The Definitive Guide to HR Management Tools (Collection)

2. Collaboration, Cooperation, and Reciprocity

2.1. Human Nature and Human Science

Some of you may remember the events of January 28, 1986, and the image of the space shuttle Challenger streaking skyward only to disappear in a cloud of white exhaust, errant boosters, and falling debris. In the coming months and years, much of the blame for the disaster was placed on the decision-making process at NASA and the subcontractor Morton Thiokol.¹ It was well known that the O-rings tended to become rigid and unseal at low temperatures, even temperatures found in Florida. The launch-time temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit, well below the safe launch threshold. The O-ring failure may have led directly to the disintegration of the shuttle, but the actual ...