Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!skipper!shafer From: shafer@elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer (OFV)) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Challenger Last Words Message-ID: Date: 4 Mar 90 16:31:50 GMT References: <23146@usc.edu> <610@ksr.UUCP> <10432@ttidca.TTI.COM> Sender: shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal. Lines: 32 In-reply-to: sorgatz@ttidca.TTI.COM's message of 2 Mar 90 21:37:24 GMT In article <10432@ttidca.TTI.COM> sorgatz@ttidca.TTI.COM ( Avatar) writes: Chris' point is an exellent one, but unfortunately it is lost on the real target group; namely the big-shot, NASA MBA-managers that were all too willing to let political oneupsmanship superceed crew safety. The problem is not a NASA exclusive! In general American management is technically incompetent, and unwilling to look at the long-term effects of their decisions. Virtually all of NASA's line management have _only_ engineering degrees. Here at Dryden, for example, I would bet that the only MBA's are in staff positions and there aren't even very many of them (maybe one or two in Procurement or Financial Management). The same is true for the rest of Ames Research Center. NASA does send its managers to training programs, but these are structured to deal with government situations and bear no resemblence to an MBA. (My exposure to MBAs tells me this is no great loss :-). I'm not prepared to estimate when such managers did their last "Hands-on" engineering, but to criticize them for being MBAs is incorrect. They are also not technically illiterate, although I will admit that some of them are not state-of-the-art. Perhaps the moral is, you don't have to be an MBA to make mistakes. -- Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov or ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA Of course I don't speak for NASA