3 ms·
Not just business: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Cargo_Flight_8509 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Cargo_Flight_8509 In most cultures co-p
by MrApathy 11y ago
Not just business:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Cargo_Flight_8509 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Cargo_Flight_8509
In most cultures co-pilots are encouraged to speak out when the pilot has or is about to make a mistake. There were several Korean Air crashes where the co-pilots knew the pilot was wrong and did nothing, in some cases costing them their lives. After recognizing this there was a strong push to change the culture at Korean Air, but I don't know that this was a lesson brought over to other industries.
- jpatokal 11y agoYes, that's Malcolm Gladwell's theory. The facts are, as ever, more complicated: http://askakorean.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/culturalism-gladwell-and-airplane.html http://askakorean.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/culturalism-gladwe...
- shard 11y agoHere's another layer of complication. Gladwell twists the truth a bit to make a good story, however AskAKorean also twists the truth a bit to make a good refutation. Based on the transcript that AskAKorea posted, it's very clear that the first officer is acting deferentially to the pilot. Specifically, the first officer uses polite speech with the pilot, and the pilot uses familiar speech with the first officer. This indicates quite a big social status gap. As an example, in my company (I am working in Korea), neither my manager nor my manager's manager uses familiar speech with me, I'd have to go up 3 levels for that to start happening. What Gladwell mentioned in his book about hierarchy does not feel exaggerated, and there's likely a large grain of truth to Gladwell's representation of what happened. Also, if you look through AskAKorean's previous blogs, you can notice a fairly nationalistic streak in his posts, which may explain his strong opinions regarding Gladwell's assertions.