Kimmel Case

1- Identify the conceptual blocks that are illustrated in the case

Stereotyping: Admiral Kimmel didn’t believe that the Japanese would attack a US possessed ship.

Information overload: The admiral and his advisors didn’t consider the possibility that the warnings were serious, they had an excess of information and didn’t pay attention that there was an alternative to be considered.

2- Outline the problem-solving steps followed by Kimmel and his advisors. What steps in analytical problem solving were skipped or short-circuited?

Admiral Kimmel and his team of advisors lacked the ability to define the significance of the problem which resulted in making solutions based on poor judgment, a lack of communication and planning. They spent time reading the messages word for word which made them unaware of the hidden messages within these warnings and therefore didn’t change their original plan and went ahead with their schedule. As a result of this the pearl harbor wasn’t ready for an attack as severe.

3- If you were Admiral Kimmel’s advisor, knowing what you know about problem solving, what would you have suggested to help his problem –solving processes? What kinds of conceptual blockbusters could have been useful to Kimmel?

As an advisor I would have suggested that they would communicate better with the people in Washington and take the warnings more seriously. I would suggest that they were less complacent, They were very narrow minded and believed that the United States of America were superior to others and that the Japanese wouldn’t dare to attack the pearl harbor. If they asked more questions and started to think more outside the box and see it as a possibility to be under attack they could have prevented it.

4- What do you learn from this case that would help you advise Microsoft in its anti competitive case with the federal government, or advise Barnes & Noble.com to help it displace Amazon.com, or advise American Greetings to...