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  • Mann Glutch

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    Rohit Kumar
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    The document summarizes the 1949 Mann Gulch disaster where 13 smokejumpers died fighting a wildfire in Montana. It describes how the crew's framework and leadership broke down when their radios were destroyed and the fire conditions changed drastically. Dodge initially took command but lost control as the men panicked and ran instead of following his order to lie in the burned area. This incident demonstrates how easily organized groups can disintegrate into chaos when roles are unclear and small events combine in dangerous ways.

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    The document summarizes the 1949 Mann Gulch disaster where 13 smokejumpers died fighting a wildfire in Montana. It describes how the crew's framework and leadership broke down when their radios were destroyed and the fire conditions changed drastically. Dodge initially took command but lost control as the men panicked and ran instead of following his order to lie in the burned area. This incident demonstrates how easily organized groups can disintegrate into chaos when roles are unclear and small events combine in dangerous ways.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    5 views7 pages

    Mann Glutch

    Uploaded by

    Rohit Kumar
    The document summarizes the 1949 Mann Gulch disaster where 13 smokejumpers died fighting a wildfire in Montana. It describes how the crew's framework and leadership broke down when their radios were destroyed and the fire conditions changed drastically. Dodge initially took command but lost control as the men panicked and ran instead of following his order to lie in the burned area. This incident demonstrates how easily organized groups can disintegrate into chaos when roles are unclear and small events combine in dangerous ways.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 7

    The Collapse of

    Sensemaking
    In
    Organizations:

    The Mann Gulch Disaster


    Incident Overview
    • A lightning storm passed over the Mann Gulch area at 4 PM on August
    4, 1949
    • Occurred in the Helena National Forest in the state of Montana

    • which caused a small fire in a dead tree

    • On 5th August 5 PM the temp. has increased to 97 degree

    • 16 Smoke Jumpers flew out of Missoula, Montana at 2:30PM


    • Wind Condition was not stable

    • They were landed in the south side of the Mann Gulch at 4:10 PM

    • The radio was pulverized when it hit the ground


    • Dodge and Harrison told the second in command, William Hellman, to
    take the crew across to the north side of the gulch
    • When Dodge took his position he could see flames flapping back and
    forth on the south slop
    • At this point the reader hits the most chilling sentence in the entire book:
    "Then Dodge saw it!"
    • Dodge yelled at the crew to drop their tools.
    • He lit a fire in front of them and ordered them to lie down in the area it
    had burned

    • No one followed his command

    • They all ran for the ridge. Only two people, Sallee and Rumsey, made it.

    • Hellman made it over the ridge burned horribly and died at noon the
    next day

    • Dodge saved himself by lying down in the ashes.

    • Overall 13 people were died in that incident.


    When did Dodge lose leadership?
    • Crew got confused
    • 'Throw away your tools!’
    • Panic
     Yet these members had confronted danger before.
     But not as a member of a disintegrating group
     Lost their framework (cosmos) and found chaos
     Threat-rigidity
    How does this relate to business?
    “The recipe for disorganization in Mann Gulch is not all that rare in
    everyday life. The recipe reads, thrust people into unfamiliar roles, leave
    some key roles unfilled, make the task more ambiguous, discredit the
    role system, and make all of these changes in an context in which small
    events can combine into something monstrous.”
    Take Away Message
    “To understand how language works, what pitfalls it conceals, what its
    possibilities are is to understand a central aspect of the complicated
    business of living the life of a human being. To be concerned with the
    relation between language and reality, between words and what they
    stand for in the speaker's or the hearer's thoughts and emotions is to
    approach the study of language as both an intellectual and a moral
    discipline."

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