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www.fernandosalvetti.info Can culture issues cause plane crashes? Yes, Malcom Gladwell thinks that there might be some aircraft accidents which (above all) are caused by cultural issues. Gladwell, a Canadian writer and journalist, believes that the most important factor is not the vehicle, neither maintenance nor time. The pilot’s cultural origin is indeed much more important. The ethnical theory about aircraft accidents is a very interesting chapter of his book Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown & C., New York, 2008). Gladwell put his attention on two specific aircraft accidents (Colombian Avianca Flight 52 and South Korean Air Flight 801) For Gladwell, the accident of the Korean Air Flight 801 is the result of a succession of causal factors (the long flight length, tiredness, bad weather). These factors made the pilot make a mistake that the copilot was not able to correct for cultural reasons. In particular, the copilot was not able (“because unable or unwilling”) to express his opinion, in other words he could not assertively communicate regarding crucial aspects related to the flight management in a safe environment. This was related to the great importance that hierarchy has in Korean society. As in a quote from Gladwell: “Korean Air had more plane crashes than almost any other airline in the world for a period at the end of the 1990s. When we think of airline crashes, we think, Oh, they must have had old planes. They must have had badly trained pilots. No. What they were struggling with was a cultural legacy, that Korean culture is hierarchical. You are obliged to be deferential toward your elders and superiors in a way that would be unimaginable in the U.S. But Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex airplanes to be flown by two equals. That works beautifully in lowpowerdistance cultures like the U.S., where hierarchies aren't as relevant. But in cultures that have high power distance, it’s very difficult”. Therefore the aircraft accident was caused by several factors, and the high hierarchical distance between the captain and the copilot was the most important factor. The thesis is quite daring and has generated criticism and debate. What is really important for us is that the low level of efficacy between the copilot and the captain is a clear reference of the index that Geert Hofstede called Power Distance Index. This can be useful when trying to measure the “Hierarchical distance". In other words, to what extent the authorities are respected and considered within the cultural system (including institutional authorities such as family, school, colleagues within context the context of work). Cultural systems with a high power distance, such as the Korean peninsula, are characterized by an attitude which is mainly "deferential towards authority". Therefore it is more common to see difficulties in suggesting alternatives or contradicting a superior. Therefore in a situation such as the Korean Air Flight 801, Gladwell thinks that it is a (little bit) more understandable that the copilot was “unable or unwilling to speak up as assertively as he should have about safety concerns”. Fernando Salvetti, anthropologist and executive trainer. Managing partner LKN-Logos Knowledge Network e and Professor at the LUISS Business school.

Can cultural issues cause plane crashes?

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Page 1: Can cultural issues cause plane crashes?

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Can culture issues cause plane crashes?  Yes, Malcom Gladwell thinks that there might be some  aircraft  accidents  which  (above  all)  are caused by  cultural  issues.   Gladwell,  a Canadian writer  and  journalist,  believes  that  the  most important  factor  is  not  the  vehicle,  neither maintenance nor  time. The pilot’s cultural origin is indeed much more important.  The ethnical  theory about aircraft accidents  is a very interesting chapter of his book Outliers:  The Story  of  Success  (Little,  Brown &  C.,  New  York, 2008). Gladwell put his attention on two specific aircraft  accidents  (Colombian  Avianca  Flight  52 and South Korean Air Flight 801) For Gladwell, the accident of the Korean Air Flight 801  is the result of a succession of causal factors (the  long  flight  length,  tiredness,  bad weather). These factors made the pilot make a mistake that the  co‐pilot was not  able  to  correct  for  cultural reasons.    In particular,  the co‐pilot was not able (“because  unable  or  unwilling”)  to  express    his opinion,  in other words he  could not assertively communicate regarding crucial aspects related to the  flight  management  in  a  safe  environment. This  was  related  to  the  great  importance  that hierarchy has in Korean society.   As  in  a  quote  from Gladwell:    “Korean  Air  had more plane crashes than almost any other airline in the world for a period at the end of the 1990s. When we  think of airline  crashes, we  think, Oh, they must have had old planes. They must have had  badly  trained  pilots.  No.  What  they  were struggling with was a cultural legacy, that Korean culture  is  hierarchical.  You  are  obliged  to  be deferential toward your elders and superiors in a way  that would be unimaginable  in  the U.S. But Boeing  and  Airbus  design  modern,  complex airplanes  to be  flown by  two equals. That works beautifully  in  low‐power‐distance  cultures  like the U.S., where hierarchies aren't as relevant. But in  cultures  that  have  high  power  distance,  it’s very difficult”. Therefore  the  aircraft  accident  was  caused  by several factors, and the high hierarchical distance between  the  captain  and  the  co‐pilot  was  the most  important  factor. The  thesis  is quite daring and has generated criticism and debate.   

What  is  really  important  for  us  is  that  the  low level  of  efficacy  between  the  co‐pilot  and  the captain  is  a  clear  reference  of  the  index  that  Geert Hofstede called Power Distance Index. This can  be  useful  when  trying  to  measure  the “Hierarchical   distance".  In other words,  to what extent  the  authorities  are  respected  and considered within  the  cultural  system  (including institutional  authorities  such  as  family,  school, colleagues within context the context of work).   

 Cultural systems with a high power distance, such as the Korean peninsula, are characterized by an attitude  which  is  mainly  "deferential  towards authority".  Therefore  it  is more  common  to  see difficulties  in  suggesting  alternatives  or contradicting a superior.  Therefore in a situation such as the Korean Air Flight 801, Gladwell thinks that  it  is  a  (little  bit) more  understandable  that the co‐pilot was “unable or unwilling to speak up as  assertively  as  he  should  have  about  safety concerns”.   Fernando Salvetti, anthropologist and executive trainer. Managing partner LKN-Logos Knowledge Network e and Professor at the LUISS Business school.