Module 6 Assignment

1. Your textbook and the lecture describe what constitutes a team and a variety of
team types. Were the people at Morton Thiokol a group or a team? What type of
team were they?
a. Morton Thiokol is a team because they are working intensely together to
achieve the common goal of launching the Challenger. The people depicted in
the videos are not a part of a top management team overseeing the mission of
the whole company, rather I’d say they are part of a research & development
team (overseeing the O-rings) or a project team (The challenger project given to
the company).

2. At Morton Thiokol and/or NASA, what are examples of conformity and deviance
that you witnessed? In terms of optimal performance as a team, do you think there
was too much conformity or too much deviance?
a. An example of conformity can be seen on Morton Thiokol’s side, giving into
NASA’s group’s launch schedule, and ultimately, their pressure to doubt the
data Morton Thiokol had found.
b. An example of deviance can also be seen on Morton Thiokol’s side in how
Boisjoly refused to let his findings and his perspective to be ignored by the
group. He’s screaming, pleading that they will see the warning too.
c. I think there was too much conformity in this situation because the
documentary depicted Boisjoly being the only one truly fighting for the data and
for the Challenger not to launch. The rest of the Thiokol team is giving in to
NASA’s pressure. Even by the end, Boisjoly doesn’t disagree when the last word
is said. This shows the desire to stay part of the group, which is a cause of the
pitfall of conformity.

3. If you were an employee at Morton Thiokol, how do you think that you would have
reacted in this important meeting?
a. I would be horrified. As an employee, I would be familiar with the type of hard
work we do and the stakes they come with. For NASA to disregard that work
and pretty much ignore the warning our work provides, I’d be so devasted to
hear that lives are in the hands of those who are more concerned about NASA’s
public image than safety.
4. If you wanted to help the NASA and Morton Thiokol teams improve their decision-
making, what recommendations would you provide? Do you think they would have
the intended impact?
a. I think reevaluating the alternatives they had before them more thoroughly
would’ve made an impact of saving the Challengers’ passengers. Sure, they
looked over the photos again, and talked it through... But I think if they were to
formally, thoroughly weigh out each outcome, there would be more emphasis
on what was at stake. Furthermore, in talking about the alternatives, maybe
they could have given themselves more options of what to do instead of
launching the rocket. At least coming up with a later date or reassuring NASA of
a timeline where they could develop a better product would help ease the
tension in missing the orbit for this launch.