ron westrum professor ii society and risk university of stavanger sola airport september 2014...
TRANSCRIPT
Ron Westrum
Professor IISociety and Risk
University of Stavanger
Sola Airport September 2014
Airline Culture for the 21st Century
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!
How important is culture?
A. Training?
B. The right personnel?
C. Financial resources?
D. Formal structure?
And is culture more important than:
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?
British Airways---Putting People First
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.
But there were major problems
Pathological ---high power emphasis
Bureaucratic---high turf emphasis
Generative---high mission emphasis
We get three different 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
Pathological 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
Bureaucratic cultures
Oriented to the organization’s mission
Willing to put rules and hierarchy aside
Share a compelling vision
Encourage innovation
Generative cultures
40% of management feels there has been significant change…..
But only 8% of workers feel the change is significant…..
Therefore, not much has changed!
But after six months, not a lot had changed…..
After 9 months, NASA dismisses its “culture doctors.”
And declares that the culture is “fixed!”
Really?
NASA decides to fire BST….
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”
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.
Two important requirements for cultural change
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”
Culture degrades: Korean Air (lines) makes the “shun list”
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.
Korean Air’s culture is fixed by a foreigner
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…
How do leaders build an effective culture?
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
Southwest’s history
The result of these and other forces led to an airline with:
1) a strong emphasis on trust and co-operation2) an ability to do the impossible (e.g. short turn-around times)
3) an environment emphasizing creativity and humor4) Unusual employee engagement and ownership
So: Southwest’s 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.
The results of Southwest culture
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?
But Southwest is having problems now
Southwest’s cultural features were interdependent.
Other companies wanted to learn from Southwest, but seldom were willing to tackle all the aspects necessary.
Many companies wanted a “magic gimmick” that could create the culture without genuine transformation.
Could we replicate Southwest’s culture?