Analysis of the Cuban Missile Crisis

The so-called "Cuban Missile Crisis" was actually a test of strength between the USSR and the US. For President Kennedy and his advisers, it was the need to not merely avoid nuclear war, but to safeguard the old principle of the Monroe Doctrine- no foreign interference within the Western hemisphere. Whether Khrushchev ever really intended to use the missiles, or whether it was a public relations ploy on his part, to capitalize on some sort of American weakness, or unwillingness for a serious confrontation is hearsay, at best. "Leading Sovietologists have concluded that the introduction of strategic missiles into Cuba was motivated chiefly by the Soviet leaders' desire to overcomeathe existing margin of US strategic superiority" (Harrison 1999 374). However, the important relationship to management decision-making points out the advantages of having a series of voices and opinions of Kennedy advisors, all working for a common goal: to reduce the threat and alleviate the political as well as military dangers. Now, to discuss the management strategies employed during the thirteen days of the crisis:

Unlike what we know about George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy was a hands-on leader. He gathered experts around him- even those with varying opinions. He would listen, but the final decision was his to make. And he did so, only after gathering intelligence, discussing it with the people he trusted, and coming to a consensus. According to Table 7.1, it is Group s

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made the most sense, and would be the optimum choice. It is obvious that the strategy that worked- making the choice among the six possibilities, which would cause the least military and physical damage, and yet, from a diplomatic point of view, would leave all the participants with something left of their country's status. It was both the desire to reach a favorable conclusion to the decision-making process, and doing so within the time constraints, that makes the blockade option the proper one to have been utilized. "Only the sixth alternative- a blockade- has consistently high point values over the full range of objectives" (Harrison 383). Question 2: Group Decision criteria would include the quality of participation: The CIA, the military, UN diplomats and the State Department. As the film shows, these were people of principle, doing what was necessary (except for some military hotheads such as General Curtis LeMay) to maintain both peace and decent relations with Russia. The acceptance was the obvious determination, as President Kennedy stated in the film: "We have to get the missiles out!" It is interesting that, under the heading of "Originality" General LeMay quoted his SAC motto: e is our profess

Category: Government - A