ON Jan 28, 1986, the American Space Shuttle Challenge exploded                                                                                        
just seconds af ter leaving the launching pad, taking with it                                                                                         
the lives of seven astronauts.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
What really caused the Challenger tragedy? Could the even                                                                                             
lives have been saved had someone made the right decision?                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
A political decision from high up in the NASA ad ministration                                                                                         
sealed the fate of the a astronauts.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
From the technical side, the cause of the tragedy was tragedy                                                                                         
was to the O-ring of the solid fuel booster. The cold January                                                                                         
weather had made the O-ring to become brittle. When the solid                                                                                         
fuel was heated up, they turned to gaseous form, leaked                                                                                               
through the brittle O-ring and caused the explosion. Some                                                                                             
people at the technical unit had sounded a warning that the                                                                                           
the Challenger is unsafe to to fly. But the warning was                                                                                               
ignored The decision was, it must be launched on Jan 28.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
After the Challenger disaster, America's space shuttle                                                                                                
programme was halted for two years. Sheer paranoia must have                                                                                          
swept through NASA. They could not possibly afford another                                                                                            
such explosion. Nearly 600 modifications were made during tho                                                                                         
e two years to futher augment the safety of space flight.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In addition, NASA deployed three separate "safe ty crew" to                                                                                 
check and dou ble check to make sure that nothing is amiss The                                                                                        
irony Of this procedure of having three separate safety teams?                                                                                        
No one team felt solely responsible in other words, when                                                                                              
something wont wrong, each team de need responsibility. Each                                                                                          
team had two other teams on whom they could point their                                                                                               
fingers at.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
How it is that such a thing can happen at NASA? Well, one                                                                                             
simple explana tion is that the rational thinking mind had                                                                                            
been swamped by something called "fear" Emotion has taken over                                                                              
the decision making process.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
In almost all cases of decision making the outcome is Only                                                                                            
known after the event had taken place; that is, after the                                                                                             
decision had been carried out This is one of the reasons why                                                                                          
people are afraid to make desicions. Each time a decision is                                                                                          
made, should the decision turn out to be a bad one, someone's                                                                                         
head will roll. It is safer not to make any decision.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Most of us are familiar with situations, where managers simply                                                                                        
refused to make a decision or they be come paralysed by                                                                                               
indeci- siveness; and then they were forced into making one,                                                                                          
they often ended up with a countor-productlve one.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Are business schools turning out MBA's equipped with good                                                                                             
deci- sion making skills? All too often, not. BY the time they                                                                                        
enrol for their MBA, if they do not possess the basic thinking                                                                                        
habits required for good decision making, the MBA programme                                                                                           
cannot do very much in augmenting their decision-making                                                                                               
skills.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Yes, MBA students do a lot of "problem analysls". They are                                                                                  
taught information handling techniques, etc. But most of the                                                                                          
time what they are dealing with are at best simulations of                                                                                            
prolems in a controlled environment. They do not deal with                                                                                            
real problems where a bad decision results in losses running                                                                                          
Into hundreds of thousands of ringgit, or they lose their job                                                                                         
In the classroom, environment they can make all kinds of                                                                                              
assumptions, propose all kinds of suggestions or al                                                                                                   
ternatives, however impractical they might be, but this is not                                                                                        
so in the real world.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
In the real world, MBA graduates who are still wet behind                                                                                             
their oars will expe rience a sense of fear if they have to                                                                                           
make important de cisions with costly conse quences if they                                                                                           
are bad decisions.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Let us take a look at what are some of the factors that affect                                                                                        
managers in their decision making process.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The personal style of a manager or executive af fect, in some                                                                                         
ways the way ho decides. For instance, easy going managers are                                                                                        
not going to crack their brains. They will use other people's                                                                                         
Ideas, or sugges tions, or lot their trusted subordinates make                                                                                        
the decisions.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Then there are certain ambitious executives who make ruthless                                                                                         
decisions to remove their superiors. Not too long ago, a                                                                                              
division manager of a large multinational company was asked to                                                                                        
leave the organisation as a result of unscrupulous                                                                                                    
manipulations by the assistant division manager.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Such individuals are the Machlavellls of the corpo rate world                                                                                         
it is important to note that these individuals do not perceive                                                                                        
themselves as ruthless. The "ruthless" label is put on them by                                                                              
others.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
While ambitious managers make ruthless deci sions, those who                                                                                          
are moti vated by greed will make unethical decisions involvmB                                                                                        
money or in kind. They feel comfortable taking such decisions                                                                                         
because of their underlying moral values system. In general,                                                                                          
an lndividual's moral value system is a result of his exposure                                                                                        
to religion teaching, philosophical influence, social or                                                                                              
cultural customs and practices, as well as his upbringing.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
After an individual's ado adolescent years, the values system                                                                                         
is formed and the moral values usually remain, unchanged                                                                                              
throughout his life.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
On the contrary, individuals helled by a great desire for                                                                                             
money but who are morally ethical, will approach their quest                                                                                          
for wealth by taking actions based on ethical decisions. In                                                                                           
the corporate world, such individuals believe in "principles                                                                                     
and will not make decisions that will violate their beliefs.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Then we have managers who lacked the courage to make                                                                                                  
decisions. They are afraid that their decisions may get them                                                                                          
into trouble, cause them to lose face, or lose their jobs,                                                                                            
etc.                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
If fear interferes with a manager's decision-making process                                                                                           
then other emotions such as anger, liking or dislike will also                                                                                        
affect the quality his decisions.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Normally when a person gets angry, he should re frain from                                                                                            
making a decision. In fact, no managers should make decisions                                                                                         
based on the liking or dislike of someone (subordinate) or                                                                                            
some Pet ideas or projects.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
If the above is still not cawing enough damage to a manager s                                                                                         
decision making process, there are still factors such as his                                                                                          
attitudes or his self-image.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Individuals with pessimistic outlook tend to make conservative                                                                                        
or negative decidons. Managers who have a low self-esteem find                                                                                        
themselves threatened if their subordinates decisions are                                                                                             
accepted by top management.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Is management a science or an art? One of the strongest                                                                                               
arguments against management being a science must lie in the                                                                                          
fact that human or managerial decisions are rarely rational,                                                                                          
rarely impartial, unbiased, neutral or objective.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Psychologist today have established beyond doubt that the left                                                                                        
hemisphere of the human brain is where logical or rational                                                                                            
thinking takes place. But the right brain tends to be                                                                                                 
emotional, sometimes overpowered by feelings such as hatred,                                                                                          
anger, jealously, greed and so on.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Intuitive thinking, hunch or gut-feel also take place in the                                                                                          
right hemisphere of our brain, not to mention creativity and                                                                                          
our ability to appreciate the arts, music, poetry and so on.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
If managerial decision making is so emotionally based what can                                                                                        
we do to improve the decision-making Process in organisations?                                                                                        
Or, write and tell us how successful organisations make                                                                                               
decisions.