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From: ronc@fai.UUCP (Ronald O. Christian)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: An Everyday Lesson
Message-ID: <88@fai.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Mar-86 17:01:27 EST
Article-I.D.: fai.88
Posted: Mon Mar  3 17:01:27 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Mar-86 08:04:04 EST
References: <260@pyuxh.UUCP>
Reply-To: ronc@fai.UUCP (Ronald O. Christian)
Organization: Fujitsu America, Inc.
Lines: 39

>My rhetorical question:  How often have we seen the correct technical or
>operational decision overturned by "higher management" because of the politics
>of the situation?  Fortunately, most of us don't work in places where the cost
>of doing that is measured in lives, billions of dollars, and national prestige.
>Steve Daniels (!pyuxh!sdd) "I'm counting the smiles on the road to Utopia."

***

Many of us who have done military work feel this way.  In many cases the
decisions made by upper management haven't resulted in loss of life or money
measured in powers of 9 simply because a third major war has yet to occur.

These kinds of dangerous decisions are not always the work of higher
management, either.  Sometimes personality conflicts or rivalry between
peers can twist a product into uselessness.  Often at the negotiation
table vendor and customer representitives get so wrapped up with trading
functionality for delivery schedules, or spec exceptions for money, that
both sides lose sight of the product's original intended function.

Given all this, and that the shuttle went through the same process, it
was inevitable that the shuttle would prang.  But Jesus God, why did it
have to fail in such a fashion?  I can't imagine a worse time for the
shuttle to blow, except perhaps when the senator was aboard.  Now it is
politically necessary to hang the responsibility on someone, just as it
*may* have been politically necessary to launch in less than ideal conditions.

Speaking of which, if someone cognizant of the risks made the decision to
launch because of the political effect of having the shuttle in orbit at
the time of the president's speech, I want his eyeballs.  I will remove
them myself.

				Ron
-- 
--
		Ronald O. Christian (Fujitsu America Inc., San Jose, Calif.)
		ihnp4!pesnta!fai!ronc

Oliver's law of assumed responsibility:
	"If you are seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it."