Class response - 07/01/25

My Three Insights

Today’s class was an enjoyable one. I am in the market group and it was a stretch to be able to discover how marketing played a part in the Columbia case study. After a group effort, it was decided that the way marketing played a role in the case study was that there was no marketing done by NASA. It is sad to think that so much money already goes through such a program and it is done without marketing to investors, politicians or the American public. Think of the potential of NASA’s finances if they were simply to begin spending some effort and money into marketing to the American public.
Secondly, we graphed out a popularity graph of NASA over the past few decades and it is interesting to visually see that NASA has really lost the eye and support of the American people. They were popular in the 60’s and 70’s for obvious reasons, such as discoveries, success moon landings, etc. Yet, after every disaster since, they have done little to bring back their image into a positive light. They seem to simply ignore America.
My last thought is that even though it seems to me that we are beating this case to death whenever we start to analyze it again from a different angle, it seems that once we have jumped in and discussed it a little bit more, I gain further appreciation for the things that I am learning. I am learning great ways to learn.

A little side note. Ballroom and Modern aren’t comparable. Only one is really a dance, the other is a weird art like thing. j/k!!

Class Responses - 07/01/18

First of all, it was actually alot of fun to play musical chairs again. But it was also interesting that we very quickly went into the social norms of the rules we thought were to be part of the game. With the only rule being that everyone needs there weight to be supported by the chair. It kind of sucked being the first one to be kicked out of the game, but it was also alot of fun to be able to watch others play, compete and some simply walk away and not even try.

Secondly, it was difficult to have an entire class discussion while mixed within a group of clumped up chairs. This may not actually be an insight from the actual discussion, but it is one that I thought was rather interesting. When we first began the discussion, a lot of people were sitting on the desk tops, and some leaning, with a few actually sitting in the seats. However, as the discussion progressed, and students began to release that we weren't going to organize the desks, they began to all slide down into the seats, and fewer and fewer were sitting on top. At the end, all but myself were sitting in the chairs. I just thought it was interesting that many of us seemed to think that we would reorganize the room before getting into a full-blown discussion, but as we realized that wasn't going to happen we gave in and sat down in the disorder.

Last and finally on the topic of the discussion, I had a difficult time trying to apply the lessons in disscussed in class to those of the Columbia Case Study. There may have been a simple problem underlying my difficulty. That being I may have been trying to look too deep into the case. The answer may have been on the surface. I just see the Columbia Case as a problem in the communication of the organization, and had people simply listened to others and taken the time to care about what they had to say, that most likely a solution could have been discovered prior to re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Communication is the key!!

Class Disscusion - 07/01/16

I really liked the concept of trustworthiness being someone with the traits with character, Competence, and Commitment. Also, that fact that if weakness lays in any of these traits, that the trustworthiness decreases.

Secondly, I really enjoyed the further discussion on the circle diagram, with trustworthiness being at the center of the intrapersonal circle. The idea that we must work on ourselves to be able to become trustworthy and be able to have the respect and real leadership that comes with it.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the discussion on Love playing a pivotal role in the workplace. With love comes the ability to see people as people and not objects. Be doing so, people will enjoy working for you, and will feel the love that comes from actually listening to them and treating them as they should be. When we objectify people, we more easily treat them unkindly, with disrespect and in return don't get the respect that we need to lead a business or organization

Columbia's Final Mission - Case

5 Questions for the Panel

1. What was the origin of the final problem?
2. What caused the Apollo 13 mission to turn out successfully?
3. What could be learned from Apollo 13 that could have been applied to the Columbia Mission?
4. Can the issues with the O-rings on Challenger be compared to the Foam Strike on Columbia? If so, how?
5. What must be done to assist in the prevention of future events such as the Columbia disaster?

5 Key Insights

1. I found it interesting that the DAT team had no clue who they were supposed to be reporting to. It was as if they purposely didn't inform them, maybe to assemble the team as requested but because they didn't care about what the DAT team would discover, they just partially isolated them from the Mission Management Team. Not very good for open communication.
2. It's interesting that proper resolution had been employed with the prior Apollo 13 mission, however, it was neglected or ignored for two disaster missions, the Challenger and the Columbia.
3. This was just a thought, but I can't determine an answer. How many issues have other country's space programs had? Have there been any exemplary Space programs in other Nations; Russia, Japan, etc.)? If so, what could be learn from them that might teach us something?
4. It seems to me that the pride of NASA has kept them from following the book in each and every flight. They have policies and procedures for safety, yet they often ignore them, or purposely minimize they severity of real problem to save money and time. Never a smart way to run an organization.
5. Who actually takes responsibility in NASA when things go wrong. Personally, I would broadly say NASA, the entire organization and their organizational structure (culture and hierarchy).

1 Key Organization of Personal Experience

I would have to discuss that of my experience with Sports Chek in Victoria, BC. I worked there after my mission, but prior to my attending school here at BYU-Idaho. While there experienced a lot with organizational communications, both effective and ineffective. My position there was that of merchandising. I was in charge of the general appearance of the store, restocking, display resets, and ad placements. I was suppose to report to the Operations Manager, beside him was the stores Sales manager and they reported to the Store manager. However, each day that I went to work I would receive direction from all three managers on what they thought I should be doing that day, with the direction from each being different from the other. Also, when I reported any problems to the Operations Manager, they often would not get relayed to the Store Manager and then back to the Sales Manager. Instead he would tell me to stop what I was originally doing and correct the problem. When the other managers would then see me attempting to correct the problem and would tell me to stop and get back to what I was originally doing. I hope this gives you the picture of the experience. Each day I worked had something similar to this type of event. Needless to say, I soon left the company to go work for those with better management.

Poor communication can really affect the way employees view their work. Also, it can lead to a sense of nothing really getting accomplished. I liked to work on a project to completion before moving to another, but in that work environment, I felt like I had started thousands of projects, but having never completed one of them.

All about Me

• My best lessons in Leadership came from personal experiences on a mission, in church and in relationships.
• My best lessons in Communicating came from the same groups, but most specifically from my marriage.
• Many Organizations that I have Experienced Include: BYU-Idaho Scroll, Scouts, LDS Mission, Dance Alliance, Whitewater Rafting, Communication classes, Highschool Band and Theatre, Community and BYU-Idaho Musical Theatre performances, Church (YM's, Elders Quorum, Etc,) Arthur Murray Dance Studios, ITS, PTK Honors Society, and all my past and current employment.
• How? I had both positive and negative experiences in all of the previous groups. In these groups I viewed excellent and poor leaders, and effective and ineffective interpersonal relations.
• The Traditional American Hotdog is better naked in macaroni because it's just better.
• I have lived in Nanaimo, BC; Victoria, BC; Vancouver, BC; Calgary, AB; Detroit, MI; Ventura, CA; and Rexburg, ID.
• I am proud of my achievement of having a photo published in the Church News and also I will be graduating in 3 years in stead of 4 with a Bachelors degree.
• I have a goal to Climb a 300+ foot cliff and/or frozen waterfall.
• The Industries I am interested in are Intelligence, Consulting, Rafting/Hiking/Highadventure, Religion.