The Challenger decision: The interaction of image and technology*

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Morgan, Margaret

Affiliations: Graduate School of Business Administration, Fordham University at Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023, USA

Note: [*] This paper was originally prepared for Dr. Milan Zeleny's course, ‘Decision-Making in Conflict Situations’ at Fordham Graduate School of Business Administration. The author wishes to thank Marek Hessel for his assistance in revising the paper for publication.

Abstract: The Challenger incident appalled and chagrined Americans as a technological tragedy and as a national technological failure. Under public scrutiny, it has become clear that this failure was due not to failure in equipment, information or expertise, but was due to a failure in human judgment. This paper examines the background and history of NASA decision making that led to this ‘human’ technological failure.

Keywords: Space, metaphor, technological failure, NASA/Challenger, can-doism

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-1986-6409

Journal: Human Systems Management, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 331-334, 1986