenger disaster, NASA was required to make changes in the way it managed its operations. There was to be more communication and more centralization, as well as better consultation with experts in order to make sure that the shuttle did not launch when it was not safe to do so. Despite all of the alleged changes, though, further disaster occurred. This was believed to be a product of the fact that NASA only made some of the proposed changes after Challenger failed. Even then, most of the changes that were made were undone over time, so they did not provide any significant improvement in the agency overall. Change not only has to come from within, but it has to be something that becomes the "new normal" (Evans, 2007; Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009). If the changes that are made are seen as too different, or they are not…...

mla

References

Evans, B. (2007). Space shuttle challenger: ten journeys into the unknown. New York, NY: Praxis Publications

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

In addition, the Rogers Commission made specific recommendations related to these issues. They suggested that NASA restructure its management system, including bringing astronauts into management positions, which will increase attention to flight safety issues. They suggested a full examination of all critical systems before conducting any more shuttle launches. They were instructed to establish an Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality control. These suggestions bring safety back to prominence in decision-making, and should downplay the effect of pressure to meet deadlines (Harwood, 1986).

The Rogers Commission also criticized NASA's communications and instructed them to devise ways that information flows from bottom to top as well as from top to bottom. In addition they expressed concern about a tendency for management to be somewhat isolated from others, further interfering with communication (Harwood, 1986). If middle management had been able to communicate effectively with upper levels in 1986, the GDSS would have heard…...

mla

Bibliography

Eberhart, Jonathan. 1986. "Challenger disaster muddles NASA's future." Science News, March 15.

Editorial. 2003. "Bad News Rising." Air Safety Week, Feb. 17. (Editorial, 2003)

Forrest, Jeff. 1995. "The Challenger Shuttle Disaster," in Aviation & Aerospace. Accessed via the Internet 11/1/05. http://frontpage.hypermall.com/jforrest/challenger/challenger_sts.htm

Harwood, William. Voyage Into History. CBS, 1986. Accessed via the Internet 11/1/04. http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/51Lintro.html

Challenger Launch Decision
JOE KILMINSTE'S ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE CHALLENGE DISASTE

On January 28, 1986, the Challenger, one of the reusable space shuttle by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, was launched off at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida but exploded 72 seconds after liftoff. The launch was approved and ordered by the management of the Morton Thiokol, Inc., an aerospace company, that manufactures solid propellant rocket motors for big clients, including the NASA, and per NASA's urging despite the objection of Morton Thiokol's engineers that the 30-degree F. temperature was inclement to the shuttle's boosters. The launch was a publicized event as NASA's 25th mission and had a selected teacher, Christa McAulifee and six astronauts on board. All these passengers perished (Jennings 1996).

The launch was repeatedly postponed because the engineers of Thiokol notes the failure of an O. ring assembly in the rockets they used…...

mla

References

Benner, L. (1996). The Challenger Launch Decision by Diane Vaughan. Book Review, International Society of Air Safety Investigators: ISASI Forum. http://www.ipri.org/Reviews/Vaughan.html

Jennings, MM. (1996). Summary of the "Challenger" Episode. Case Studies in Business Ethics, second edition. West Publishing.  http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik/nasa.htm 

Stubley, G. (1998). Engineers and Integrity. The Objectivist Center. http://www.ios.org/tex/gstubley_engineers-integrity.asp

Vaughan, D. (1996). The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture and Deviance at NASA.. Paperback. University of Chicago Press.

There was one thing or the other to delay the launch of the Challenger, until the D-Day, when the shuttle was launched at 11:38 AM as against the scheduled take off time of 9:38 AM on January 28. About seventy three seconds into the mission, the Challenger exploded in mid air, and all the seven crew members were killed instantaneously. For the hundreds of people, the family and friends and others who had gathered at the site to watch the launching of the Challenger, it was a sight that they would never be able to forget. They were forced to watch helplessly and fearfully, as the fiery flames consumed their loved ones. The entire nation, which was watching events as they unfolded on their television sets, was rendered speechless. (Challenger Disaster, a National Tragedy)
onald eagan, the President of the United States of America at the time, stated, "Today is…...

mla

References

Administrator Goldin issues statement on Tenth Anniversary of Challenger Observance.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. January 16, 1996.  http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/administrator.html 

Baura, Gail D. Engineering ethics, an industrial perspective.

Academic Press. 2006.

Too often, important issues are overlooked because people fail to realize that there are deeper concerns that are not being considered. When managers address problems, they have to frame them the right way, so anyone they communicate with sees the value of what they are trying to say and the goals they are attempting to reach (Bazerman & Moore, 2008). This was something that can and should have been done with the Challenger disaster, but that was not done. A significant number of lives were lost because of that, and that could have really been avoided with proper communication and framing techniques on the part of both NASA and the engineers at Morton-Thiokol. What happened with the shuttle that day was tragic, and many argued that it was unavoidable.
However, it was actually an avoidable issue that appeared to be brought on simply by improperly framed communication. Framing has to…...

mla

References

Bazerman, M.H. & Moore, D.A. (2008). Judgment in managerial decision making. NY: Wiley.

Pinkus, R.L. (1997). Engineering ethics: Balancing cost, schedule, and risk. NY: Cambridge University Press.

speech "Challenger Address to the Nation" by President onald eagan. Specifically, it will analyze the elements of the rhetorical situation in the address. It will also discuss how the elements relate to eagan's presidency and popularity at the time of the speech in January 1986. onald eagan endures as one of the most popular American presidents, and speeches such as this one are one indication of his popularity. They are poignant, resilient, and emotional, all of which characterize his administration and his outlook as a politician and a person.
When the Challenger space shuttle exploded during take-off in 1986, the event shocked and saddened the nation. America lost seven of its brightest and best astronauts, and the country grieved over the loss. eagan's speech acknowledged that grief and mourned along with the nation. The speech is quite indicative of eagan's public popularity at the time. Just like eagan himself, the…...

mla

References

Cannon, L. (2001). Ronald Reagan: The Presidential portfolio: a history illustrated from the collection of the Ronald Reagan library and museum. New York: Public Affairs.

Ritter, K., & Henry, D. (1992). Ronald Reagan: The great communicator. New York: Greenwood Press.

White, J.K. (2004). Ronald Reagan: The power of conviction and the success of his Presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34(1), 173+.

Reagan, Ronald. (1986). Ronald Reagan: The space shuttle Challenger tragedy address. Retrieved from the American rhetoric.com Web site: 29 Aug. 2005.http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rreaganchallenger.htm

The report identifies NASA as "working with an unrealistic set of flights" (Cases Study. N.D.); timelines "which were retained and increased pressure to meet schedules by senior NASA managers" (Case Study. N.D.). The Challenger disaster was marked by the reality that
"NASA had found evidence that O-rings had allowed hot exhaust to burn through a primary seal. Since 1982 the O-rings had been designated a "Criticality 1" issue. Indeed, a January shuttle launch in cold weather just a year earlier had shown significant burn through of the O-rings. The day before the Challenger launch, engineers at orton Thiokol, a NASA contractor, raised concerns that the frigid temperatures at Cape Canaveral would cause the shuttle's rocket booster "O-rings" to fail -- which would mean catastrophe for the shuttle. Just hours before liftoff, Thiokol engineers were recommending that the launch be delayed. After hours of discussion, NASA pressed forward with the launch…...

mla

Much like the Challenger incident the CAIB report finds "NASA management practices to be as much a cause of the accident as the foam that struck the left wing 81 sec into flight. These practices included: allowing the shuttle to fly with known flaws, blocking the flow of critical information up the hierarchy, and inadequate safety monitoring" (O'Leary, J. June 2, 2010). As with the O-ring on Challenger, a seemingly minor technical issue was the problem. "Foam had been falling off the tank since the very first shuttle flight, and NASA had long been trying to fix it. But in each case, NASA decided it was okay to keep flying. Over time, this led to a significant understating or a collective ignoring of an actual risk" (O'Leary, J. June 2, 2010).

Clearly, there were systemic organizational issues which confronted NASA over the course of several decades which led to the two disasters however, what specifically went wrong and more importantly how could these areas have been addressed?

At the core of both of these incidents was an organizational inertia "reflecting missed opportunities, blocked or ineffective communication channels, flawed analysis, and ineffective leadership" (Case Study. N.D.). After the Challenger flight the Rogers report's "recommendations included that NASA restructure its management to tighten control, and set a group dedicated to finding and tracking hazards in regard to shuttle safety" (Case Study. N.D.). Yet, after the Columbia disaster, the CAIB report found that "though NASA underwent many management reforms in the wake of the Challenger accident…the agency's powerful human space flight culture remained intact, as did many practices…such as inadequate concern over

The examples and the codes show that healthy competition is good, but must not lead to disrespectful cut-throat practices. Further, as these documents say, the engineer must resist the drive for individual gain if it puts the entire profession at stake. Everyone wants to profit, but the engineer in particular must be driven by a sense of duty and pride in solid work that goes beyond the individual to consider the needs and well-being of the public. Engineering ethics is profoundly social. The engineer must always remember that lives are in their hands when he or she is designing some product or working on a project. Nothing should stand in the way of performing this responsibility with absolute integrity, even if there are other forces pressuring the engineer to break down, whether in deception or inaccuracy or in any other way. At all times, safety should be the priority.
ibliography

American…...

mla

Bibliography

American Institute of Chemical Engineers. AIChE Code of Ethics. March 20, 2010. <   New York: Author, 2003.http://www.aiche.org/About/Code.aspx >.

Boisjoly, Roger M. "The Challenger Disaster: Moral Responsibility and the Working Engineer." Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, January 7, 1987.

National Society of Professional Engineers. NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. March 20, 2010. . Alexandria, VA: Author, 2007.

Slater, Lauren. "In the Event of a Water Landing: Darley and Latane's Training Manual -- a Five Step Approach." In Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century, 94-112. New York W.W. Norton, 2004.

Education Politics
Dumping $2.6 Million on Bakersfield (Or How Not to Build a Migratory Farm orker's Clinic)

The central issue of this case was that the social ecology of administration and other external factors were not taken into consideration during the implementation of a plan to build new health clinics for migrant farm workers in Bakersfield California.

The program was created to meet the requirements of legislation of the 1970 Migrant Health Act sponsored by Senator alter Mondale. Although there was plenty of money available, the money came with time constraints and the group who needed to spend the money had a poor overall knowledge of the community the funding was supposed to serve. This case was significant because it demonstrated how multiple levels of government, both federal and local, often mismanage their responsibilities simply because of poor communication and planning.

There were several factors that created this problem. The first issue was…...

mla

Works Cited

Aron, Michael. (1972). "Dumping $2.6 Million on Bakersfield (Or How Not to Build a Migratory Farm Worker's Clinic)." The Washington Monthly. October: pp.23-32.

Charles, Michael T.. (1989). "The Last Flight of Space Shuttle Challenger." Coping With Crises: The Management of Disaster, Riots and Terrorism.

Sciolino, Elain., Bronner, Ethan. (1999). "The Decision To Bomb the Serbs." New York Times. April 18.: p.1+.

Critical Thinking for Homeland Security
The capacity of a government to protect its citizens pivots on the ability of its leaders and high-placed specialists to think critically. Few times in history point so clearly to this principle than the 9/11 disaster. In 1941, the same year that the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Edward M. Glaser published a book titled, An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking. Glaser's practice of psychiatry was remarkable in that he dispensed with the Freudian deep dive into past events, pushing his patients to deal with problem solving in the present -- a critical thinking practice he called reality therapy. Many of Glaser's tenets were adopted by other disciplines because of their universal utility and association with positive results. Glaser defined critical thinking as, "A persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports or…...

mla

Reference

Albert Einstein. Brainy Quotes. Retrieved from  http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_einstein.html 

Chow, D. (2011, January 25). Space Shuttle Challenger disaster FAQ: What went wrong? www.SPACE.com. Retrieved from  http://www.space.com/10677-challenger-tragedy-overview.html 

Eichorn, R. (2012). Developing thinking skills: Critical thinking at the Army Management Staff College. Fort Belvoir, VA: Strategic Systems Department. [Webpage, last modified: 4 2012 January.] Retreived from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/critical/roy.htm

Glaser, E.M. (1941). An experiment in the development of critical thinking. New York, Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.

eserve Personnel Management Systems Division: Officer Evaluations
This paper engages in a thorough assessment of the culture, organization and technology of the reserve personnel management that operates as a branch within the Personnel Service Center of the United States Coast Guard: specifically the Officers Evaluation Systems. The method used to assess this particular branch relies heavily on ethnographic skills and related techniques. According to the official website of the U.S. Coast Guard, this is the division which handles "boards, panels, promotions, evaluations, advancements, retirements, resignations, discharges and separations for all reserve officer, chief warrant officers, and enlisted members" (uscg.mil, 2013). This is the division which deals with assignments, copies of records, medical issues and disability, individual ready reserve, promotions, separations, reserve retirement requests, policy waives and a host of other connected factors.

By scrutinizing closely factors like culture, organization, technology and related issues, one is able to obtain an accurately precise…...

mla

References

Boisjoy, R. (2013). Professional Responsibility and Conduct (Ethical Decisions - Morton Thiokol and the Challenger Disaster) . Retrieved from Onlineethics.org:  http://www.onlineethics.org/Topics/ProfPractice/PPEssays/thiokolshuttle/shuttle_pro.aspx 

Goldstein, H. (2005, September 1). Who Killed the Virtual Case File? Retrieved from ieee.org:  http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/who-killed-the-virtual-case-file/0 

Howard, A. (2012, February 22). Data for the public good. Retrieved from Oreilly.com: http://strata.oreilly.com/2012/02/data-public-good.html

Israel, J. (2012). Why the FBI Can't Build a Case Management System. Computer, 73-80.

It was a poor policy at best, and the President's Cabinet approved the plan, even if he did not. In fact, Congress specifically denied the request to send money to the Contras, so it was done in secret, and this violated the law and the trust of the nation. It was dishonest, it was covert, and it cast a dark cloud over the presidency and eagan's own motives.
In comparison, oosevelt has his own legacy of poor judgement, too. oosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court by proposing to add new justices, and many believe he pointed the country toward socialism.

oosevelt felt the Supreme Court was too conservative when they overthrew many of the social changes he had created in the New Deal. He felt they were not following the Constitution in their decisions, but were following their own feelings. He wanted to bring the number of Supreme Court justices…...

mla

References

Felzenberg, Alvin S. "There You Go Again:" Liberal Historians and the 'New York Times' Deny Ronald Reagan His Due." Policy Review, no. 82 (1997): 51+.

McKenna, Marian C. Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Constitutional War: The Court-Packing Crisis of 1937. New York: Fordham University Press, 2002.

Reagan, Ronald. 2008. Inaugural Address. [Online] available from the Internet at   3 May 2008.http://www.americanpresidents.org/inaugural/39a.aspaccessed 

Siracusa, Joseph M., and David G. Coleman. Depression to Cold War: A History of America from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.

The Challenger disaster, which occurred on January 28, 1986, had a significant impact on the future of space exploration. The disaster resulted in the deaths of all seven crew members onboard the space shuttle Challenger, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. The tragedy led to a suspension of the Space Shuttle program for nearly three years while investigations were conducted to determine the cause of the accident.

The Challenger disaster highlighted the risks and complexities associated with space exploration, leading to increased focus on safety and risk management in future missions. It also prompted NASA to implement numerous changes to improve safety protocols,....

The Challenger Disaster: A Pivotal Moment in Space Exploration

On January 28, 1986, the world witnessed the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and its seven-member crew. The disaster, which occurred 73 seconds after liftoff, sent shockwaves through NASA and the global space community. It had a profound impact on the future of space exploration, leading to a significant re-evaluation of safety protocols, program priorities, and public perception.

Safety and Risk Assessment

In the aftermath of the Challenger disaster, the primary focus shifted towards enhancing safety in spaceflight. The Rogers Commission, appointed to investigate the accident, identified numerous failures in the shuttle's....