Consider the Challenger disaster. Prepare a timeline and discuss the specific ac

Question

Consider the Challenger disaster. Prepare a timeline and discuss the specific actions or inactions of Roger Boisjoly regarding the Challenger disaster within the context of (referencing) specific sections of the PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. To what extent did the organizational cultures of both his company and NASA limit his ability to act ethically? What would you have done?

Include in your discussion a statement of whether or not he should have expressed his concerns to the media or directly to higher level NASA officials. How is this complicated by the fact that the seal failure was only a risk and not a certainty?

Finally, draw upon some of the other readings to discuss how upper management should influence the organization's culture to support ethical behavior on the part of the change manager.

Explanation / Answer

Consider the Challenger disaster. Prepare a timeline and discuss the specific actions or inactions of Roger Boisjoly regarding the Challenger disaster within the context of (referencing) specific sections of the PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Include in your discussion a statement of whether or not he should have expressed his concerns to the media or directly to higher level NASA officials. How is this complicated by the fact that the seal failure was only a risk and not a certainty?

To what extent did the organizational cultures of both his company and NASA limit his ability to act ethically?

It is within the PMI’s code to ensure that whatever is created eventually is safe for those who work with the said vehicle. In this case Roger Boisjoly did his part by alerting the relevant authorities about the flaw and the possible impacts that could result from this flaw. However, when the last opportunity to oppose the move aroused he failed to stand for the people. The organizations are designed in such a way that money is the most important factor. For the boss of Morton Thiokol being a manager was more important to him than being an engineer when dealing with NASA. Although the management knew the possible implications of the flaw they decided to ignore it for business. Similarly, NASA officials pushed for deadlines that limited the engineers from putting safety measures that would stop accidents from happening. I would have found other means of informing the stakeholders of the possible dangers. Thanks to the magnitude of the project, there are definitely a number of avenues such as mass media.

What would you have done? Include in your discussion a statement of whether or not he should have expressed his concerns to the media or directly to higher level NASA officials. How is this complicated by the fact that the seal failure was only a risk and not a certainty?

I would have taken the story to the media but only after trying to contact the relevant authorities and failing. As an engineer the first and main concern would be to get it to the next in authority first, then to the top level management in the company and if this proved inconsequential also to the rest of the world through such channels as the mass media. However, going direct to the media would breed enmity that would have not only crippled the process but had more impact. The fact that it was not a certainty would have further made things difficult since it would mean that there was no reason to stop the flight.

There are different aspects of NASA that revealed that the changes sought in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster were not sustained.

•The management is not appropriately restructured.

•NASA's management needed to improve its control system in order to implement higher safety regulations for shuttle safety.

•They failed to focus on maintaining safety for both Columbia and Challenger.

•The communication system of NASA was ineffective and not supportive before, during and after the disaster. Hence they failed to implement safety measures on time.

Finally, draw upon some of the other readings to discuss how upper management should influence the organization's culture to support ethical behavior on the part of the change manager.

Upper management could influence the culture of the organization by opening a lot of lines for members of the other levels of the management hierarchy to communicate with them. Usually a lot of problems in such an environment come from miscommunication. If the management allowed for clear systems of communication between the engineers and those from a higher hierarchy there would be more transparency which was good for the operations of the organization.

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