Reference no: EM133545308

The Harvard Business School case Mount Everest - 1996 narrates the events of May 11, 1996, when 8 people-including the two expedition leaders- died during a climb to the tallest mountain in the world (five deaths are described in the case, three border police form India also died that day). This was dubbed the "deadliest day in the mountain's history" (at least until April 18, 2014). The survivors and many analysts have tried to decipher what went wrong that day, find an underlying cause, and learn from the event.

1. Relying on the book chapter for perception and decision making, describe the role of the perception biases, "shortcuts", and errors that the climbers - as individuals and as a group- made during the 1996 expedition to Mount Everest. Describe at least five biases, "shortcuts," or errors. How did each one of them contribute to the tragedy?

2. Briefly, describe what you think is the major cause for the tragedy - or a few of the various major reasons for the tragedy if you think there are more than one. (Hint: A rank of importance could be helpful if you see more than one reason.)

3. What can we learn from this case about the following topics below? (discuss various points or a major lesson from each one of them using theory from their particular chapters)

a. perception and decision making

b. teamwork

c. leadership

d. personality

e. conflict