Safety Culture in Aviation

Essay # 62367

Aviation, Aeronautics
Business > Management

A look at how distinct safety cultures influence safety performance.

2,954 words () | 13 sources | MLA | 2005 Australia

Paper Summary:

This paper describes how different safety cultures in aviation have the potential to improve or worsen the safety performance of individual organisations. Recommendations are made in regard to the implementation and control of organisational safety culture to ensure safe practices through detailed engineering of workplace procedures and communication lines. The functionalist and interpretive perspectives of safety culture as described by Glendon (2000) are examined, demonstrating why the strengths of operating under an interpretive perspective within a functionalist framework are appropriate in the aviation industry. The importance of understanding the concepts of safety mission and safety involvement are considered. It is argued that, although difficult to categorically claim, there is little doubt that the differences in safety culture evident in the industry can have significant impact on an organisation's level of safety.

Outline
Abstract
Introduction and Background Why Safety Culture Is So Important In Aviation
Safety Cultures in Aviation
Conclusion and Implications
Reference List

From the Paper:

"It is widely understood throughout the domains of aviation, medicine, defence and other safety-sensitive industries that maintaining an effective strategy to minimise the possibility and consequences of error is absolutely obligatory. Additionally, specific measures to manage the overall safety of operations can define an organisation's ability to operate viably (Glendon, 2000; Hudson, 2001; Reason, 1997). This does not just include the cost of error, but also an organisation's ability to determine risk and make decisions based on the assessment of risk. This paper identifies the steps management of aviation organisations can take to implement strategies to provide a positive safety culture within their organisation, encouraging both healthier safety attitudes and consequently, financial gain."