Culture at Work in Aviation and Medicine

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.

• 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.

’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