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Airline Culture for the 21 st Century

Airline Culture for the 21 st Century. Ron Westrum Professor II Society and Risk University of Stavanger Sola Airport September 2014. Airline culture---”the good old days”. How important is culture?. Consider that technology clearly makes a difference:

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Airline Culture for the 21 st Century

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  1. Airline Culture for the 21st Century Ron Westrum Professor II Society and Risk University of Stavanger Sola Airport September 2014

  2. Airline culture---”the good old days”

  3. How important is culture? • Consider that technology clearly makes a difference: • A. The jet engine---greater speed, much greater safety, more comfort • B. The glass cockpit ----cut the overall accident rate by one-half!

  4. And is culture more important than: • A. Training? • B. The right personnel? • C. Financial resources? • D. Formal structure?

  5. British Airways tries changing

  6. British Airways---Putting People First • The Legend: • “When British Airways decided in the mid-80s to put its thousands of staff through a special training course, Putting People First, it was a minor sensation. Embracing a philosophy of going that extra mile to satisfy customer needs was seen as the catalyst that transformed a state-owned, somewhat despised national carrier into a world-ranking business.” • Sounds Good, Right?

  7. “Putting passengers first”

  8. But there were major problems • Management backed the programme, but was inconsistent in other moves it made. • Not everyone employed by BA was treated to the same warm, friendly approach. • As BA’s economic fortune changed, so did its support for the programme.

  9. British Airways --- labor problems 2014

  10. Airline culture change –how serious? Type I Type III Type II

  11. Airline culture change---how serious?

  12. We get three different cultures • Pathological ---high power emphasis • Bureaucratic---high turf emphasis • Generative---high mission emphasis

  13. Pathological Cultures • Exist to enhance power and privileges of a leader • Create atmosphere of intimidation and threat • Often shoot the messenger of bad news • Will “make an example” of those who dissent

  14. Pathological leaders: Tony Soprano, Chris Christie

  15. Bureaucratic cultures • Work for the protection of “turf” • Insist on doing things by the rules • Excellent for routine business • Often too slow to react in emergencies

  16. Government by committee

  17. Generative cultures • Oriented to the organization’s mission • Willing to put rules and hierarchy aside • Share a compelling vision • Encourage innovation

  18. Some generative leaders: General George C. Marshall, Jean-Luc Picard

  19. The Apollo program…

  20. Wernher van Braun, technical maestro

  21. NASA Apollo Mission Control • Highly selected • Highly trained • Highly practiced • Brilliantly led

  22. Shuttle culture was different….

  23. Columbia shuttle explodes

  24. Columbia accident leads to questions

  25. And the answer is….. • Behavioral Science Technologies • Ojai, California • Expertise: Lost time accidents

  26. BST “assesses” NASA culture

  27. NASA asks BST to “fix” its culture

  28. But after six months, not a lot had changed….. • 40% of management feels there has been significant change….. • But only 8% of workers feel the change is significant….. • Therefore, not much has changed!

  29. NASA decides to fire BST…. • After 9 months, NASA dismisses its “culture doctors.” • And declares that the culture is “fixed!” • Really?

  30. NASA centers---Complex, technical, etc. NASA has ten technical centers Each is filled with rocket scientists and rocket engineers It is hard to influence highly trained professionals, especially from the outside… Rather like “herding cats”

  31. What would it take to fix N.A.S.A.?

  32. Alan Mulally fixes Ford

  33. Two important requirements for cultural change • First, cultural change typically has to come from the top down • Second, cultural change is a strenuous exercise, an organization has to be willing to go through it.

  34. Culture degrades: Korean Air (lines) makes the “shun list” • A string of accidents 1983-1999 puts Korean Air on the U.S. Defense Department’s “Shun list” • Problems with Korean Air Culture: • Rapid expansion in 1980’s led to poor cockpit culture • Authoritarian attitudes • Too many new ex-military pilots • Promotions based on friendships and “connections”

  35. KAL 007 is shot down over Russia--1983

  36. And the families mourned

  37. KAL flight 801crash---August 1997--Guam

  38. A moment of silence after KAL 801 crashes in Guam 1997

  39. Korean Air’s culture is fixed by a foreigner • David Greenberg, a retired Delta Vice-President was brought in by Korean Air (he was made a vice president of KAL). He changed the promotions system and training program, and put an end to the string of crashes that had put KAL and Korean Air on the “no fly” list • As a result of the changes brought about by Greenberg, the airline came off the “Shun list” and was allowed to rejoin Delta and Air France in their code-sharing Skyteam alliance.

  40. David Greenberg, V.P. Operations KAL

  41. Korean Air today (with Airbus 380)

  42. How do leaders build an effective culture? • While many articles on “high reliability” or “resilience” describe how such environments operate, • How do leaders build such a “high reliability” system from scratch? • As far as I know, there is no accepted answer to this question. But we can look at some individual cases…

  43. Culture Examplar: Southwest Airlines

  44. Southwest’s history • First, Southwest was created in an exceptionally hostile and challenging environment. It was continuously under attack from competition. • Second, the airlines borrowed the personnel playbook of Pacific Southwest airlines. • Third, Southwest had an extremely gifted and charismatic leader, Herb Kelleher

  45. Southwest’s charismatic Herb Kelleher

  46. Inspiration: Pacific Southwest Culture

  47. Southwest culture

  48. So: Southwest’s culture • The result of these and other forces led to an airline with: • 1) a strong emphasis on trust and co-operation • 2) an ability to do the impossible (e.g. short turn-around times) • 3) an environment emphasizing creativity and humor • 4) Unusual employee engagement and ownership

  49. The results of Southwest culture • The airline became one of the most popular employers in the country • It expanded gradually, yet always successfully • It had a low accident rate. • It became the nation’s most successful airline, with never a bad quarter.

  50. But Southwest is having problems now • Was Southwest’s culture dependent on having a single fleet? (Southwest is now using more than one kind of aircraft) • Can the new leader innovate like Herb Kelleher? • Can Southwest continue to afford its high labor costs?

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