Roger Boisjoly, an engineer for Morton Thiokol, had strongly recommended against the launch of the Challenger on the evening of January 27, 1986. Was this recommendation ignored, misunderstood or overruled? Sadly, the message was ineffective in the basic concept of organizational communication. Organizational communication is "the study of sending and receiving messages that create and maintain a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more persons" (Tompkins, p.24). Boisjoly made a recommendation, and it was hopefully, considered and apparently, rejected, or ignored.
This one recommendation by Boisjoly reflects a breakdown of Bernard's three essential elements of organization. The first element being communication, Boisjoly clearly stated that he did not recommend the launch. By ignoring this recommendation, NASA was not acting with a common purpose with Thiokol. NASA was responding to their own need of a deadline to continue with the launch rather than to postpone the necessity of a successful launch. The common purpose was defeated. Boisjoly attempted to provide the necessary information to insure a safe and successful launch by originally advising against the launch by originally advising against the launch. This proved his willingness to serve the organization as part of the whole program. NASA, however, did not consider this willingness to serve when not reacting to the recommendation.
When reviewing the Challenger and the tragic results, the issue of risk cannot be ignored. Risk is a part of daily living, however how much risk an individual is willing to take is more the issue to be considered. Flying in planes now of days involves much risk. Unfortunately, our own children are put at risk each day when they go to school. Adults who work in high profile government buildings, media, and mailrooms are also at risk for danger. If all of the systems in the Challenger had been operating in perfect harmony, there would have still been the risk to launch.
