Crimson Tide and Organizational Communication

Ayumi Endo

Speech 522

April 19 , 2007

Professor Jensen Chung

Management and Communication in Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide is an intense , action packed film that deals with the unthinkable : a Russian nationalist teams up with a rebel faction of the former Soviet army to seize control of a nuclear base , and the implication is nuclear attack is inexplicably cut off . Inside of this tension- filled war drama , there are certain characteristics of management principles which are elicited in the following sections

It is clear that , firstly , the classical management

style is applicable to the structure of the navy . As indicated in the text , classical management is characterized by a machine-like dependence on hierarchy divisions of labor , strict rules for communication between management and workers , and formal routines (p . 92 . As much is clear in the movie when , for example , Captain Ramsey barks into the speaker that although the crew maybe on edge ' because of their precarious situation , the navy is at defcon three , war is imminent . This is the captain . That is all . Though lifetheir lives areis at stake , the Captain is indicating that their s are procedurally based - they might not like the consequences but , as Ramsey matter-of-factly states the soldiers must do it

Further supplementing the claim that classical management fits with the navy 's approach is the notion that , in classical management , the individual needs of workers are largely ignored , communication is limited to the giving of s , and the strict imposition of rules and routines seeks to maintain above all else (p .93 . A conversation that occurs between Hunter and Ramsey attests to this . Specifically after Hunter raises concern about the naval fleet , Ramsey completely disregards it saying , Mr . Hunter , we have rules that are not open to interpretation , personal intuition , gut feelings , hairs on the back of your neck , little devils or angels sitting on your shoulder . Mr Hunter . I 've made a decision . I 'm Captain of this boat ' There is clearly no room for negotiation and communication is indeed limited to s

This is not to suggest , however , that communication within the navy exists in a vacuum . There is a vertical down structure evident in the way that Ramsey rouses the group by asking him the name and significance of the boat

Another telling aspect of the movie that shows how important communication is would be the time Alabama 's radio apparatus is temporarily disabled before a strike on the enemy was confirmed . The sub is now cut off from the chain of command . The captain wants to launch the attack , but since his second-in-command wants to wait for confirmation , chaos ensues with Hunter 's mutiny . This reminds me of a concept called Bounded Rationality (introduced by Herbert Simon in Administrative Behavior , 4th ed ) which challenged assumptions about the perfect rationality of communication participants . Simon (1976 maintained that people making decisions in organizations seldom had complete information , and that even if more information were available they tended to pick the first acceptable...