Some are More Equal than Others
September 8, 2009
M03
Some are More Equal than Others
On August 5, 1997, Korean Airlines management received news that no airline wants to hear- one of their planes had crashed. Korean Airlines flight 801 crash-landed three miles away from Guam airport. Plane crashes are an unfortunate and rare occurrence in the airline industry, but Korean Airlines had a problem. Their planes were crashing at a rate many times higher than other airlines. In comparison, Korean Airlines’s crash rate was seventeen times higher than the crash rate of U.S.-based carrier United Airlines. Seven of their planes were completely destroyed in crashes between 1991 and 1999. However, their safety record instantaneously turned spotless post-1999. Researchers of flight safety revealed that many of Korean Airlines’s crashes could have been prevented had the flight crew been more assertive in correcting the captain. The first officer of Korean Airlines flight 801 failed to effectively advise the captain of a better landing procedure which had the potential to prevent the crash. One former Korean Airline pilot said in an interview, “The captain is in charge and does what he wants, when he likes, and everyone sits quietly and does nothing.” In one flight, a captain hit his first officer with the back of his hand for committing a navigation error. After hiring an outside consultant to train flight crews to equalize the power and responsibilities within the flight cabin, Korean Airlines attained a clean safety record (Gladwell 180-219).
The tendency to create such an unequal balance of power is not limited to Koreans or their pilots. It is a characteristic deeply rooted in many cultures across the globe, including the Filipino culture. And while Korean Airlines’s plane crashes may be an extreme consequence of this characteristic, they demonstrate how such a mindset can produce disastrous results.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede interviewed employees from
M03
Some are More Equal than Others
On August 5, 1997, Korean Airlines management received news that no airline wants to hear- one of their planes had crashed. Korean Airlines flight 801 crash-landed three miles away from Guam airport. Plane crashes are an unfortunate and rare occurrence in the airline industry, but Korean Airlines had a problem. Their planes were crashing at a rate many times higher than other airlines. In comparison, Korean Airlines’s crash rate was seventeen times higher than the crash rate of U.S.-based carrier United Airlines. Seven of their planes were completely destroyed in crashes between 1991 and 1999. However, their safety record instantaneously turned spotless post-1999. Researchers of flight safety revealed that many of Korean Airlines’s crashes could have been prevented had the flight crew been more assertive in correcting the captain. The first officer of Korean Airlines flight 801 failed to effectively advise the captain of a better landing procedure which had the potential to prevent the crash. One former Korean Airline pilot said in an interview, “The captain is in charge and does what he wants, when he likes, and everyone sits quietly and does nothing.” In one flight, a captain hit his first officer with the back of his hand for committing a navigation error. After hiring an outside consultant to train flight crews to equalize the power and responsibilities within the flight cabin, Korean Airlines attained a clean safety record (Gladwell 180-219).
The tendency to create such an unequal balance of power is not limited to Koreans or their pilots. It is a characteristic deeply rooted in many cultures across the globe, including the Filipino culture. And while Korean Airlines’s plane crashes may be an extreme consequence of this characteristic, they demonstrate how such a mindset can produce disastrous results.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede interviewed employees from
Cited: Manila University, 1967. Ballete, Garcia C., et al Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2008. Hofstede, Geert H. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values. Newbury Park, California: Sage, 1984. ---. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. London: McGraw-Hill, 1991. Khatri, Naresh. “Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations.” VISION-The Journal of Business Perspective 13.1 (2009): 1-9. Paulus, Trena M., et al. “Power Distance and Group Dynamics of an International Project Team: A Case Study.” Teaching in Higher Education 10.1 (2005): 43-55.