Change At NASA

Managing Change at NASA For NASA, by the end of 1985, the need for change would begin to unfold as communication breakdown among its people began to take place (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). The need for change was not recognized until disaster struck and investigative results identified key information as to the need for change (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in early 1986 was the first costly event which resulted from communication breakdown. After investigations determined critical safety of flight information was ignored which resulted in this disaster, change was implemented to improve communications among the various NASA entities. However, changes which were implemented to prevent disasters, such as the …show more content…
The lack of effort to sustain critical change at NASA would result in another disaster where key safety of flight information was again ignored, resulting the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (Palmer Dunford & Akin, 2009). This paper will review and analyze change at NASA to include images of change, types of change, challenges of change, resistance to change, implementing change, visions of change, and sustaining change as it pertains to NASA and these two very costly disasters. First, reviewing images of managing change at NASA. Palmer and Dunford (March 2009) define the various images of change to include directing where control is within an organizations management and changes are seen as being achievable. Navigating is similar to directing; however, external factors will create change outcomes outside of management controls (Palmer & Dunford, March 2009). Caretaking where management maintains some control; however, both external and internal factors impact change outside