Everest1 Week 1 Personal Reflection

A second weakness evident in the Mount Everest case would be deficiencies in the organizational control systems in place during the expedition. The fact that the hierarchical structure of both teams was clear presented both benefits and detriments. At several points those in the chain of command were hesitant or simply refused to speak up when they needed to do so for the sake of safety (Roberto, 2008). One example was when Beidleman, considered to be the “third” guide in the pecking order, failed to interject when he saw the need to do so; what prevented him from speaking was his perception of the appropriateness of his input because of rank considerations (p. 12). Also when the leaders do not follow the control systems which are in place, others will not do so. Situations

In this Everest Simulation, I played the role as the physician in our team, a renowned medical professor and physician in the world. Although the physician has some mountain climbing experience before, but 8,000 meters is still an unprecedented challenge for him. The reason professor decided to take part in this Everest climbing trip was to take effort to a part of the professional research. So that, for the personal aspect, personal safety was more important than reach the summit. However, during this trip, the physician was the only person who has the ability to take care and give professional medical help to the group members. Actually, due to the unprofessional analysis of the assumed plateau situation and lack of the knowledge of medical

During the Everest Simulation, the first issue face by our team is insufficient use and analysis the information gathered from each team members. At the beginning of the journey, all of the people were in a good condition, and entire group members decide to go up to up level campus. In level 1, environmental scientist was shown weak in her health condition, at level 2, things become even worse. At the beginning, all of the team members have no idea how many health conditions each people will have and what kind of medical facilities should be used for what specific health conditions. Besides, the team was too optimistic about the current situation the team were in, and ignored the possible negative impacts it might brought when people worked

Mount Everest, as the highest mountain in the world, is famous for the enormous challenge of reaching its summit. This analytic essay is an analysis of the management involved with the Everest Simulation created by Harvard Business School. During this 3hour simulation I was the team doctor and achieved all ten of the possible ten points available, therefore 100% of goals were achieved. This score is related to the goals I accomplish as an individual and as a team. I enjoyed the simulation and expanded upon my knowledge as it taught a profound understanding of team dynamics, the capability to accept change, a stronger ability to analyse available information and create effective communication. Our team as a whole obtained 94% of our goals.

In order to continue climbing Everest, many aspects of climbing need to be improved before more people endanger their lives to try and reach the roof of the world. The guides have some areas that need the most reform. During the ascension of Everest the guides made a plethora mistakes that seemed insignificant but only aided in disaster. The guides first mistake is allowing “any bloody idiot [with enough determination] up” Everest (Krakauer 153). By allowing “any bloody idiot” with no climbing experience to try and climb the most challenging mountain in the world, the guides are almost inviting trouble. Having inexperienced climbers decreases the trust a climbing team has in one another, causing an individual approach to climbing the mountain and more reliance on the guides. While this approach appears fine, this fault is seen in addition to another in Scott Fischer’s expedition Mountain Madness. Due to the carefree manner in which the expedition was run, “clients [moved] up and down the mountain independently during the acclimation period, [Fischer] had to make a number of hurried, unplanned excursions between Base Camp and the upper camps when several clients experienced problems and needed to be escorted down,” (154). Two problems present in the Mountain Madness expedition were seen before the summit push: the allowance of inexperienced climbers and an unplanned climbing regime. A third problem that aided disaster was the difference in opinion in regards to the responsibilities of a guide on Everest. One guide “went down alone many hours ahead of the clients” and went “without supplemental oxygen” (318). These three major issues: allowing anyone up the mountain, not having a plan to climb Everest and differences in opinion. All contributed to the disaster on Everest in

The Everest Team Simulation, simulated a team climbing the treacherous and precarious Mt Everest. Through the course of the simulation six key decision sets were required to be completed and documented fully. Over the duration of the simulation a variety of problems/issues were additionally encountered, addressed and documented. For the period of the Simulation the role of photographer was played by myself Olivia Fabbro. The Everest Team Simulation team as a whole received a score of 83%. As an individual the photographer role received 88% or 7/8. As a whole, the team worked very well together, resulting in the successful completion of the simulation.

Students enrolled in MGTS1301 participated in a three-hour Mount Everest Simulation which involved a team of five people. Each team consisted of a team leader, physician, photographer, environmentalist and marathoner with a common goal of reaching the summit and avoiding rescue. On our team, I was the team leader and completed 40% of my personal goals while our team achieved 44%. After the simulation, I realised I lacked in developing managerial efficiency such as strategic thinking and decision making which led to poor task-structure related to task clarity and the means of leading my team as we progressed through the simulation.

The Everest simulation used the dramatic context of a Mount Everest expedition as related to management concepts exploring the role of leadership, effective communication, and team work to achieve success. The simulation required students to work in cohesive teams consisting of five members, where each individual was assigned a specific role and a goal. The roles included the team leader, physician, environmentalist, photographer, and marathoner. Some goals were contradictory in order to assess how the team reacted to complex and sometimes conflicting situations. Before the actual simulation started, the group discussed the general approach and how to deal with

The case of Mt. Everest focuses on two commercial expeditions, Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness, and the tragic event on May 10, 1996. These two commercial expeditions were lead by Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, and were consisted of 20 members. Both leaders were experienced climbers, but due to several factors, the expedition resulted into five deaths including Hall and Fischer. The event has thought managers to evaluate the importance of leadership together with its internal and external factors that managers should consider to survive in the high risk business world.

Everest, just as in any organisation, these interactive factors determine the failure or success of a company. Leadership style and behaviour play critical roles, so does the team decision making process, and the ability of the group to work confidently together as a team contributes to the individual quota of expertise toward a common goal. Our team made a concrete plan from the outset on how to assault the Mt. Everest simulation and shared vital information held by individual members. As I held onto my phone handset, I could hear the team chatting in a relaxed manner despite knowing there was a mammoth task ahead. I sensed high energy, a friendly atmosphere, a strong relationship among the team members, a team camaraderie and connection which are essential elements affiliated to highly effective teams.

In reviewing leadership literature, my own leadership development analytics, and reflecting on my work, I believe my leadership style aligns well with the definition of Transformational Leadership as described by Hutchinson and Jackson (2013). Hutchinson and Jackson describe a transformational leader as one who has the ability to create a vision which provides meaning and motivation, as well as communicating that vision with enthusiasm and confidence (2013). According to my Situational Leadership Summary Profile, my preferred leadership style is Participating, which indicates that I am most comfortable leading by influencing others through encouragement, involvement and participation (The Center for Leadership Studies, 2017). Additionally, my personalysis report states that in my preferred style I enjoy people-type roles and undertaking organizational challenges. Furthermore, it indicates that

On the third day of the first Everest simulation, new information was given to each member. As the environmentalist, I was given the weather forecast chart which I have to analysis with the marathoner as to predict whether there was going to be a frost bite on the next day, deciding whether to proceed or remain at the camp. However, due to the lack of time and discussions, I did not tell others that I obtained such information. I did not notice until the second simulation that such information was critically important, without the weather chart our team could not decide whether to proceed or remain at camp. This demonstrates the lack of communication between team

What happened on Everest in 1996? This case study is a perfect example of everything going wrong at precisely the right time. It wasn’t just bad luck, poor planning, inexperienced climbers, bad weather, or improper mindset, it was all of these things combined and more, at the most crucial of times that caused these people to die. The case study explains in great detail how these two groups of very driven people did not become a team or several teams and work together to reach their common goal. They each remained individuals working next to each other, but failing to see the value in teamwork. The two groups were led by some of the most experienced high altitude climbers in the world, but they did not communicate and pay attention to the signals that were very evident when viewed in hindsight, five people lost their

In order to accomplish a plan, you must set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. The climbers had a specific goal of reaching the top which was attainable and realistic because they had been training and it had been done before. It was also very timely and measurable because there was a chance in death if it was not completed in a certain amount of time. This was due to not enough food, cold temperatures, and the change in altitude. With a solid plan success can occur but pitfalls can also occur. Pitfalls can impede change and prevent adaptation. It can also lead to a false sense of certainty, and lead to the detachment of planners. The original plan had them reaching the summit. The ones that realized they would not reach the summit by 1 turned around although they had paid a lot of money and would lose this money without completing the overall goal. However, sticking to the plan is not always the best case. Weathers was told to wait until Hall returned but in reality he should have left with the group that decided to turn around. This is an example of a pitfall to planning. Overall, planning is important to management but adapting is also very

When we were making group decisions, I was somewhat assertive in getting my point of views across but generally more accepting in listening to others without interrupting. This is reflective in my self-awareness assessments as my personality and my active listening skills show that I tend to avoid interrupting people when they are expressing their ideas, but I also like to contribute my thoughts as well. The communication process within our group involved brainstorming. A group member would generate all the possible ideas that resulted in their ranking for a specific item, and then articulate those