The problem with management professors and any student of management is they are constantly intrigued by human interaction; more specifically, what gets people to take action and relegate their individual interests secondary to some bigger end. So, for instance, we never just enjoy a movie but look for examples of leadership or management. This past weekend I had the pleasure to see “The Dish,” a movie that somehow makes a story of very mundane part of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The story, briefly, shows a small group of men who operate the world’s largest satellite dish in a rural, Australian town. The plot is quite simple, covering the 3-4 days from launch of Apollo 11 to the moon landing on July 20, 1969. This small group of men are put in the “spotlight” because NASA will rely on them for television transmission of the men walking on the moon. For this event, NASA has sent the 3-man operation a NASA representative to work with them to make sure of coordination. The film’s director did a fabulous job of making this rather mundane plot a funny story, while still giving us insight into people through the characters.
The interesting part for me was the organization of the group, which was impacted by the addition of the person from NASA. This created conflict and in the case of one of the members an improper belief. He saw the NASA person usurping their authority and “taking over” their work. How the director of the Dish facility (played by Sam Neill) handled this conflict and intervened was quite exemplary.
Now I need to watch the movie several m
ore times—that’s the problem.
The story, briefly, shows a small group of men who operate the world’s largest satellite dish in a rural, Australian town. The plot is quite simple, covering the 3-4 days from launch of Apollo 11 to the moon landing on July 20, 1969. This small group of men are put in the “spotlight” because NASA will rely on them for television transmission of the men walking on the moon. For this event, NASA has sent the 3-man operation a NASA representative to work with them to make sure of coordination. The film’s director did a fabulous job of making this rather mundane plot a funny story, while still giving us insight into people through the characters.
The interesting part for me was the organization of the group, which was impacted by the addition of the person from NASA. This created conflict and in the case of one of the members an improper belief. He saw the NASA person usurping their authority and “taking over” their work. How the director of the Dish facility (played by Sam Neill) handled this conflict and intervened was quite exemplary.
Now I need to watch the movie several m
ore times—that’s the problem.
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