Admiral Kimmels Failure at Pearl Harbor
...n this case. The other warnings sent prior to the last should have been looked at and acted upon with greater caution. If there were the slightest possibility of attacks every precaution should have been taken as if it were stated explicitly. Compression is another conceptual block that affected the Admirals decision. The problem of looking at the problem too narrowly (artificial constraints) and not screening out relevant data (distinguishing figure from ground) is the main reason as to why Pearl Harbor was not aware of the attacks that were going to take place. In the Admiral’s case his lack of questions or the motive to raise questions to others under the complacency block is the most obvious conceptual block in this case. 2. Defined Problem a. Messages from the Japanese taken as warnings b. Unclear messages, and uncertain of possible attack locations c. Limited locations of possible attacks Implementation and follow up on the solution a. Set up low level alert warning systems for the surrounding areas including Pearl Harbor b. Based their decisions on location due to the past The steps that were skipped are the third and fourth steps, to generate alternatives and to evaluate and select an alternative. Admiral Kimmel and his advisors did not come up with alternatives. They simply saw a problem and solved it based on past actions. The step that was definitely short circuited was the last step the implementation step, they did not follow up on it. He should have inquired more about the messages and the letters. If there was a huge concern after the implementation of the low level alert system, the Admiral should have followed up on it thoroughly. He should have had a team to solve this problem creatively to solve the hidden message, by coming up with alternatives and not overlooking any possibilities. 3. If I would Admiral Kimmel knowing what I know about problem solving I would suggest that he generate more alternatives and to actually implement the alternatives with careful evaluation. Also that he seek advice from other willing to seek other alternatives. I would have suggested defining the problem more clearly and should have taken more detailed notice to the messages. With the above information, we can then generate appropriate alternatives. The conceptual blockbusters that could have been used are the preparation stage. Gathering data, defining the problem, and to examine all available information and generating alternat...