ABSTRACT
This chapter examines cultural factors in complex systems and discusses the relationship of cultural factors to operator performance. In applying cultural factors to operator performance, two cultural antecedents to error can be identified, one acceptance of authority, and the other identification with the group. As with national cultures, corporate cultural factors can affect safety, and become antecedents to error or mitigate opportunities for error. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance generally find it difficult to deal with ambiguous or unclear situations that have few applicable procedures. Countries with cultures that scored high on individualistic traits had lower accident rates than countries considered more groups oriented. An organization with a "good" culture encourages safety, even at the expense of production. Operators should be sufficiently objective to recognize potential conflicts between company goals and safety, and sufficiently independent to perform in the best interests of safety.
