A Mir Kiss
A Mir Kiss Case Analysis:
Organizational Behavior and Culture
Davenport University
01/09/11
I. The Situation: In preparation for an expedition to Mars, a joint international studies program, Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), set up a replica in Moscow where three international researchers were joined with four Russian cosmonauts. The three researches were from Japan, Canada, and Austria. None of the participants spoke English as their first language, however they each communicated in English at varying levels of proficiency during their stay. The replica was no larger than the size of a train car. As part of the study, the researchers were asked to join the Russian cosmonauts for 110 days, after the four Russians had already completed almost half of their 240 days in isolation. Only one female, Judith Lapierre, was invited to participate in the experiment. She had a PhD in public health and social medicine, and had previously conducted isolation research in Antarctica. It should also be mentioned that this would be her fourth trip to Russia enabling her to learn the language. Lapierre claims that the Japanese and Austrian participants viewed her as something favorable. Lapierre created a comfortable environment by rearranging furniture, hanging posters and putting down a tablecloth on the kitchen table. Lapierre explained that the Russians only viewed their environment as something to be endured. It was during a New Year’s Eve party, when an event ensued that created tension between the participants in the study. After drinking vodka, two of the Russian cosmonauts engaged in a fistfight and had to be restrained by the other men. The two involved generally did not cope well with each other even before the incident. Soon after, the Russian commander grabbed Lapierre and dragged her out of view of the cameras, where he proceeded to kiss her aggressively. Lapierre fought him off, however, her message was not received and he tried to kiss her again
Organizational Behavior and Culture
Davenport University
01/09/11
I. The Situation: In preparation for an expedition to Mars, a joint international studies program, Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), set up a replica in Moscow where three international researchers were joined with four Russian cosmonauts. The three researches were from Japan, Canada, and Austria. None of the participants spoke English as their first language, however they each communicated in English at varying levels of proficiency during their stay. The replica was no larger than the size of a train car. As part of the study, the researchers were asked to join the Russian cosmonauts for 110 days, after the four Russians had already completed almost half of their 240 days in isolation. Only one female, Judith Lapierre, was invited to participate in the experiment. She had a PhD in public health and social medicine, and had previously conducted isolation research in Antarctica. It should also be mentioned that this would be her fourth trip to Russia enabling her to learn the language. Lapierre claims that the Japanese and Austrian participants viewed her as something favorable. Lapierre created a comfortable environment by rearranging furniture, hanging posters and putting down a tablecloth on the kitchen table. Lapierre explained that the Russians only viewed their environment as something to be endured. It was during a New Year’s Eve party, when an event ensued that created tension between the participants in the study. After drinking vodka, two of the Russian cosmonauts engaged in a fistfight and had to be restrained by the other men. The two involved generally did not cope well with each other even before the incident. Soon after, the Russian commander grabbed Lapierre and dragged her out of view of the cameras, where he proceeded to kiss her aggressively. Lapierre fought him off, however, her message was not received and he tried to kiss her again
Cited: Anonymous. “Tips for Dealing with Workplace Conflict.” EPSON. Retrieved from: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management-conflict- resolution/12260-1.html Javitch, Dr. David G. “Conflict in the Workplace.” October 30, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/humanresources/employeemanagementcolumnistda vidjavitch/article186120.html Warren, Marcus. “A Mir kiss? No, it was sex assault, says astronaut.” UK Telegraph. March 28, 2000. Retrieved from: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg38857.html