Writing Question
1- One cultural aspect that is really important for the aviation industry is low context culture. I mean that a person’s social status or position in a plane does not matter in front of a problem or opportunity. If a person is able to solve the problem or do something about it. Then he should be given the right of way to do so. Not be blocked by a person’s position and their egos. A person’s position as a captain on the flight deck just simply states that he is more experience and should have a little respect. But does that mean that they can solve every single problem themself? No, that’s why there are two pilots on a flight deck at all times or at least one nearby to help assist. Positions don’t matter when the aircraft is in an emergency and all the passengers’ lives are on the line. Resting upon the shoulders of the pilots up front to take them down safely. What happened in Korean Air 801 was not that. What happened was that the Captain of the flight basically held onto his position as a captain even though he was incorrect on the connection to the ILS to the runway and not being open-minded to the other crew members. Which lead to the crash of Korean Air 801. This particular cultural aspect is important and kinda conflicts with the cultures that are hierarchical in nature since those cultures put a lot more emphasis on those that are in position than if they can do their job well and safely. Like Korea and china, they both have feudal-ism tendencies that will be conflicting with the flight deck. Luckily Korean Air recognizes that it was a cultural problem and they started fixing the problem leading to better working flight deck crews.
1 day ago
2- One essential group attribute needed in aviation is the ability for crew members to be able to voice concerns and disagreements without punishment for offering differing viewpoints. No one is perfect, especially in the aviation industry. There are an infinite number of possible errors to be made and an infinite amount of unexpected scenarios that could happen while flying. No one can anticipate all of these errors nor know the best solution for every situation. Plus, flying operations can be repetitive, making it easy to forgot some small step or procedure. Thus, it is essential for crew to rely on each other and comfortably speak up when a problem arises. Sadly, this was not the case for the Korean Air 801 accident. When the crew mentioned that the electronic signal was most likely not coming from the ILS and they could not see the runway, the captain ignored their concerns and continued with the descent until the plane crashed. The situation showed clear signs of consequences from groupthink. The captain acted as the sole leader of the crew and would not consider serious alternatives of what was happening in the flight. While the crew could have persisted in their arguments, they conformed to the pilot’s belief leading to a false understanding of unanimity in what to do. The power imbalance in the crew most likely came from the airline’s culture. Korean Air suffered from numerous crashes in the ’90s and was known for their hierarchical company culture. They most likely awarded power solely based on position rather than on the group’s performance. Furthermore, the general aviation industry’s culture probably affected the Korean Air crew’s function. Frequently in aviation, captains are awarded with more power and trust over the rest of the crew. While in some perspectives, this power was awarded through experience and well-earned training that can make captains adept in serious situations and better leaders. However, there is also emphasis on captains solely based on their position. Since everyone is bound to make mistakes at some point, no person should hold all the power in the group. Flying is based on a group effort and thus everyone on the team should be respected and allowed to speak up for their beliefs.
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