Culture at Work in Aviation and Medicine: National, Organizational and Professional Influences / Edition 1

by Robert L. Helmreich

Overview

Culture forms a complex framework of national, organizational and professional attitudes and values within which groups and individuals function. The reality and strength of culture become salient when we work within a new group and interact with people who have well-established norms and values. In this book the authors report the results of their ongoing exploration of the influences of culture in two professions - aviation and medicine. Their focus is on commercial airline pilots and operating room teams. Within these two environments, they show the effects of professional, national and organizational cultures on individual attitudes, values and team interactions. From the Foreword by Captain Daniel Maurino: ’...the authors direct their attention to applied research as well as to the search for practical tools to approach and deal with the relationship between culture, error and error management, and between culture and aviation human factors training for operational personnel. They devote particular attention to the link between culture and Crew Resource Management (CRM) training, a safety and prevention tool towards which few if any have contributed so much and so well..’ ’...The incorporation and management of cultural factors into aviation operations and practices simply represent another tool to contribute to the aviation system’s production goals. Encouraging progress has been made, but there is need for improvement. This book presents one possible way to move forward’ Vividly laced with numerous contributions from a range of practitioners and researchers from Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas, as well as case studies and practical examples, the book is designed to be accessible to practitioners and managers wishing to improve their own organization and to researchers with an interest in gaining a greater understanding of the types of culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754619048
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/16/2001
Series:	National, Organizational and Professional Influences
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Professor Robert L. Helmreich is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, USA and Director of the University of Texas Aerospace Crew Research Project. With his colleagues he has conducted research for the US Office of Naval Research, NASA, the FAA and several major airlines around the world, and with University of Basel/Kantonsspital Operating Room Human Factors Project. He served as an officer in the US Navy and gained his PhD at Yale University. Dr Ashleigh C. Merritt earned her PhD in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, USA and also served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Aerospace Crew Research Project. An Australian by birth and attitude, Ashleigh now works with Jean Pariès safety and human factors consulting group, Dédale, in Paris, France.

Table of Contents

Contents: Groups and cultures in aviation and medicine; Professional culture; National culture; Organizational culture; Error management: a cultural universal in aviation and medicine; Implementing error management: trust, data and interventions; When cultures collide; Cultural psychology: a synthesis; Appendix A: Methodological issues in cross-cultural research; Appendix B: Data; Appendix C: Research instruments; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

Contributors from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas report the results of research on the crucial influences of culture in the fields of aviation and medicine, focusing primarily on commercial airline pilots, but also on operating room teams. Within these two environments, they show the effects of professional, national, and organizational cultures on individual attitudes, values, and team interaction. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

’In addition to presenting some of the key results of CRM both for aviation and medicine, the authors have used their extensive experience and network of contacts to enrich the text with marvellous anecdotes and case studies...a straightforward style that is a pleasure to read and a complete lack of the usual jargon. The ideas are presented forcefully, documented with scrupulous care, and one can grasp immediately how the concepts in the book might be applied to ongoing aviation operations. The extensions to medicine should intrigue and stimulate also those concerned about human factors and the operations of surgical teams. The quality and variety of the research cited in this work is impressive. A good argument could be made for purchase based on the references alone. This is a book that all those concerned with safety in the operational environment will wish to get and read cover-to-cover.’ Dr Ron Westrum, Eastern Michigan University, USA ’This is an important and timely book...an invaluable insight into the cultures - national, organizational and professional - which affect most of us at work...very well written, referenced and indexed...illuminated with vivid anecdotes and case studies.’ AAvPA Flyer, the newsletter of the Australian Aviation Psychology Association ’The strength in the book lies in the numerous case histories that serve to reinforce key principles. Readers from both the aviation and medical occupations will readily identify with the examples provided and, thus, come to better appreciate the commonality the two disciplines share...this book is recommended reading for human factors researchers and practitioners alike.’ Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine ’...readers with a minimal expertise in either domain should have little difficulty interpreting the research...interesting and informative...the book should be a success.’ Personnel Psychology ’...recommended reading for human factors researchers and practiti

From the Publisher