Essay on "Mile Island and the Billion Dollar Memo"

Essay 4 pages (1287 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Mile Island and the Billion Dollar Memo" by C.W. Griffin

People are often inclined to make mistakes when writing memos and this happens for a series of reasons, mostly related to the writer's lack of understanding regarding his mission. Surely, a poorly written memo is of little importance when the sender, the message, and the receiver are unlikely to be negatively affected as a result of it. However, when the circumstances are critical and the message is extremely important for the receiver, it is essential for the writer to devise is so as for it to be clear to understand. As was the case of the memo sent before the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, people can sometimes fail in producing an effective memo, even when they are experienced in doing so. It is thus very significant for one to go across all the factors involved before sending a memo, since an incorrect choice of words or an imprecise order of paragraphs can lead to permanent damage.

The Three Mile Island accident is particularly notable because of its gravity, with the writer having obviously been intimidated by the memo's magnitude in failing from fabricating an effective message. In spite of the fact that both the Manager of the Plant Performance Services Section and the Manager of the Plant Integration Section were apparently dedicated to doing their jobs, they both failed in cooperating to prevent the catastrophic incident.

Compromise is not something one has to relate to in devising a memo, given that the message needs to be unambiguous for its receiver. In its essence, the memo that the Plant Performance Services Section sent had the purpose of raising the Plant Integration Section's awareness regarding the situation and to eventually resolve it through using rapid and relatively inexpensive methods. Instead, conditions got critical and the Plant Integration manager did not understand the message properly, consequently being unable to accomplish the mission he was indirectly endowed with.

Through the message that it sends, a memo needs to persuade its recipient into doing what the sender wants him or her to. The manager of the Plant Performances Services Section was under extreme stress as he struggled to develop a memo meant to present the condition and the best method of solving it. However, he was also aware that this action was not recommended and that it is likely to lead to significant problems. He was thus presented with an ethical dilemma, given that he had to decide which topic had been more important and to underline his personal position on the matter.

The nuclear accident perfectly exemplifies a case of people putting their interests first. Considering that a nuclear accident was imminent, the Nuclear Service Section needed to come up with immediate solutions to the situation. The section's manager however was unable to determine whether the difficulties he discovered were more important than the plant's regulation system. People are often inclined to do such mistakes when they risk being legally charged because of the decisions they make. As a result, they focus on preventing themselves from being drawn into a situation that would endanger their position, even if their actions ultimately put at risk innumerable lives and finances.

It is difficult to come up with an accurate account regarding the Nuclear Service Section manager's behavior. It is understandable that he was terrified with the greatness of the problem and that this made his judgment operate at a lesser potential. His choice to have the memo contain information regarding the problem and the regulation relating to it is also understandable. Nevertheless, the fact that he chose to refer to the actual condition for which the memo was sent makes him irresponsible and indirectly condemnable for the overall situation. In this case (as in most memo-related cases) organization was a crucial matter.

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