Ethical Issue: Critics of PowerPoint claim that flashy graphics, sound effects,

Question

Ethical Issue: Critics of PowerPoint claim that flashy graphics, sound effects, and animation often conceal thin content. Consider, for example, the findings regarding the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. Report authors charged that NASA scientists had used PowerPoint presentations to make it look as though they had done analyses that they hadn’t. Overreliance on presentations instead of analysis may have contributed to the shuttle disaster. What lessons about ethical responsibilities when using PowerPoint can be learned from this catastrophe in communication? (Objs. 1, 2, and 4)

Explanation / Answer

The bulletined thinking while making the PowerPoint presentation contributed to the Challenger disaster, where 7 crew members died and a multi-billion dollar craft destroyed due to an O-ring failure. NASA management wasn't listening to the engineers -and breaking issues up into bullets helped them do that. There is a lack of discussion when it comes to presenting through PowerPoint as PowerPoint is a tool for presentation, not discussion. The bullet list ignores critical relationships and assumptions. So the ethics here in using PowerPoint for such projects need more info per slide. Data graphics should be strong.powerpoint is like providing summary to the audience without getting into detail discussion.

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