CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COURSE FOR CABIN CREW

List of contents

0. Forewords
1. Communications and decision-making
2. Decision strategies
3. Task management
4. Perception and error
4.1. Information processing
4.2. Skill based errors
4.3. Rule — based errors
4.4. Knowledge — based error types
4.5. Violations
5. Stress
6. Fatigue
7. Boredom
8. Tasks
9. Roles
9.1. Role Conflict
9.2. Role Ambiguity
10. Norms
11. Status
12. Authorities and Power
13. Leadership
13.1. Team briefing
14. Personality and human Behavior
14.1. Individual Differences
14.2 Ability
14.3. Intelligence
14.4. Personality
14.5. Trait concept of personality
14.6. Type theory of personality
14.7. Influence of background and culture
14.8. Differences arising from gender, race and disability
14.9. Attitudes
14.10. Influences of behavior at work
FOREWORD: Human Resource Management is a strategic and coherent approach to the
management of the organization’s most valuable assets - the people working there who
individually or collectively contribute to the achievements of its goals.

The Aviation Sy„tem, fo more than another technical system managed by humans, comprises
a set of functional units each with discrete responsibilities. Functional units process a part of
the overall task; they must collaborate in or`er to accomplIsh the whole task. As the task
progresses, different arrangements of funcuional units occur. Function`l units communicate
and pass work across interfaces. Most system failures occur at interlaces.

Inside this general framework CRM, whether the initials stand for Company Resource
Management, Cockpit Resource Management or Crew Resource Management, is dealing
with the human factor managing this complex technical system in order to provide a range of
services which support the achievement of corporate objectives to the maximum extent of
safety; therefore it can be said that CRM is equal to risk management.

Why do airplanes crash? In most cases it is not because the aircraft is unsafe to fly or the
pilots lack technical flying skills. In most cases problems have been found in the
management of crew resources, inadequate communication, inefficient task management,
and absence of leadership have all been identified as causal factors in air transport
accidents.

Some of the CRM objectives could be described as:

• Enable the organization to obtain and retain the skilled, committed and well-motivated
work force it needs.
• Enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people, their contribution, potential and
employability by providing learning and continuous development opportunities.
• Create a climate in which productive and harmonious relationships can be maintained
• Develop an environment in which teamwork and flexibility can flourish
• Manage a diverse workforce in which individual and group differences in work style and
aspirations are taken into account
• Maintain and improve the mental and physical well being of employees

All in the interest of a strong ‘safety culture” philosophy inside the safety system of the
company.
In other words good management and concern for the human factor will provide a safety and
security status for the company and therefore reduce the element of hazard and the risk of
accidents to happen.

The main CRM aspects to be treated inside the course are:

COMMUNICATION AND DECISION MAKING

PERCEPTION AND ERROR

STRESS FATIQUE AND BOREDOM

WORKING IN TEAMS, LEADERSHIP

PERSONALITY AND HUMAN

BEHAVIOR

1. COMMUNICATION AND DECISION MAKING

Effective communication is crucial to solve problems in teams. It is fundamental to develop

effective situational awareness and without it decision-making will suffer. Similarly making
decisions is a key aspect of effective crew performance and it cannot be done without good
communications.
There is enough evidence to show that poor decision were the result of bad communications
and for that reason it is important to consider both processes to be complementary.
In a study of 28000 incident reports over a five-year period, 70% of the reports involved a
failure of information transfer, of these 37% of the incidents included inaccurate incomplete
and ambiguous messages as causal factors. In a further 37% of the incidents a vital piece of
information was known to one crewmember but not made known to the other.
Communication is both a medium through which crews accomplish their tasks and a
reflection of cognitive process of individual crewmembers.
Three major communication functions support problem solving.
Sharing information
Directing actions
Reflecting thoughts

These functions provide information and management tools; they ensure the contribution of
communication to team building and social emotional support. The first function, sharing
information, means communicating by passing information from one person to another via
some medium: speech, writing, codes, graphics, gestures or facial expression.
The second function, directing actions, includes direct commands for routine flight actions
{e.g. “Arm the slides or “Close the doors}, it also includes action commands for dealing with
problems, like gathering information required for a decision {e. g. “Tell me if you see any
danger in your area“} Commands are also used to allocate tasks, that is to let crew members
know what they should do and when. Through commands of various types actions are
scheduled and directed and workload is managed.
The third function of communication is to share what one is thinking as opposed to passing
on information obtained from an external source; it may have the indirect effect of directing
an action but that is not it’s immediate purpose. This function is most central in building a
shared problem among crew members; it includes perceiving and interpreting cues that may
signal a problem, sharing overall or immediate goals, suggesting plans for reaching these
goals, improving and evaluating conditions, warning or predicting what may occur in the
future and providing explanations or justifications. This type of talk reflects thinking about the
problem.
The communication functions can be summed up in these terms: getting people on the same
wavelength, having the same view of the situation. The forms of communications are:
Verbal “what you say”
Non- verbal “how you say it”
Effective communication depends on two things, what is said and how it is said. The “what” is
simply others may need in the team. The “how” element can be summed up as explicit and
efficiency.
Early studies led to several general conclusions about the relationship between crew
communication and performance. Crews that made few operational errors showed common
communication patterns; they talked more overall and had higher levels of commands,
observations and acknowledgements.
Recent findings pertain that “what” is said and “how” it is said is associate with effective crew
performance and is both explicit and efficient. Explicitness applies to what is said. Efficiency
applies to how it is said. Explicitness is essential for avoiding ambiguity or lack of information,
which may lead to serious errors. Being explicit means that you do not assume that your
listeners know what you know or think; you tell them.
Explicitness pertains to two functions described earlier: sharing thoughts and directing action.
The second aspect of effective communication is efficiency. In efficient communications
participants convey their messages briefly saying as much as needed, but not too much.
Being efficient means considering the “how” and “when” of communicating. “How” means
using simple direct messages. The “when” of course reflects the fact that the timing of the
message will affect its impact, here is an example:
“We had just taken off. Having just passed 1000 feet in the climb when a cabin attendant
came up into the flight deck to say that some of the passengers had begun to smoke. She
wanted the captain to make a broadcast announcement about not smoking”

The relationship between communication, decision-making and crew performance

In the decision making process the following steps have been identified:
- Spotting the problem
- Gathering information
- Identifying options
- Selecting options
- Implementation
- Monitoring

When a problem is encountered the crew needs to talk about how to manage it.

1. What problem do the cues signify? What are their implications for future actions?
2. What level of risk does the immediate situation pose? Future risk.
3. Do we need to act immediately or do we have time to think about a plan?
4. Is a standard response available? If not what are our options?
5. What information do we need to make a decision?
6. What are the constraints on our opinions?
7. Who will perform each action?

The goal of the CRM training is to get crews to think more effectively as well. The kind of
thinking of concern is what psychologists call “metacognition”. The term metacognition in
individual learning and problem solving refers to an individual’s awareness of the demands of
the task in relation to hers/his competencies {skills and knowledge} one’s own limitations and
what is needed to overcome them. Metacognitive skills includes the ability to discern the
nature of the problem and its requirements, awareness of potential limitations of the crew
especially under high workload stress and time limitations {both within the cockpit and cabin
crew, dispatchers, maintenance, and ATC}
Three components have been identified based on crew performance.
1. Situational awareness {spotting the problem, gathering information}
2. Decision strategies {identifying and selecting option}
3. Task management strategies {implementation and monitoring}
Situational awareness means more than the simple recognition of the cues that signal a
problem but also the interpretation and significance of those cues that are critical to the
performance.
The crew must recognize the potential risk inherent in the situation and the implications of
conditions.
The crew must appreciate the instability and ambiguity present in many dynamic conditions
{e. g. like for instance recognizing the symptoms of a slow decompression and being aware
of the incident it could develop into} For a crew to be effective, situation awareness must be
shared by all crew members not just an individual one. One crewmember can notice a
problem but unless its significance becomes shared by all crewmembers the crew is not likely
to do anything about it.
2. DECISION STRATEGIES

Good situation awareness sets the scene for development of good decision strategies.
For example: cabin crew aware that a slow decompression is occurring and that it could
develop into a rapid decompression are more prompt in stopping service and securing the
cabin and passengers.
Or flight crews aware that bad weather might mean a missed approach were more
aggressive in obtaining weather reports and analyzing conditions.

3. TASK MANAGEMENT

The third metacognitive feature of effective crew performance is task management.

Task management refers to scheduling activities and assigning tasks so that essential tasks
are accomplished under manageable workloads.
The aviation industry, including manufacturers government regulators and airlines
companies, has established standard procedures to reduce the need for crews to make
decisions under high workload, time pressure and risky conditions.

Airline crews being aware that a special need may arise during the flight, establish during
their pre-flight briefings how they will handle possible events and asses different tasks to
each crewmember.
The intimate relationship between thinking talking and acting is highlighted as crews cope
with in-flight problems.
It is not enough for one crewmember to perceive a problem or to have a good idea; the
thought must be shared for coordinated action to occur. In addition mistakes in thinking can
only be corrected when they are made public through talk.

4. PERCEPTIONS AND ERROR

4.1. Information processing

Information received by the sense organs must first be perceived; perception is the process
of identifying significant data in the total stream of information arriving from the outside world.
In order to speed up the process of perception the brain has developed ways of rapidly
making sense of the information it receives without us having to apply too much effort.
Many of the visual illusions experienced in aviation are the result of faulty processing at the
perception stage.
Having perceived something of interest, the next thing to happen is to allocate attention to it
to focus on the item. Because our attention resources are limited, paying attention to one
object can cause us to miss other important pieces of information arriving from the outside
world.
Having paid attention to the object, we next bring the item into our working memory. Working
memory is volatile and of limited capacity.
To illustrate the point consider an occasion when you have looked up a number in the
telephone book and tried to remember it enough to get to the phone and dial. Have you
always been successful?
Items, which we consider to be significant, are brought into some form of long-term memory
where they are retained for future use. Long-term memory appears to have no limits on
capacity. Difficulties in recalling information tend to be the result of poor location of items in
store. One way of storing information is through the creation of interconnected webs of ideas-
known as schema. Efficient recall tends to be the result of building accurate schema with
strong interconnections.
4.2. Skill - Based Errors

Skill based errors occur whenever we are running well-established behavioral routines.
Because our action are almost second nature we don’t have to think in order to perform and
thus we pay little or no attention to what is going on, so errors occur because our attention is
elsewhere. For the same reason we are not able to predict when an error is going to occur,
we can only tell after the event.
Some types of attention failure could be described as:

Double capture slips: familiar routines with similar goals compete for our attention. When we
drop our guard the incorrect routine can take over and we end up making a mistake. For
example: cabin attendants who have converted from one type of aircraft to another one find
that, when under pressure, they use specific drills learnt on their former aircraft.

Omissions following interruptions: in a similar way being interrupted when we are completing
a task can cause a check to be missed and for an error to occur. When the pilots resume the
checklist action after an interruption they do not always start at the last completed check.

Reduced intentionality is caused by the delay between intending to do something and

actually doing it. We have the intention to complete a drill but other things intervene. Chances
are that these other things take up enough of our attention so our intended actions might end
up by being overlooked.

Perceptual confusions are a serious concern for flight deck designers and ergonomics
experts. On some aircraft types the levers for flaps and undercarriage were located close
together and had even similar handles.

Interference errors are caused by behavioral routines becoming intermingled or out of order.
For example when the purser wants to make an announcement to the passengers but first he
needs to say something to the other cabin attendant and so the whole plane hears the
conversation over an open microphone.

All these above are known as inattention errors and they are the result of not making the right
checks of the progress of a behavioral routine at the right time.
Over-attention errors are the result of making checks at the wrong time: very often when a
routine is being implemented and is running successfully but because we chose to intervene
consciously error can occur. We can be uncertain of the stage of the procedure and intervene
by repeating an action. In the same way we can assume that the action is further that it really
is and so miss out some steps, finally we can reverse some actions. This is one of the
reasons that cabin attendants are supposed always to read the cabin announcements which
in most cases is a highly routine process.

4.3. Rule — Based Errors

Sometimes in order to complete tasks we have to solve problems and to make decisions. Not
all problem solving need entail complex calculations it might be a simple action like planning
what to do next or which way to go. Rule based errors are the result of having to make
decisions. Usually we acquire over time a set of rules, which we can use to narrow down the
choices available to us when we have to make a decision. Some of those rules are written
down in manuals and instructions. They are the product of training. Experience tells us that if
situation A arises then solution B fixes things. The main types of rule-based errors are the
result of: wrong use of good rules and use of bad rules. Several situations have been
identified as wrong use of good rules they refer to:
First exceptions - where circumstances are actually an exception to the normal rule, counter
signs and non-signs - where signs in the environment and contradictory countersigns are
telling us that perhaps the normal rule is not the best to be used, informational overload-
when there is simply to much data to process in deciding which rule to apply and rule
strengths or rule generality- where usually we are linked to the idea that what works in a
particular given situation is most likely to be the solution used the next time a similar situation
happens. In the case of general rules we assume that what works for most situations will
probably work next time.
Generally speaking bad rule arise because we do not take all the available information into
account when selecting a rule or because our use of the rule does not result in an effective
solution. The second category of bad rules are those that are just wrong rules which are
clumsy but still stand a chance of working and finally those which are not advisable under the
circumstances.

4.4. Knowledge — Based Error Types

The final category of error is knowledge- based errors, which are the result of having to use
our mental processing power to create solutions to problems. The following table lists the
possible causes of this kind of errors:
Selectivity, Availability Heuristic, Overconfidence, Illusory Correlation, Causality, Workspace
Limitations, Confirmation Bias, Halo- Effect, Complexity.
Selectivity refers to the situation when we give attention to the wrong features of the problem.
Workplace limitation refers to the fact that we can only hold so much information in working
memory. Therefore, when trying to solve a problem, we simply cannot hold all possible
relevant factors in our minds when seeking a solution.
The Availability Heuristic or out of sight/out of mind refers to the tendency to only work with
what you have to hand. Information currently held in working memory is used in order to
solve a problem despite the fact that more relevant data might be in long term memory.
Confirmation Bias is the tendency to make information fit our view of the world. Once we
have arrived at a solution we give more weight to evidence, which supports our view, and we
tend to ignore anything, which suggests that our solution is wrong.
Illusory Correlation occurs when we see links between aspects of the problem, which are not
true causes, and effects. Because our actions seem to be easing our problem, we assume
that things are going well.
In considering the Halo Effect we tend to think that if a person is good at one thing then
she/he must be good at anything. We make similar assumptions when considering any list of
items. We have seen the brain has ways of simplifying the data it receives from our senses.
We are quite good at seeing patterns in our world and in this way we reduce the effort
required to make sense of the world. The downside of this is that, similarly, we tend to over-
simplify the causality of problems.

4.5 Violations

Violations are committed with deliberately intent to break a rule. We classify them as errors
because they are not what should happen at a time. Here as well there are two groups:
Routine and exceptional.
The Routine ones are characterized by people trying to take the path of least resistance that
is finding the easiest way to have things done. The exceptional category is a complex set of
events, which leads to catastrophic breakdown of the system. Many hull loss accidents have
the characteristics of exceptional violations because many of the causal factors can be traced
back to accumulations of bad practices build up over years.
5. STRESS FATIGUE AND BOREDOM

Stress can be described as the effect of pressures of life on our body and our behavior.
Stress is considered to be the disease of the 20 th century.
At moderate levels stress can have a benefic influence and develop in one the sense of
achievement at a difficult job well done. At extreme levels, stress can have harmful
physiological and psychological effects. At all levels stress influences our information
processing system. As stress builds up our ability to understand situation diagnose problems
and give solutions decreases.
These three factors: stress fatigue and boredom share some similar symptoms and have the
same effect on our performance; they degrade our ability to do the job.
In order to contribute fully to a safety conscious team one must know how to recognize the
symptoms of these three factors in oneself, be alert for the effect, recognize the symptoms in
fellow colleagues and be prepared to take action against these factors.
The major categories of stressors are Environmental and Life stressors. Life stressors can be
sub-divided into home and workplace events.
The effects of stress are often insidious; it means that things build up without us noticing until
it is too late. However we can see the symptoms in others before we notice them in
ourselves.
Here are some hints: irritable and short tempered, always tired and lacking enthusiasm, often
very critical of the system or other people, absent-minded ambiguous.
Because of its effects stress can be at the origin of many accidents. Statistically in transports
stress is considered to be a serious factor in triggering accidents, with a percentage of 70%
of cases. Generally 60% up to 80% of accidents taking place at work are linked in a way or
another to stress.
As previously stated above stress can have either benefic effects, if under moderate levels or
harmful effects if high levels off stress are involved. As a result, in the first case after the
completion of the task appreciation of one’s work is to be expected. In the second case
though frustration is very likely to built in.
The way in which stress can be managed by an organization include:
- Job design; clarifying roles, reducing the danger of role ambiguity and conflict and
giving people more autonomy within a defined structure to manage their
responsibilities
- Targets and performance standards; setting reasonable and achievable targets
which may stretch people but not place impossible burden on them
- Placement; taking care to place people in jobs that are within their capabilities
- Performance management processes; which allow a dialogue to take place
between managers and individuals about letter’s work, problems and ambitions
- Career development; planning careers and promoting staff in accordance with their
capabilities, taking care not to under or over promote
- Counseling; giving individuals the opportunity to talk about their problems with a
member of the personnel department or the company medical officer, or through an
employee assistance program
- Management training; in performance review and counseling techniques and in
what managers can do to alleviate their own stress and reduce it in others

Some could hints on how to fight stress be as follows:

- Be strong, don’t let anything disturb your piece of mind
- Talk to others about: health, happy events, prosperity
- Make friends and fellow colleagues see the best side of their personality
- See the bright side of things and smile
- Expect only good things to come your way
- Be as happy as others of their success
- Put a lot of time into self improvement and don’t be critical of others
- Be strong and fight negative emotions and noble to be forgiving of others
Here is an example on how stress builds up out of daily normal activities:
“To start with stress just look at the process through which the passengers have to go
through before boarding an aircraft.
Imagine a passenger is late in getting to the airport because of heavy traffic congestion and
an inadequate road system. He than takes some time parking the car before he gets to the
check-in area.
The queues at the check-in desk are manned. There are people in the queue in front of him
who are checking in for a flight that leaves earlier. The check-in is slow and than when finally
our passenger reaches the desk there is a problem with his ticket. Finally our passenger is
checked and proceeds through security to airside. The queues through security are equally
long and no one seems to understand that our passenger is now running out of time.
There are six X ray machines but again only two are being manned. The stress levels are
building up; finally our passenger reaches the gate but there is a problem with the seat
allocation and he finds that the seat he booked has been given to someone else… Now,
one can easily see how this passenger could switch to a disruptive behavior.”

6. FATIGUE

Prolonged exposure to stress develops into fatigue. One of the most common ways the body
has of telling you it’s time to rest is by falling ill. Sleep serves many purposes and it allows the
body to repair any damage it may have suffered. It replenishes our stores of energy. The
body needs a certain amount of rest although exactly how much varies between individuals, if
we do not get all the rest we need than fatigue starts to set in and eventually illness.
Flying through time zones disrupts the body’s synchronization system, which in turn, makes it
difficult to get the rest we need.
After a long flight, we are often confronted with the situation in which our body clock has to
adjust to different situations like: it is no longer getting dark when we are expecting to, when
we want to sleep its actually daytime, when we get hungry restaurants are closed and so on.
During the day the body temperature varies as follows: lowest in early morning, starting to
rise during the day and than fall again in mid evening. As a result we are more wakeful active
and alert during the day when the cycle is at its highest point and we are sleepy during the
down phases. We are better able to cope when we travel westward because our natural 25-
hour body clock allows us to manage the extended “apparent” day. When we travel eastward
we are now going” against the grain” we are trying to shorten the natural cycle and because
of this it usually takes longer to adapt our sleep patterns.

7. BOREDOM

One of the symptoms of fatigue is boredom. It is probably easier to associate boredom with
long haul operations where there are prolonged periods with nothing to do but to monitor the
instruments. On the other hand short haul pilots can suffer from boredom simply because
they are repeating the same operations more to often.
The repetitive nature of the task can lead to a degree at complacency, which in turn can lead
to boredom.

Working In Teams, Leadership

A team is a small number at people with complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable.
Aircraft crews are teams in the sense that people work together to accomplish a task. The
nature of the workplace puts constraints on how the team performs.
Groups are more than a collection of individuals comprising them. Some groups do
remarkably well with no particularly outstanding individuals. Other groups, made up almost
exclusively of high performing individuals, do not do as well as a team.

In order to contribute to a safety-conscious team one should aim to:

- Recognize the way your task influences your performance
- Fulfill your role without creating conflicts yet remaining effective
- Contribute at establishing the right group atmosphere.

Some of the characteristics of effective teams could be:

- They meld together the skills, experience and insights of several people
- Develop and encourage behaviors such as listening and responding co-operatively
to points of view expressed by others
- Teams are flexible and responsive to changing events and demands
- They can adjust their approach to new information and challenges
- High performance teams invest much time and effort in exploring shaping and
agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually
- They are characterized by a deep sense of commitment to their growth and
success

Some of the characteristics of dysfunctional teams could be:

- The atmosphere is strained and over-formalized

- Either there is too much discussion that gets nowhere or discussion is inhibited by
dominant members of the team
- Members of the team do not know why they are there what are their objectives or
standards
- People do not listen to each other
- Disagreements are frequent and often relate to personalities and difference of
opinions rather than reasoned discussion of alternative points of view
- Decisions are not made jointly by crew members
- People do not feel free to express their opinions

8. TASKS

The main reason for having teams is to undertake tasks, which could not be undertaken by a
single person. Even a single pilot air taxi airplane still needs the support of others if the task
is to be completed.
There are two dimensions of team performance: task accomplishment and team building.
Both dimensions have to be considered if we are to do a job properly. The social support
provided by being a member of the team could reduce the impact of workplace stress. Tasks
can be evaluated against a number of dimensions: the degree to which the task is defined,
the resources available to achieve the task, your competence to undertake the task, the
control the team has over shaping the task. Individuals can be measured in terms of their
emphasis on the task as opposed to their support for developing the team.
Attempts to measure the effectiveness of the team have found a relationship between task
success and group climate: happy teams are successful teams and the other way around:
teams, which are good at what they do tend also to have a good climate as a spin off their
success. This in turn leads to more efficient social processes in the team, which, again, leads
to more, satisfied and less stressed teams.
9. ROLES

A role is a set of expected behaviors associated with a particular position in a group or team.
In any group setting over time, various roles will emerge. Some people will assume roles that
are focused on accomplishing the task while others will take on behaviors associated with
maintaining relationships within the group. Still others may take on roles that are
counterproductive or even destructive to the group.
Airline crews have clearly defined roles for the most part. The captain is the leader of the
group followed by the first officer and the other members of the group in order of the chain of
command. The purser occupies a similar leadership position for flight attendants.
To the extend the roles are clear and independent, the group will tend to function well, at
least from a role point of view.
There are formal roles like those laid down in job specification or manuals and informal roles
assumed by team members deliberately and of which they are not necessarily aware of;
these are informal roles which are of a supportive and maintaining relationship nature. Our
informal role in the group is a reflection of our personality. Two kinds of role problem are most
common.

9.1. Role Conflict

When the individual in getting contradictory messages or expectations about his or her
behavior, he or she is experiencing a role conflict. These conflicts can came from several
different sources. Perhaps the most common is when the person is receiving two different
signals about the expectation for a particular role. Like for instance “I want you to do a high-
quality detailed job and I want it in two minutes”. Sometimes the conflict can be between two
different roles held by the same person.
Role conflict occurs when we have too many demands placed upon us. We are then required
to prioritize. The problem then arises that our priorities may not be the same as those of
others making demands on our time. Furthermore, our priority task may not be the most
relevant to the task in hand.
Role deviation could be classified as either situation where crewmembers interpreted their
role in a very individualistic manner or situations where crewmembers failed to complete
tasks, which were an essential part of their role. First Officers talk of Captains who insist on
having things done their way: Cabin Attendants talk of Pursers who want to do drink service a
different way or who organize their carts in a non-standard fashion. These events may not be
of earth shattering importance but they lead to friction inside the team.

9.2. Role Ambiguity

In role conflict one receives clear messages about expectations but the messages are not all
congruent; in situation of role ambiguity, the problem is that one cannot be sure what the
expectation are at all. The information about the role is either lacking or not clearly
communicated. Role Ambiguity is more likely to occur in management positions than in
traditional crew roles.

10. NORMS

All groups have unwritten, informal social rules which help to regulate relationships and to
establish acceptable forms of behavior. Although these rules are infrequently written down or
openly discussed, they often have a powerful and consistent influence on crewmembers’
behavior. Most of us are rather good at reading the social cues that inform us of existing
norms. When we first enter a work situation, even though there may not be a dress code, we
are fairly astute at determining that” everybody around here wears a suit”. We also are apt to
notice when a norm is violated.
Another fortunate aspect of norms is that they do not govern all behaviors just those
behaviors that the group feels are important. An outsider is often able to learn more about
norms than an insider for several reasons: first the outsider not being subject to the norms is
more apt to notice them, in fact the more foreign the outsider is the more likely the norms are
to be perceived.
Experiments have shown that norms can be long lasting and are passed-on through
successive generations of team members. However norms are not fixed and can be changed
over time.

11. STATUS

Status is a relative ranking of individuals within a group setting. In an airline cockpit crew,
status is typically associated with the roles of Captain and First Officer. In these cases status
comes with the position. Status, like roles, determines appropriate behaviors for all group
members. Usually a high status person has more power and influence than the other
members of the group do. Status can block effective communication; status can also interfere
with the normal functions of the team. For example rostering captains together can lead to
friction in the cockpit because the normal pecking order becomes confused.

12. AUTHORITY AND POWER

Technically authority is the right to use power and influence. People derive authority in the
group setting from the legitimate power given them by the organization. The captain has the
authority to order a drunken or abusive passenger to get off the airplane or not to accept a
flight that he believes it is unsafe. Authority can also be granted on the basis of recognized
expertise or expert power. Authority is exercised through power; some forms of power are
formal aspects of the organization. So, power is given to someone in the company because
of the position they hold. In this way the Captain possesses formal power.
Another form of power exists because individuals can reward or punish team members. In an
informal sense, individuals can possess power simply because they are popular and,
therefore, they can get team members to work on their behalf when an unpopular person
might find some resistance. In the same way individuals who have a high degree of expertise
can also exercise power based on the fact that others in the team depend on them to solve
problems.

13. LEADERSHIP

Leadership can be defined as the ability to persuade others willingly to behave differently.
The function of the team leaders is to achieve the task set for them with the help of the group.
Leaders and their group are therefore interdependent. Leaders have two major roles. First,
they must achieve the task. Secondly they have to maintain effective relationships between
themselves and the group and the individuals in it. Leaders have to satisfy the following
needs in order to fulfill their task: the task needs, the group maintenance needs and the
individuals needs. These three needs are interdependent the leader’s actions in one area
affect both the others; thus successful achievement of the task is essential if the group is to
be held together and its members motivated to give their best effort to the job. One might
think that status, authority and leadership are part of the same thing. It is true that leader has
power and exercise authority. However there are individuals who being over promoted
{above their level of competence} abuse their authority and could not lead a team efficiently.
Whenever teams come together to accomplish a task, a leader will emerge.
Given the apparent importance of leaders, it is not surprising to find that enormous effort has
been put into identifying the characteristics of good leaders. Leaders vary in the extent to
which they focus on the task or on the needs of the team. Leaders also vary in the extent to
which they make decisions or allow the team to participate in decision-making. There is no
single leadership style, which works in all situations. Good leaders vary their style according
to the situation.

13.1. Team Briefing

One of the most important methods to bond effectively a team is by talking to them. The
concept of briefing people is not new and most airlines have some form of policy on briefing
prior to the flight. There is no standard pattern for a briefing but no doubt it is the first tool to
start building a team. It allows crewmembers to recognize one another as part of the team. It
establishes the tone for proceedings and some norms for the group. The briefing may also
convey information and could be a time for the crew to clarify any points they have missed or
to raise problems. Where the briefing takes places and how long it lasts will depend on
circumstances but there are some rules to be taken into account; it is the first step towards
team building and it must not treat it as a formality.

14. PERSONALITY AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR

To manage people effectively, it is necessary to understand the factors that affect how people
behave at work. This means taking into account the fundamental characteristic of people.

14.1. Individual Differences

The management of people would be much easier if everyone were the same, but they are of
course different because of their ability, intelligence, personality, background and culture {the
environment in which they were brought up}. Gender race and disability are additional factors
to be taken into account. The needs and wants of individuals will also differ and this affects
their motivation.
The headings under which personal characteristics can vary have been classified as follows:
Competencies {abilities and skills}, constructs {how people perceive their environment},
expectations {what people have learned to expect from their own and from others}, values
{what people believe to be important}, self-regulatory plans {the goals people set for
themselves}

14.2. Ability

Ability is the quality that makes an action possible. Abilities have been analyzed and
classified into two major groups:
- Standing for verbal, numerical, memory and reasoning abilities
- Standing for spatial and mechanical abilities as well as perceptual memory and
motor skills related to physical operations such as eye/hand coordination and
mental dexterity.

14.3. Intelligence

Intelligence has been defined as:

“The capacity to solve problems, apply principles, make inferences and perceive
relationships -the capacity for abstract thinking and reasoning with a range of different
contents and media -the capacity to process information.”
As an operational definition it can be related to the specific aspects of reasoning, inference,
cognition and perception that intelligence tests attempt to measure.
General intelligence, as noted above consists of a number of mental abilities that enable a
person to succeed at a wide variety of intellectual tasks that use the faculty of knowing and
reasoning.
An alternative approach to the analysis of intelligence was put forward by Guilford {1967},
who distinguished five types of mental operation: thinking, remembering, divergent
production {problem solving which leads to unexpected and original solutions, convergent
production problem solving which leads to the one correct solution} and evaluating.

14.4. Personality

The term personality is all embracing in terms of the individual’s behavior and the way it is
organized and coordinated when one interacts with the environment. Personality can be
described in terms of traits and types.

14.5. The trait concept of personality

Personality can be described as the relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals that
distinguish them from one another. This is the “trait” concept, traits being predisposition to
behave in certain ways in a variety of different situations. The assumption that people are
consistent in the ways they express these traits is the basis for making predictions about their
future behavior. Traits may be therefore thought of as classification system, used by
individuals to understand other people’s arid their own behavior.

14.6. Type theory of personality

Type theory identifies a number of types of personality that can be used to categorize people
and may form the basis of personality test. The types may be linked to description of various
traits.
One of the most wide used type theories is that of Jung {1923}. He identified four major
preferences of people:

1. Relating to other people - extraversion or introversion

2. Gathering information - sensing {dealing with facts that can be objectively verified} or
intuitive {generating information through insight}
3. Using information - thinking {emphasizing logical analysis as the basis for decision-
making} or feeling {making decisions based on internal values or beliefs}
4. Making decisions - perceiving {collecting all the relevant information before making a
decision} or judging {resolving the issue without waiting for a large quantity of data}

14.7. Influence of background and culture

Individual differences may be a function of people background, which will include the
environment and culture in which they have been brought up and now exist. Individual life
structure is shaped by three types of external event: the socio-cultural environment, the roles
they play and the relationships they have the opportunities and constraints that enable or
inhibit them to express and develop their personality.

14.8. Differences arising from gender, race and disability

It is dangerous to make assumptions about inherent differences between people because of

their sex, race, or degree of disability. If there are differences in behavior at work, these are
more likely to arise from environmental and cultural factors than from differences in
fundamental personal characteristics.
14.9. Attitudes

An attitude can broadly be defined as a settled mode of thinking. Attitudes are evaluative.
Attitudes are developed through experience but they are less stable than traits and can
change as new experiences are gained or influences absorbed. Within organizations they are
affected by cultural factors {values and norms}, the behavior of management {management
style}, policies such as those concerned with pay, recognition, promotion and the quality of
working life, and the influence of the” reference group” {the group with whom people identify}

14.10. Influences of behavior at work

Behavior at work is dependent both on personal characteristic of individuals and the situation
in which they are working. These factors interact and the theory of behavior is also called
“Interactionism”. It is because of this process of interaction and because there are so many
variables in personal characteristics and situations those behaviors is difficult to analyze and
predict. Behavior will be influenced by the perceptions of individuals about the situation they
are in.