Lumongsod, Mary Nida S.

CE – 3B
Engineering Management TTh 9:20 – 10:20 AM

1. ) What can you learn from this disaster that may be relevant to your organization or an
organization you know?
Employees and managers should have open communication lines, and management
should listen to and consider employee's feelings and perspectives. Cooperation between
individuals and organizations within an organization is critical to success. As a manager, the
disaster teaches you the importance of listening to your employees' perspectives on the project. It
does not mean you are your team leader; you know everything – good managers consider the
experts' advice and think of things through before deciding on something.

2. ) What do you think was the cause, or were the causes, of the Challenger disaster?
The Challenger disaster's leading cause was managerial incompetence, which resulted in
the final failure of communication between the engineers and the managers. The story made it
clear that both parties failed to collaborate in the first place because it was apparent that the
managers did not know the correct progress of the project from the start. The managers were
swayed by time constraints, allowing the launch even though they were aware of spacecraft
issues. It is also clear that the managers ignored the engineers' warnings that the craft was not yet
ready for launch, resulting in seven people's deaths. NASA's extreme pressure caused the
catastrophe; there was also a lack of coordination among workers, and everyone decided to play
it safe.