Assignment 2

1.       My newsitem is about the failed rescue attempt of three persons stuck in Libia, by the Dutch military. The article is stated below.

De diplomatieke vertegenwoordiging van Libië in Den Haag wilde donderdag niet reageren op de aanhouding van drie militairen in het Noord-Afrikaanse land. De ambassade heeft nog niets gehoord uit Libië over de kwestie en wil daarom geen commentaar geven.

De militairen probeerden zondag bij Sirte twee mensen te evacueren onder wie een Nederlander. Voor de actie was geen toestemming gegeven door de Libische autoriteiten. De militairen vlogen met een helikopter vanaf het marine-fregat Hr. Ms. Tromp naar Sirte waar ze gevangen werden genomen door een gewapende groep regeringsgezinde Libiërs.

In Libië vecht het regime van Kaddafi voor zijn overleven. Het oosten van het land is in handen van opstandelingen.

(Source: DePers 03/03/2011)

Rational decision-making account

The rescuees were sought after by the Kadaffi regime, and therefore they were in grave danger. They would not be able to get out of the country except by help from outside. It was therefore decided by the Dutch government that the Dutch military would rescue them. The rescue operation could only be executed from the sea as the Libian military controls the land. Time was of the essence, and so the commanding officer of the Hr. Ms. Tromp ordered that the rescuees were to be picked up by a helicopter because this was the fastest option for overseas transportation possible.

Bounded decision-making account

The state of the rescuees was unknown, as well as the situation on-site. But there was a rumor that the rescuees were being pursued by the Kadaffi regime. Due to the hazardous situation no extra intelligence on the matter could be gathered in time. In such a situation the deployment of a helicopter is standard procedure.

2.       Learning experiences on EMS exercise

The EMS exercise got me thinking about who should be responsible for ensuring sustainability within the company. Traditionally, every department has its own role to play. As sustainability is an effort across a company, no department really carries a responsibility for it. If any department were to be responsible, it would be the management. They are the people who decide how the company operates and where investments go to. But they are also usually the people who have very limited (technical) knowledge on the products they produce, let alone how to change operations towards a more sustainable nature. The people with most technical knowledge are those working in production, they know the products and production facilities. But these are also the people only concerned with one task: keeping production going. Change is not incorporated here. The design department gives the production department designs, inspired on the output of the marketing department. These are in turn instructed by the management. So the ones with most technical knowledge are furthest away from actually being able to changing the system, and vice versa.

                It is therefore key that sustainability is addressed in an interdisciplinary manner. With all parties around the table change can happen in a responsible and correct way. Input and output must be aligned with one another, and the meetings should be held on a regular basis.