The purpose of this memo is to analyze the accessibilityand ethicsof three technicaldocuments inthe Challenger Case Study: Document A: Ray January 1978 Memo, Document B: Ray January 1979 Memo, and Document F: BoisjolyJuly 1985 Memo. The 1986 Challenger explosion stands as one of the most tragic incidents of space travel in US history. Perhaps the most shockingdetail of the accident is that theproblemthat caused the explosion, issues with the O-ring,had been known for years before the launch. However, due to a lack of effective technical communication and, at times, a complete disregard for ethics, the problem was left unresolved. By simply ensuring that all those involved were appropriatelyinformed through accessible technical communication,
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Document Awas an internal NASA responseby Leon Rayto MTI’s proposal to relax standards on the O-ring. Given that this document was written 8 years before the disaster,it could have prevented the explosionfrom occurring. However, due to a lack of accessibility in the document, it failed in its purpose of informing NASA managementabout the issues with the O-Ring.Document Bwasonce againan internal NASA responseby Leon Ray regarding his issues with the clevis joint design. This time, the document was written in a significantlymore accessible formatcausing the problem to be addressed. Document F was an internal MTI memo written to inform MTI management of the critical and life threatening issues regarding the O-ring. The document was written with a high level of accessibilityin mindas it effectively separated information and made it easy for the audienceto find necessary …show more content…
Cochrum24May 2018Of the ethicalobligationsdefined by Markel, competence, which is having the skills and knowledge to do the job, is a large factor inmaking ethical decisionsas one cannot make an ethical decision if they are not appropriately informed.This obligation of competence goes both ways as it is also the obligation of the employee to ensure that their supervisors have theknowledge to do their job.Based on this, creating accessible technical documents that effectively inform others is an ethicalobligation.Ethics is based on having the knowledge to make an informeddecision. When inaccessible documents are created, it is very difficult to make an ethical decision. Evaluation of Accessibilityin DocumentsIn the followingsections, each of the documents will beratedon a scale from 1 (not at all accessible) to 10 (extremely accessible).Each ratingwill then be justified using information from the documents. Finally,the effect of the level of accessibility of each document will be related to the ethics of the documentand the case study as a whole. Evaluation of Accessibility inDocumentA: Ray January 1978 MemoIn 1978, Leon Ray wrote an internal NASA document as a response to MTI’s proposal to relax the O-ringstandards.The document specifically responded to aRelaxation of O-ringAcceptance Standards and Below Minimum O-ringCompressionHowever, due to large paragraphs and alack of separation,the document failed to garner a response from his supervisors.Based upon the
Document Awas an internal NASA responseby Leon Rayto MTI’s proposal to relax standards on the O-ring. Given that this document was written 8 years before the disaster,it could have prevented the explosionfrom occurring. However, due to a lack of accessibility in the document, it failed in its purpose of informing NASA managementabout the issues with the O-Ring.Document Bwasonce againan internal NASA responseby Leon Ray regarding his issues with the clevis joint design. This time, the document was written in a significantlymore accessible formatcausing the problem to be addressed. Document F was an internal MTI memo written to inform MTI management of the critical and life threatening issues regarding the O-ring. The document was written with a high level of accessibilityin mindas it effectively separated information and made it easy for the audienceto find necessary …show more content…
Cochrum24May 2018Of the ethicalobligationsdefined by Markel, competence, which is having the skills and knowledge to do the job, is a large factor inmaking ethical decisionsas one cannot make an ethical decision if they are not appropriately informed.This obligation of competence goes both ways as it is also the obligation of the employee to ensure that their supervisors have theknowledge to do their job.Based on this, creating accessible technical documents that effectively inform others is an ethicalobligation.Ethics is based on having the knowledge to make an informeddecision. When inaccessible documents are created, it is very difficult to make an ethical decision. Evaluation of Accessibilityin DocumentsIn the followingsections, each of the documents will beratedon a scale from 1 (not at all accessible) to 10 (extremely accessible).Each ratingwill then be justified using information from the documents. Finally,the effect of the level of accessibility of each document will be related to the ethics of the documentand the case study as a whole. Evaluation of Accessibility inDocumentA: Ray January 1978 MemoIn 1978, Leon Ray wrote an internal NASA document as a response to MTI’s proposal to relax the O-ringstandards.The document specifically responded to aRelaxation of O-ringAcceptance Standards and Below Minimum O-ringCompressionHowever, due to large paragraphs and alack of separation,the document failed to garner a response from his supervisors.Based upon the