ABSTRACT
Aviation human factors are concerned with a total system approach. While it is particularly concerned with behavioral issues and the social environment, it is important to recognize that the other more traditional elements of human factors in aviation continue to play a significant role in air transport operations. The national cultural environment can be characterized in terms of individualism, collectivism, and power distance. According to Hofstede and others, individualism is high and power distance is relatively low in developed countries such as those in most of Europe, North America, Australia, and in New Zealand. A principal factor is that individual countries can be quite proprietary regarding their own regulatory rights and responsibilities. Economic deregulation of the airlines in the United States, and in many other countries, is a fact of life. Every airline has a corporate culture and that culture should reflect its corporate philosophy.
