SOCL 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Isomorphism, Organizational Culture, Thiokol
6 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Groupthink
● So focused on making a decision, that good or contradictory ideas get suppressed
8 Signs of Groupthink
● Invulnerability
● Rationale
● Morality (convinced they are on the right side)
● Self-censorship
● Stereotypes (opponents)
● Pressure
● Unanimity
● Mindguards (people appoint themselves to protect their leaders)
Groupthink Can be Deadly
● Challenger
● The “deviation spiral”
○ Start with original of what ‘should be normal’
○ If there is a deviation without failure, this redefines what normal is
The Normalization of Deviance
● Morton Thiokol (NASA subcontractor) collected data on O-ring performance
○ Found that putty formed bubbled, changed putty, decided it was fixed
● Gradual process through which unacceptable practice standards become treated as
acceptable
● As the deviance is repeated without catastrophe, it becomes the new normal
Challenger Launch Delays
● Jan 22 - delayed (pushed out by prior rocket)
● Jan 26 - delayed (windy)
● Jan 27 - delayed (hatch not closed)
● Jan 28 - rescheduled
Jan 27, 1986
● Contacted Morton Thiokol
● Lower temp = less successes with O rings, but it was supposed to be in 20s the launch
day
● MT said they should probs reschedule
● NASA not happy with it
● NASA upset that MT is trying to change the rules (launch commit criteria around temp)
● MT VP said they needed to make a decision, engineers were cut out
● ¾ said yes, other was coerced into saying yes
What Pressured NASA to Launch
● Media/political pressure
○ ‘Teacher in space’ mission
● Political/economic pressure
○ Needed to run flight schedule that would attract commercial payloads as well as
government projects in order to maintain congressional approval
Groupthink Can Be Deadly
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
So focused on making a decision, that good or contradictory ideas get suppressed. Morality (convinced they are on the right side) Mindguards (people appoint themselves to protect their leaders) Start with original of what should be normal". If there is a deviation without failure, this redefines what normal is. Morton thiokol (nasa subcontractor) collected data on o-ring performance. Found that putty formed bubbled, changed putty, decided it was fixed. Gradual process through which unacceptable practice standards become treated as acceptable. As the deviance is repeated without catastrophe, it becomes the new normal. Jan 22 - delayed (pushed out by prior rocket) Jan 27 - delayed (hatch not closed) Lower temp = less successes with o rings, but it was supposed to be in 20s the launch day. Nasa upset that mt is trying to change the rules (launch commit criteria around temp) Mt vp said they needed to make a decision, engineers were cut out.
