Apollo 13 Case Study Essay

Words: 2342
Pages: 10

Leadership Theories Analysis using the movie Apollo 13

Vision and Value
Apollo 13 demonstrates the richness of leadership principles and values, especially focusing on team solidity. The movie illustrates how the leaders can develop a vision and values, and how the teams can collaborate under high stress situation.
In the beginning of the movie the vision of the Apollo 13 project was to land the astronaut’s on the surface of moon. But the unexpected explosion in the service module created a “Do or die” situation for the team. The vision of the project is suddenly changed to getting the astronaut’s back on earth safely. NASA had a common goal that was strongly set in the minds of each engineers and they are well aware of the cost of a
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How do we get our men home?" the team has started working for a new mission without any fixed ad hoc procedures and previous experience. They are trying all the possible solutions to bring them back. The solution was derived from a series of assumptions, calculations, simulations, decisions, trials, planning, and execution, all driven by on the spot creativity and innovative thinking.
Decision making and problem solving
In the movie Apollo 13, the teams were challenged with accomplishing an unplanned goal under extreme stress, limited resources, and many other problems. The only favorable factor for the team is a visionary leadership to guide them. If the mission is not attained successfully, that will cost 3 astronaut’s their lives. Even under this tremendous pressure, the team was able to practice different types of decision making techniques in order to be effective in solving the problems.
The message “Houston, we have a problem”, indicated that an explosion had occurred in the spacecraft, resulting a drop in the supply of oxygen to the fuel cells and crippling the electrical system. The mission team worked closely with the ground team over a 3 day period to design the emergency re-entry approach. The decision making was always under time pressure. Some decisions must be made within seconds, for an example shutting down the fuel cells. Both the ground team and the astronaut’s team were