Operation Tomodachi

What is the appropriate response of a leader in a crisis situation?

Paul Ingram, Captain Matthew S. Feely  | Spring 2013
Print this page

The aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunamis presented a plethora of challenges to the commanding officer of the US Navy’s Fleet Logistics Center, Yokosuka, two hundred miles southwest of the center of the earthquake. As news of the widening damage of the earthquake became known, the commanding officer must address two key questions: How should he manage requests for help in the absence of required bureaucratic approvals? And, what approach to leading the Japanese labor force would be most effective? As students learn of the officer’s responses to the challenges he faced, they are asked to consider the appropriate responses of a leader in a crisis situation.

Case ID: 130401

Buy select cases through The Case Centre,  Ivey Publishing and Harvard Business Publishing.

Contact us by e-mail at Columbia CaseWorks or 212-853-8585.