Ethical Issues in the Loss of STS-107 Columbia - Case Study Example

Ethical issues in the Loss of STS-107 Columbia Executive Summary In present times, NASA feature as the most ambitionsspace exploration association in the world. Admittedly, most NASA’s space projects have been exceptionally successful. Actually, NASA has played a significant role in expanding the boundaries of human consciousness within a vast cosmic arena. Unfortunately, NASA’s ambitious course has been marred by isolated cases of detrimental accidents involving manned space missions. The complete destruction of STS-017 Columbia space shuttle in 2003 is one of sad events clouding the history of spaceflight in the United States. Apparently, such tragic accidents involving space shuttles are preventable, but only if relevant ethical principles are applied in the planning and execution of space missions. In an effort to swiftly exercise their space exploration prowess, organizations like NASA either neglect or pay limited attention to safety aspects of space missions. During shuttle launch missions, ethical principles of honesty, caring and responsibility are often given less attention in decision making processes, compared to other competing interests like cost-savings strategies. As a recommendation, relevant ethical principles should occupy the center stage of spaceflight deliberations, especially those involving manned missions. Introduction Admittedly, the tragic accident of February 1st, 2003 which involved the space shuttle STS-107 Columbia remains one of the most unfortunate events in the history of United States Spaceflight programs. Primarily, the space shuttle’s accident was preceded by a 15-day successful mission involving 7 astronauts. At approximately 0830 hours on 1st February 2003, the STS-107 Columbia with all of its crew headed for its reentry course, with its crew members oblivious of the tragic fate awaiting their descend to earth (Niewoehner & Steidle 2008, p. 01). During the launch of the STS-107 Columbia shuttle, a perceptibly minor accident had occurred; an accident that would later trigger and exponentially propagate the cataclysmic system failure of the Columbia space craft upon reentry into earth’s atmosphere. Sadly, both the NASA’s engineers and administrators in charge of the shuttle’s launching process were inherently aware of the potential threat posed by the minor accident experienced during the launch exercise. In the midst of their professional ambitions, the managers and engineers chose to neglect the technical issue. Technically, NASA’s administrators were appalled at any though of delay on the shuttle’s launch. During deliberations regarding the safety of STS-107 Columbia flight prior to its launch, one senior manager in charge of the launch process is reported as having told the engineers to remove their engineering hats and replace them with management hats (Donovan & Green 2009, p. 48). Apparently, engineers were under pressure to adhere to the administratively prescribed launch timeline. In addition, the management structures and professional culture of NASA at that time were not only highly bureaucratic in nature, but also lacked in objectivity. Probably, subordinate employees were rewarded heftily for pleasing senior administrators, and correspondingly punished for disregarding directions from managers. Apparently, relevant information delivered by engineers regarding the safety concerns of STS-107 Columbia were either diluted, or deliberately silenced as messages progressed up the administrative chain (Donovan & Green 2009, p. 45) In this regard, the major ethical principles surrounding the fate of STS-107 Columbia were lack of honesty, professional responsibility, and caring. Applicable Ethical Principles In management and any other professional undertaking, elements of competitiveness and boundless ambitions are the main ingredients in the recipes for success. Primarily, managers are under constant pressure from stakeholders to make decisions that would facilitate swift achievement of a project’s underlying objectives. In response, managers undertake planning, directing, coordinating and control actions that would hasten achievement of objectives as requested by stakeholders (Smith 2010, p. 19). In the process of pursuing success, managers are highly likely to formulate and implement administrative decisions that undermine the ethical pillars of professionalism. For example, the NASA managers in charge of STS-107 Columbia shuttle launch must have been under pressure from NASA directorship and funding agencies to execute the launching process within a stipulated time frame. As a result, the managers caved in under the pressure of ambition for swift success at the expense of professional honesty, intellectual responsibility, and caring for others (Roughen 2009, p. 73). Within an ethical context, honesty entails the process of remaining truthful and trustworthy under whatever circumstances. In their respective duties, managers and other professionals like engineers are always expected to remain forthright and candid. Professionals are discouraged from engaging in unethical acts which include but not limited to misrepresentation of facts, deliberate omission of technical details, and partial selection and delivery of subjective messages. In essence, honesty remains one of the major cornerstones of ethics in workplaces (Alain 2002, p. 09). Another cornerstone of ethics is professional responsibility, which is slightly similar to honesty. The principle of professional responsibility demands accountability and competence from professionals. For example, professionals must refrain from making subjective decisions, especially decisions that suit their personal interests. Finally, professional caring is the genuine respect and selfless regard to the safety and wellbeing of others. Regardless of pressure and interests of top management, professionals are expected prioritize decisions that safeguard the physical and emotional health of others. Primarily, caring entails the formulation of decisions and selection of courses of actions that are not only benevolent in nature, but also that present the least harm to others (Alain 2002, p. 14). Case Study Analysis Essentially, the STS-107 Columbia accident is a perfect example of poor and unethical decision making by an organization’s management. Apparently, NASA’s management did not place much emphasis on safety and health aspects of employees. After the investigation of the shuttle’s accident was completed, the resultant report ascertained the depth and breadth of a dysfunctional management culture within the United State’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Undeniably, all the professionals tasked with the planning, execution and control tasks of the STS-107 Columbia shuttle project were not only qualified, but also hardworking (Niewoehner & Steidle 2008, p. 01). Actually, there were no limitations in the intellectual traits and academic qualifications of all experts working on the ill-fated Columbia shuttle program. However, the managers tasked with administration of the Columbia shuttle project failed to embrace morally upright attitudes. At one point during the shuttle’s mission, the NASA’s Director of Missions Operations exposed his ethical disinclination when he said, “…it would be better for the astronauts in STS-107 Columbia shuttle to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during reentry…” (Donovan & Green 2009, P. 61) Like other managers who made the wrong calls during the Columbia shuttle’s project, the operations director’s comment brought to surface the ethically unhealthy nature of management thinking in NASA. Unfortunately, the tragic accident of STS-107 Columbia shuttle cannot be undone. However, necessary precautions and objective reconstruction of managerial culture can be undertaken to ensure that such accidents can never happen again. First, the value of professional honesty must be entrenched into NASA’s management structure. With respect to the element of honesty, managers of future space programs in NASA should desist from presenting misleading information, and misrepresenting facts. Entrenchment of honesty in an organizational culture ensures that professionals, especially administrators execute their professional mandates in an expedient manner. Primarily, managers have formal powers and authority over technical employees like engineers in project management exercises (Lash & Roger 2014, p. 47)). These formal powers increase an administrator’s chances of making immoral and unscrupulous decisions. In the presence of deeply entrenched honesty within an organization, unethical tendencies can be dispelled. The principle of honesty enhances intellectual humility and fair-mindedness; hence enabling managers to admit ignorance and ditch self-deceptive tendencies in decision making. Therefore, prevalence of honesty as an ethical principle in NASA’s management structure will limit dilution of sensitive facts and deliberate omission of information in future flight launch exercises (Sims 2013, p. 46). Besides honesty, the ethical principles of professional responsibility and caring could prove instrumental in mitigating the effects of poor management. Prior to the launch of STS-107 Columbia shuttle, NASA’s administration had begun to implicitly push its technical staff towards prioritization of economic efficiency and general success of launch projects at the expense of safety aspects. For example, engineers working on the STS-107 Columbia shuttle wore badges branded with better, cheaper, faster themes (Donovan & Green 2009, p. 56). In this regard, it is acknowledgeable that NASA’s administrative culture partially omitted the ethical principles of caring and professional responsibility in executing the Columbia shuttle project. Admittedly, cost-minimization strategies are attractive attributes in the business of spaceflight missions. However, more emphasis should be placed on the human side over the material side of space missions. In this case, professional responsibility would enhance the rationality of thinking. Ethically, professional responsibility prioritizes the technical elements of accuracy, precision, and validity in task performance (Weiss 2008, p. 92). On the other hand, caring underscores the element of social fairness. Therefore, managerial decisions pertaining to future space missions must be conducted in a caring and professionally responsible manner. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that unethical conduct in professional duties can present detrimental consequences to others. Primarily, ethics involves the categorization of rights and wrongs. Ethical principles like honesty, caring and responsibility are morally right, while unethical principles like deception and unfairness are morally wrong. With respect to the STS-107 Columbia case study, it emerges that morally right ethical principles like honesty and caring can minimize or even eliminate occurrence of harmful consequences. Contrarily, deceptiveness and other related unethical behaviors can act as fuel in the journey towards occurrence of unprecedented disasters. Reference List ALAIN, B. (2002). Ethics in Management: Understanding the Evils of Unethical Behavior. Pittsburg: John Wiley & Sons. DONOVAN, A. & GREEN, M. (2009). Setup for failure: The STS-107 Columbia disaster. American Journal of Educational Ethics, 23(8), p. 45-62. LASH, O. & ROGER, C. (2014). Principles of Responsible Management: Global Sustainability, Responsibility, and Ethics. New York: Cengage Learning. NIEWOEHNER, R. J. & STEIDLE, C. E. (2008). The loss of the space shuttle Columbia: Portaging leadership lessons with a critical thinking model. The Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-loss-of-the-space-shuttle-columbia-portaging-leadership-lessons-with-a-critical-thinking-model/833 ROUGHEN, M. (2002). Ethics, Management, and Mythology: Rational Decision Making for Professionals. Cardiff: Radcliffe Publishing. SIMS, R. R. (2013). Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Why Giants Fall. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. SMITH, P. (2010). Ethical Leadership and Decision Making: Applying Theoretical Perspectives in Complex Dilemmas. London: Rutledge. WEISS, J. (2008). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More