Critical Assignment: Final Case Analysis
Mohammad Prince
Management with Biblical Foundation
California Baptist University
Section 1
Summary of Background and Facts
Earnest Shackleton was born in 1874 in County Kildare, Ireland. Both of his parents had
ambitions for him to become a doctor. In Shackleton’s youth he became fascinated with the sea
as well as English poetry. From a young age he was intrigued by the idea of a man overcoming
nature. At the age of 16 Shackleton’s father let him go to sea at the position of “boy” on the
vessel. His father later stated that the lowest ranking position on the vessel was a ploy to get him
to be drawn back to school. Shackleton’s job was scrubbing decks and polishing brass railings.
Shackleton was still intrigued by the sea and he absorbed any information about the sea that he
could. In school his academics were below average but at sea he was considered very
knowledgeable and a very good fellow. Shackleton succeeded in the merchant vessel and by the
age of 24 he received the rank of full master. This rank granted him the ability to command a
commercial vessel. His fellow shipmates felt that he never flaunted his rank over any of them.
In December 1899, Shackleton was assigned to a ship that would carry troops to South Africa.
In March 1900, on his second transport mission, Shackleton made friends with a young
lieutenant named Cedric Longstaff who was the son of Llewellyn Longstaff, the principal
benefactor of a proposed British Antarctic expedition. Earnest Shackleton then convinced
Cedric to introduce him to his father. After interviews Shackleton then received an appointment
as a member of the National Antarctic Expedition, which set sail in 1901. Around the same time
that Earnest Shackleton was appointed as a member of the National Antarctic Expedition Britain
was actually one of the many nations who wanted to be the first to claim the South Pole under
their nation’s flag. Earnest Shackleton wanted to be involved in this heroic journey.
Section 2
Statement of Core Problem
On December 7, 1914, the men spotted the first pack ice. The crew was very surprised
by this because the Endurance was still far north of Antarctica and it was mid-summer in the
southern hemisphere. The other crew members were not aware of the warnings that the South
Georgia Whaling Captains had given Shackleton. These crew members were appalled by the
view of the frozen sea. The crew’s anticipation grew stronger as the endurance continued
moving through the thickening ice. On New Year’s Eve the Endurance got stuck between two
floes, which shifted the boat six degrees and threatened to sink it. The crew then got it out using
an ice anchor and chain. On January 10, 1915, after weeks of battling floes the crew on the
endurance finally saw Antarctic land. A couple days later they saw a smooth path they could take
to the interior land of the Antarctic. The commander didn’t stop to take this path, he instead
decided to land at Vahsel Bay, which was about 200 miles southwest. This would shorten the
distance of the land they would have to cross. The Endurance then approached Shackleton’s
destination, dragging across the coast until icebergs forced it to move back from the shore. The
wind as well as the moving ice then froze the ship 80 miles away from the shore. The crew
aboard the Endurance could see their destination but could not reach it. The ice around the ship
would not budge. On January 27, nine days after the Endurance initially got stuck in the ice,
Shackleton ordered the boiler fires put out and began to prepare for a long wait. This made him
and the crew uneasy not knowing when or how they would get out of the ice. The crew was now
aboard an immobile ship with nothing to do. To maintain morale Shackleton ordered the men to
maintain their duties and responsibilities until further notice. The thought of starvation entered
the minds of all of the men. This would soon become an issue for them as well.
Section 3
Solution
In the middle of February 1915 there was a crack that had appeared in the ice
ahead of the ship, this created a 200 yard pathway in which the ship might be able to move. The
men then, jumped from the deck with tools with the hopes of extending the opening towards the
shore. After a full day of tiresome digging with no visual progression, the crew then gave up.
They viewed the overall situation as a delay rather than a disaster. Changing Shackleton’s plans
to a landing the following summer. Secretly, Shackleton worried that the unpredictable currents
of the Weddell Sea could carry the Endurance to a further position that would make the
transcontinental trek virtually impossible. Their days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months,
and still the ice had a firm grip on the ship. When April passed, daylight hours became fewer and
