AVIATION INDUSTRY

Cultural Differences between the Major Aviation Nation's Rules Involving Flight and Safety & the Differences between the Ways Different Nations Conduct Accident Investigations

Cultural Differences between the Major Aviation Nation's Rules Involving Flight and Safety & the Differences between the Ways Different Nations Conduct Accident Investigations

Introduction

Culture is widely believed to play an important role in the international aviation system. Given the many factors, including the infrastructure of aviation, that affect aviation safety, the role of culture remains uncertain. It is accepted that culture must exert some influence on the patterns of behavior enacted by flight crews on the flight deck, but different views of culture produce different hypotheses about the role of culture in the organization of behavior. (Hofstede, 2000)

Discussion

Hofstede (2000) defines “power distance” dimension as the degree of unequal distribution of power within the group. The relatively equal distribution of power in the group is called “low power distance”, while unequal distribution is referred to as “high power distance”. “Uncertainty avoidance” refers to the extent how individuals in a society feel threatened in uncertain situations. The individuals with higher degrees of “uncertainty avoidance” are likely to be more nervous and stressful while people living in societies with lower levels of uncertainty avoidance tend to be more relaxed and get along with other people more easily (Hofstede and Soeters, 2002). “Individualism-collectivism”, another dimension mentioned by Hofstede, deals with whether individuals of a particular society prefer to act alone or as a group. In individualist societies, the individual benefits are more important than the benefits of the society. On the other hand, collectivist societies give priority to the benefits of the group rather than those of individuals. “Masculinity-Femininity” dimension refers to whether dominant social values in the society are closer to feminist or masculine characteristics. Cultures with dominant masculine values tend to give importance to material values such as “entrepreneurship”, “competition”, “selfishness”, and “earning money”. On the other hand, cultures with dominant feminist values highlight “sincere relationships among people”, “providing services”, “caring about vulnerable individuals” and “collaboration” (Hofstede and Soeters, 2002:3-4). By making use of cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede, Helmreich and Merritt (2001) tried to determine how the attitudes of pilots develop. According to Hofstede, organizational culture and the attitudes and behaviors towards the administration are highly affected by national culture. Similarly, Helmreich states that national culture, organizational culture and professional culture have considerable effects on the behaviors of pilots (Helmreich, 1998).

Cultural values are influential on the behaviors that might have critical importance in the cockpit. Some critical behaviors - such as information exchange between relatively less experienced staff (novices) and the experienced staff; evaluation of stress and individual limitations; conformity to Standard Operating Procedures; and attitudes towards automation - are highly affected by culture itself. Therefore; it is necessary to get information about the values of the national culture and the extent to which national values differ according to subcultures. Pilots working in the countries with high “power distance” give importance to harmony in the cockpit, but they also ...