1. Providing a professional assessment of the situation (e.g., reviewing external/internal environmental factors, providing situational analysis, etc.) as if you were an invited management consultant, Base your answer on the following reading:

I may say that this is the greatest factor - the way in which the expedition is equippedthe way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in orderluck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.1Roald Amundsen Every day, some new fact comes to lightsome new obstacle which threatens the gravest obstruction. I suppose this is the reason which makes the game so well worth playing.2Robert Falcon Scott I thought you would rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.3Ernest Shackleton The Golden Age of Antarctic Exploration The beginning of the 20th century was the golden age of Antarctic exploration. The race to the South Pole (Exhibit 1),4 after the North Pole had been reached, came down to three contendersErnest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott, from England, and Roald Amundsen from Norway.5 At the time, Britain had the largest empire in the world with confidence that matched its size. Norwegians, with their history of coldweather seafaring conquests, possessed a more reserved confidence in their capabilities. The South Pole is located on the Antarctic land-mass, a terrain known by many as the "harshest place on earth."

Robert Falcon Scott's First Quest for the Pole: The Discovery Expedition Robert Falcon Scott (Exhibit 2) served as a naval officer in peacetime Victorian England. During times of peace, limited opportunities existed for advancement. Despite having no real interest in Antarctica, at the age of 32 Scott applied to lead the Discovery Expedition to the South Pole. The instructions to Scott from the British government were "to determine, as far as possible, the nature, condition, and extent of that portion of the south polar lands which is included in the scope of your expedition," and "to make a magnetic survey in the southern regions to the south of the fortieth parallel and to carry out meteorological, oceanographic, geological, biologi-cal, and physical investigations and researches." A geographical objective was also included. "The chief points of geographical interest are [...] to explore the ice barrier of Sir James Ross to its eastern extremity; to discover the land which was believed by Ross to flank the barrier to the eastward, or to ascertain that it does not exist. [...] If you should decide to winter in the ice...your efforts as regards geographical exploration should be directed to 1 Amundsen, Roald (1912). The South Pole; An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram." http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4229.2 Polar Leader: Race to the South. http://www.storiedground.com/polarleader.html.3 Reader's Digest, 1985, p. 237.4 All photos and graphics used in this case are public domain.5 Many dispute whether Cook or Perry, or neither, was the first to the North Pole. Exhibit 1. The South Pole [...] an advance to the western mountains, an advance to the south, and an exploration of the volcanic region."6Scott sent a note to the presidents of the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society, cosponsors of the expedition, outlining the following demands:1. I must have complete command of the ship and landing parties. There cannot be two heads.2. I must be consulted on all matters affecting the equipment of the land-ing parties.3. The executive officers must not number less than four, exclusive of myself.4. I must be consulted in all future appointments, both civilians and oth-ers, especially the doctor.5. It must be understood that the doctors are, first, medical men, and, secondly, members of the scientific staff, not vice versa.6. I am ready to insist on these conditions to the point of resignation if, in my opinion, their refusal imperils the success of the undertaking.7Scott's demands were met. His ship, the Discovery, built in Dundee specifically for scientific discovery in harsh seas, was built from wood to withstand the pressures of ice. The ship had both sails and auxiliary coal-burning engines. A relief ship, the Morning, would provide annual supplies and check on the condition of the officers and crew and civilian domestic workers of the Discovery, 48 in total. Ernest Shackleton, who would later lead his own expedition to the South Pole, served as third officer. The Discovery set sail on July 31, 1901.8Scott relied mostly on the experience of prior British expeditions, but he did seek advice from Norwegian explorers who suggested Greenland sled dogs and skis for transport. Scott procured more readily available Russian sled dogs. He felt the use of dogs was less manly than toughing it out under the most difficult of circumstances.9 He also believed that the practice of killing the weaker dogs to provide food for the men and the healthier dogs was generally unacceptable. "One cannot calmly contemplate the murder of animals which possess such intel-ligence and individuality, which have frequently such endearing qualities, and which very possibly one has learnt to regard as friends and companions."10 Scott followed the advice of using skis, but the British crew had little to no skiing experience, including use of various bindings for different conditions.The expedition suffered greatly from two key issues. Scott and his crew failed to master dog sledging and skiing. The lack of efficiency confirmed Scott's suspicions about the use of dogs and skis. The crew also suffered greatly from scurvy, a condition caused by vitamin C deficiency. Shackleton suffered so badly from the condition that he had to be carried at times on the sledges while others pushed. He returned to England on the relief ship before the end of the expedition. Scott was reported to have blamed Shackleton for not achieving the objective of the South Pole. This led to a great deal of bitterness that would later move Shackleton to mount his own expedition to the South Pole. Scott's leadership style adhered to strict Royal Navy standards. As a result, many merchant mariners departed with Shackleton on the first relief ship in 1903. Scott wrote to Admiral Markham that "It was a mistake to try and mix the merchant service and Naval element... they have never pulled well together."11 When Shackleton left the Discovery to board the Morning, the Royal Navy crew cheered him, a sign of affection and loyalty that bothered Scott.6 Discovery Expedition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Expedition. 7 Robert Falcon Scott. http://www.southpole.com/p0000089.htm.8 Savours, Ann (2001). The Voyages of the Discovery: Illustrated History. London: Chatham Publishing.9 Doomed Expedition to the South Pole, 1912. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/scott.htm.10 Murray, Carl (Oct. 2008). "The Use and Abuse of Dogs on Scott's and Amundsen's South Pole Expeditions." The Polar Record. (Cambridge University Press) 44 (4): 303-311. 11 Huntford, Roland, and Theroux, Paul (1999). The Last Place on Earth. Modern Library, p. 211. Exhibit 2. Robert Falcon Scott Scott reached the farthest point south, 82 degrees, in a trek with two other seamen. It was a man-hauling trek, completed without the use of dogs. They nearly starved from lack of rations and nearly froze from inad-equate clothing, but they made it back to the Discovery and then back to England. Ernest Shackleton's Quest for the Pole: The Nimrod Expedition

Ernest Shackleton (Exhibit 3), a merchant marine of Irish descent, was deter-mined to overcome the rumors of his personal failure during the Discovery Expedition. He sought and received private funding to embark on a new expedition to the South Pole. His ship, the Nimrod, was less than half the size of the Discovery.Shackleton approached the crew from the Discovery expedition, but most had already pledged their loyalty to Scott, who was planning a new expedition. Nonetheless, Shackleton managed to hire a crew and officers from thousands of applicants. He looked for both task-oriented skills and personality to work well with a team. In August 1907, the Nimrod set sail from England for Antarctica. Given his experience with dogs on the Discovery expedition, Shackleton relied on Siberian ponies to pull the sledges. Although the ponies were stronger than dogs and could carry larger loads, they did not do well on glacier ascents. They were flatland animals. Several of the ponies were shot to supply food, given their limited transport value. Shackleton also tested the use of a motor vehicle that proved useful for transporting items from the Nimrod across the ice to as far south as the Erebus Glacier Tongue. Unfortunately, the motor vehicle proved useless in the snow.12During the trekking that included glacial ascents, morale remained high. Assistant geologist Philip Brockle-hurst described Shackleton as someone who "had a faculty for treating each member of the expedition as though he were valuable to it."13 He had a talent for connecting with crewmembers and discovering their hidden talents that could be tapped during difficult times. This approach stood in contrast to Scott's more hierarchical military leadership style. Shackleton turned around just 97.5 nautical miles from reaching the South Pole to save his men, who were suffering from complete exhaustion. Shackleton received a hero's welcome and knighthood for this accomplishment.14 Scott's Second Quest for the Pole: The Terra Nova Expedition After Shackleton beat Scott's Antarctic record, Scott was determined to launch a new expedition. His Terra Nova Expedition was funded partially by a government grant with the remaining capital raised by private fundraising efforts. Sixty-five men were selected from more than 8,000 applicants to make up the ship and shore crews.15 Some of the crew paid for their opportunity to serve, a plus for Scott's fundraising efforts.16 Scott was convinced of the importance of skis after spending more time speaking with Norwegians. He followed the advice of Fridtjof Nansen (a preeminent Norwegian explorer) and hired Tryggve Gran (a Norwegian explorer and expert skier) to train his crew. Scott also equipped the expedition with two motorized sledges, 19 Siberian ponies, and 34 Siberian sled dogs.17 12 Antarctic Heritage TrustConserving the Expedition Bases from Antarctic Explorers. http://www.nzaht.org/AHT/CapeRoydsP4/.13 Riffenburgh, Beau (2005). "Nimrod": the Extraordinary Story of Shackleton's First Expedition. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, p. 85.14 After Amundsen won the race to the South Pole, Shackleton persevered to lead the Endurance expedition to trek across the continent of Antarctica. Although the expedition failed, it is a heroic story of survival in which all crew members made it safely back to England. 15 Huxley, Elspeth (1977). Scott of the Antarctic. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.16 Captain Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910- 1913. http://www.nzaht.org/AHT/CapeEvansP2/.17 Preston, Diana (1999). A First Rate Tragedy. London: Constable.

On June 15, 1910, the Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff, Wales. Scott continued fundraising, and sailed later on a faster passenger ship to meet the Terra Nova in South Africa. In Melbourne, he again departed the ship for more fundraising. During this stop, he received a telegram that Amundsen was "proceeding south."18 Scott decided to abandon the scientific objectives of the expedition to focus on the race to the pole. Scott and his crew established a base camp, Camp Evans, after arriving at McMurdo Sound in January 1911. By spring, the crew began the process of laying out depots, at intervals of 70 miles, to supply the polar trekking team in the following spring. The Norwegian snowshoes designed for the ponies were left back at Camp Evans, making progress painfully slow. Scott's concern for the well-being of the ponies during severe storms led to an order to set up the last depot station 29 miles north of the intended location so the team could return to safety. He ignored the advice of Oates, one of his officers, who wanted to kill the ponies for food to allow them to continue the southward trek. Of the eight ponies that started the depot-laying journey, only two returned.19 Scott's planning for food and supplies left no margin for error. With one ton20 of food and supplies spread across the depots, each of the 16 men would have only 140 pounds.21 In November 1911, Scott and 15 others began their journey to the South Pole. They formed three teams using motorized sledges, ponies, and dogs. The motorized sledges failed after a week of use, and supplies had to be man-hauled. Unfortunately, Scott failed to make skiing lessons compulsory, and the team lacked skiing skills. As the teams neared latitude 8732'S, Scott decided to conclude the polar trek with a total of five men to preserve scarce food supplies.22Scott's polar party made it to the South Pole only to find Amundsen's Norwegian flag already planted. His diary entry reflected his bitter disappointment: "The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected ... Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority."23On November 12, 1912, a search party found the bodies of Captain Robert Scott, Henry Bowers, and Dr. Edward Wilson. They were covered in their sleeping bags, dead for eight months. Their exploration to the South Pole was tragic, first defeated by Amundsen, and then frozen to death.24 The British team perished 11 miles from a supply depot. Scott's final journal entry leaves a record of his final thoughts. It is clear that these circumstances come on very suddenly, and our wreck is certainly due to this sudden advent of severe weather, which does not seem to have any satisfactory cause. I do not think human beings ever came through such a month as we have come through, and we should have got through in spite of the weather but for the sickening of a second companion, Captain Oates, and a shortage of fuel in our depots for which I cannot account, and finally, but for the storm which has fallen on us within 11 miles of the depot at which we hoped to secure our final supplies. Surely misfortune could scarcely have exceeded this last blow. We arrived within 11 miles of our old One Ton Camp with fuel for one hot meal and food for two days. For four days we have been unable to leave the tentthe gale howling about us. We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last. But if we have been willing to give our lives to this enterprise, which is for the honour of our country, I appeal to our countrymen to see that those who depend on us are properly cared for. 18 Cherry-Garrard, Apsley (1970) [1922]. The Worst Journey in the World. London: Penguin Books, p. 82.19 Preston, A First Rate Tragedy.20 One British ton = 2,240 pounds (U.S.).21 Huntford and Theroux, The Last Place on Earth.22 Preston, A First Rate Tragedy.23 Huxley, Scott of the Antarctic, p. 545.24 Doomed Expedition to the South Pole, 1912. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/scott.htm. Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my com-panions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.25 Amundsen's Quest for the Pole Roald Amundsen (Exhibit 4), a Norwegian, took great pride in being called the "last of the Vikings." As a boy, he would sleep with the windows open to prepare himself for a life of exploration. In 1903, he led a 17-foot fishing boat through Northwest Passage between Canada's mainland and its arctic islands.26 During his time on King Edward Island, Amundsen learned from the native Netsilik Inuits how to build igloos and use seal and reindeer hides to keep warm during days that would freeze those in conventional expedition clothing. He also learned the art of dog sledding and the benefits of the Inuit diet.27 Having succeeded with the Northwest Passage, he was ready to take on the North Pole. As he was preparing, word came that Peary and Cook had separately reached the North Pole, so Amundsen set his sights on the unclaimed South Pole. Amundsen selected expert skiers for the expedition, including a champion skier, Olav Bjaaland. During interviews to select a crew of 19 men, Amundsen looked for abilities to interact well with other crew members and personalities suited for Antarctic expedition. He also spent an enormous amount of time selected the best sled dogs, 97 in total. He looked for dogs with bloodlines from multiple generations of arctic survival. Amundsen underscored this priority by stating, "The dogs are the most important thing for us. The whole outcome of the expedition depends on them."28Amundsen kept his intentions secret, even from the crew. It wasn't until they were under way that he an-nounced his intention to reach the South Pole rather than the North Pole. He feared that the government would not want to be in direct competition with Great Britain, for political considerations. This secrecy also added an element of surprise in the race against Scott.29After establishing base camp at a location 60 miles closer to the South Pole than Scott's camp, Amundsen's crew began the process of laying out depots, in some cases no more than 10 miles apart. Across the depots, the crew stored three tons of supplies. With only five in Amundsen's polar party, this would allow for 1,300 pounds of supplies per man.30 Amundsen trusted the capabilities of the crew, and encouraged continuous experimentation to improve equipment and approaches. During the winter months, the crew spent time readying the equipment. Amundsen worked side-by-side with the crew on all aspects of preparation. Novelties in the way of snow-goggles were many. This was, of course, a matter of the greatest im-portance and required studyit was studied, too! The particular problem was to find good goggles without glass. It is true that I had worn nothing but a pair of ordinary spectacles, with light yellow glasses, all the autumn, and that they had proved excellent; but for the long journey I was afraid these would give insufficient protection. I therefore threw myself into the competition for the best patent.

25 Antarctic Heritage TrustConserving the Expedition Bases from Antarctic Explorers. http://www.nzaht.org/AHT/CapeEvansP11/.26 Roald Amundsen. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/peopleevents/pandeAMEX87.html. 27 The Northern Explorer Roald Amundsen. http://www.visitnomealaska.com/PDF's/roald-amundsen.pdf.28 PROFILES: Roald Amundsen's Amazing Race. http://campsmoke.fmallen.com/?p=2887.29 Ibid.30 Huntford and Theroux, The Last Place on Earth. The end of it was that we all went in for leather goggles, with a little slit for the eyes. The Bjaaland patent won the prize, and was most adopted.31 In October 1911, Amundsen's polar party set out on skis and dog sledges for the South Pole. By starting with 52 dogs, the weaker dogs could be sacrificed as food for the heartier animals. By December 7, 2011, they had passed Shackleton's record and kept heading south. As they headed south, morale continued to increase. On December 14, 1911, the Norwegian flag was planted at the South Pole (Exhibit 5). I had decided that we would all take part in the historic eventthe act itself of planting the flag. It was not the privilege of one man; it was the privilege of all those who had risked their lives in the fight and stood together through thick and thin. It was the only way I could show my companions my gratitude here at this desolate and forlorn place ... Five roughened, frostbitten fists it was that gripped the post, lifted the fluttering flag on high, and planted it together as the very first at the Geographic South Pole. They returned on skis with the 12 remaining dogs. Well-stocked depots fueled the return to their base camp, Framheim, on January 25, 1912. The actual duration of the expedition was 99 days, only one day shorter than planned. Closing Thoughts from a Member of the Terra Nova Expedition After returning from Antarctica, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, a member of Scott's Terra Nova expedition, captured the following thoughts about Scott, Wilson,32 Amundsen, and Shackleton: For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organisation, give me Scott; for a winter journey, Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amundsen: and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give me Shackleton every time.33 31 The End of Winter. http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/The_South_Pole/south_p ole_amundsen_chapter9.htm.32 Dr. Edward Wilson was an Antarctic explorer who perished with Scott on his return from the South Pole.33 Excerpt from Apsley Cherry-Garrard's book, The Worst Journey in the World, limited edition from the 1920s, England. Exhibit 5. Roald Amundsen and Three Expedition Members Looking at the Norwegian Flag