We can explain the different responses taken by the different members of the team based primarily on the factors that influenced their perception, as shown in Exhibit 6-1 of the textbook. Let us start with Dodge’s reaction as he was the team foreman. In terms of his personal characteristics, we must say that he had the most experience as a firefighter, had the personality to analyze the fire in terms of winds, weather, vegetation conditions, and the blockage to the river, and lead the other firefighters, and was able to conclude early enough that the forest was a ‘death trap’ as he repeatedly warned the other members. When we describe the situational factors of Dodge’s escape as well as the target factors, we must mention mainly the size and proximity of the fire and the lack of time they had before the fire would reach them, so he quickly lit a escape fire and instructed the crew to follow him in an effort to save them. In fact, Dodge was the only one who concluded that they could not outrun the rapidly approaching fire so running on a rocky incline to get to the ridge was not the solution.
Hellman, on the other hand, showed inexperience at the very beginning. He was commanded to lead the crew toward the fire by bringing up the rear of the marching line and to make sure the crew understood and followed Dodge’s order. However, when the foreman reorganized the group, he found a scattered and confused team without apparent member in charge. With much less training and a lack of leadership (Hellman was unable to make decisions, give orders, or be aware of an escape route), he could not perceive Dodge’s lying down on the scorched terrain of that steep slope as the best option to be safe due to his lack of vision and understanding of the fire behavior and the foreman’s intention. According to some research, the performance of inexperienced offices declines under high