Culture at Work in Aviation and Medicine

Book excerpt: Published in 1998, culture forms a complex framework of national, organizational, and professional attitudes and values within which groups and individuals function. The reality and strength of culture become salient when we work within a new group and interact with people who have well established norms and values. In this book the authors report the results of their ongoing exploration of the influences of culture in two professions, aviation and medicine. Their focus is on commercial airline pilots and operating room teams. Within these two environments they show the effect of professional, national and organizational cultures of individual attitudes and values and team interaction.