Culture

Abstract

In ‘Outliers’ (2008) Malcolm Gladwell provides a life and death example of why culture matters and is the starting point for understanding people. Faced with problems as they came into land, an analysis of fl ight recordings concludes that the Korean Air fi rst captain acted wholly consistently with his societal norms. He evidently had concerns but did not raise them with the senior pilot using direct language. He adhered to strict hierarchy rules and sought to maintain surface harmony, avoiding possible off ence by suggesting his superior was failing to react appropriately. The pilot, who had earlier complained of tiredness, simply did not register the seriousness of the first officer’s concerns. Even in the face of imminent disaster, the fi rst pilot’s default be haviors were so deeply ingrained, and his assumption that the pilot would understand so strong, that he failed to step in with catastrophic consequences.