Reflection on 6 Powerpoint materials.
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OutliersChpt7-1.pptxThe Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes
Chapter 7
Before 1999, Korean Airlines planes were crashing a lot
For the period 1988-1998 the “loss” rate for an American airline was .27 per million departures (1 every 4 million flights)
The loss rate for Korean Air 4.79 per million departures – more than 17 times higher
As a result: Delta Air Lines and Air France suspended their partnership with Korean Air
The U.S. Army which has troops in Korea forbade its personnel from flying on Korean Air
Safety rating was downgraded by US Federal Aviation Admin.
But Korean Air turned itself around
Safety record since 1999 is spotless
Today, it is safe as any airline in the world
“Korean Air did not succeed – it did not right itself – until it acknowledged the importance of its cultural legacy.” p. 182
Plane crashes mostly caused by pilot communication errors
Most plane crashes do not happen suddenly (an engine explodes) but are more likely “the result of an accumulation of minor difficulties and seemingly trivial malfunctions.” p. 183
Pilot stressed over bad weather
In 52% of crashes pilot is tired - has been awake for 12 hours+
44% of time, 2 pilots have never flown together before, so they’re not comfortable with each other
Errors that cause plane crashes tend to be errors of teamwork and communication between pilots
Problem: Fear of challenging authority in communication
Junior pilots used “mitigated speech” – being polite, deferring to authority – when speaking to the captain.
They’re afraid to speak up to tell the captain that he’s doing something wrong.
“Combating mitigation has become one of the great crusades in commercial aviation in the past fifteen years.” p. 197
Colombian airline Avianca 052 ran out of fuel and crashed because the co-pilot did not communicate strongly enough to the New York air traffic controller that they were in an emergency situation.
Co-pilot was using mitigated speech when talking to the air traffic controller – not being assertive enough
Power Distance Index (PDI)
How much a culture obeys authority
To measure PDI, asked questions such as:
“How frequently, in your experience, does the following problem occur: employees being afraid to express disagreement with their managers?”
Power Distance Index
High power distance
Value obedience to authority
Comfortable receiving commands from superiors
Prefer formal rules and authority to resolve conflicts
Low power distance
expect relatively equal power sharing
view relationship with boss as interdependence, not dependence
Japan
Israel
Denmark
Venezuela
High Power Distance
Malaysia
Low Power Distance
Canada
7
Power Distance of Pilots p.209
Brazil
South Korea
Morocco
Mexico
Philippians
United States
Ireland
South Africa
Australia
New Zealand
“High-power distance communication works only when the listener is capable of paying close attention, and it works only if the two parties in a conversation have the luxury of time, in order to unwind each other’s meanings.” p. 217
“It doesn’t work in an airplane cockpit on a stormy night with an exhausted pilot trying to land at an airport with a broken glide scope.” p. 217
How Korean Air turned itself around
In 2000 brought in outsider from Delta Air Lines, David Greenberg, to run their flight operations.
Greenberg’s first step was to make English the language of Korean Air. “If you wanted to remain a pilot at the company, you had to be fluent in that language.” p. 218
Reason: English is the language in the aviation world (when pilots talk to Air Traffic Control, they must use English).
Greenberg gave pilots an alternate identity that was different than their country’s cultural legacy.
“He offered his pilots…an opportunity to transform their relationship at work.” p. 219
QUESTIONS
Are you from a high power distance culture (respect/obey authority) or a low power distance culture (more equal sharing of responsibilities & decision-making)? Give examples that support your observation.
Are you personally, somewhat fearful of authority – less likely to disagree or challenge authority? Give examples of how you deal with authority figures i.e. parents, teachers, bosses
Do you think you need to be more assertive in some areas (speak-up more, express your opinions, assert your wants)? How can you change to be more assertive?
