Occupational Books - Page 2

Culture at Work in Aviation and Medicine: National, Organizational and Professional Influences

Robert L. Helmreich, Ashleigh C. Merritt

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Subjects -> Medicine -> Specialties -> Surgery -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

For those who wants to learn more about professional culture 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This is an outstanding book that goes deeply inside the airline pilots and medical culture (it is much more related about aviation). Full of data and cases that supports and illustrates the author theory. It is a book not only to people that desing training but also manages those professional groups.

The Best Empirical Book On Culture In Aviation And Medicine I Have Yet Seen 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Robert Helmreich is regarded in the aviation industry as the father of Crew Resource Management (CRM), and in this book he and Ashleigh Merritt (with material contributed by many others) discuss the effects of cultural issues on safety in aviation and in the operating room.

While the bulk of the book is devoted to CRM in aviation (the researchers have vastly more data and experience in that field), the book serves well as an introduction to cultural influences in the operating room (and in medicine in general, to a degree.) This book is not light reading, and is most suitable for professionals in aviation, medicine, or behavioral and social sciences familiar with inter- and intra-cultural dynamics and the statistical methodologies typical in such studies.

The book is excellent at breaking down cultural influences by national, organizational, and professional affiliation, and it adds a significant amount to the body of knowledge in this area. As a long time airline pilot (and part-time safety and training consultant), I found the book fascinating and generally in agreement with my experiences working with pilots from airlines around the world. There are a couple of minor areas where I disagree with the book, for instance on page 105, the authors state "we believe that every national culture values the safety of its members and that every airline is dedicated to improving the safety of its operations." I agree that this is the case in the vast majority of cases, but I have been given reason to doubt the complete accuracy of the second half of that statement based on my personal interactions with many pilots from airlines around the globe. I think that management at all airlines would prefer safe operations as a matter of profitability, but that some are content with doing the minimum mandated training with safety as a second thought to legality and profitability. This is a minor semantic point separating my opinions from those of the authors, and is based on my personal observations and interactions with several thousand crew members from scores of airlines from all over the world. I will unequivocally say that the cultural profiles that the authors have established for the pilots are nearly identical to my own perceptions.

A very interesting part of the book concerns itself with pilots distrusting management. The authors were stunned to discover what low regard pilots felt for management. (As a pilot I think, in general, justifiably so.) This ties in with my comments above about genuine managerial interest in safety. They all "talk the talk," but many don't "walk the walk." The matter is fully distilled for the non-industry insider on pages 127-128 which emphasizes the group mentality (with resultant long-term corporate health) of Southwest Airlines in a press release written by their founder Herb Kelleher, contrasted with a press release from one of the embattled legacy carriers, released by the CEO of that corporation. The latter gave no credit to the employees, while the Southwest release did. The esteem with which management regards employees couldn't be carved in greater relief: the problem for management is that this is a treacherous two way street, and the employees that are desperately needed by legacy carriers are now largely demoralized in some cases to the point of apathy. Fortunately, the Helmreich team was not able to tie safety records conclusively to morale, though that may be simply because accidents are so statistically rare. On page 179 the authors deal again with the trustworthiness of management. The assertion is that for a safety system to function employees must feel free to report safety problems, instead of hushing them up (this is a major issue on the medical side of the house with the ever-present malpractice litigation waiting to ensnare doctors.) The authors are right on the money: if a hint of vindictiveness or lack of anonymity exists in a safety program, it will fail. The authors cite the excellent program at Continental Airlines as a model for how to deal effectively with an accident (in this case a non-fatal gear up landing of a DC-9) to learn from it and make further safety gains with employees.

On page 204 the authors examine cultural issues in the context of language differences. They cite the problems of Chinese pilots speaking in English. They mention the issues of sending a (non-pilot) translator with the pilots to aid communication. I have worked with several Chinese airlines and they are all bright, polite, and perceptive in my experience, but the dynamics in the simulator with the translator are unnerving as instructions are translated and queried, checklists are run and maneuvers are flown. In general under abnormal conditions I found that when a translator is used, emergency procedures took much longer (perhaps twice as long) to accomplish due to the language problems involved. I fully support the Helmreich proposition that international pilots be given more training in English (the international language of air transport.)

In sum, this book is superior and fascinating. I have commented more on the aviation side of the book because that is where the majority of my expertise is, but the medical side is equally fascinating, and heralds the beginning of a true safety system approach to medicine. I highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

The importance of culture-based attitudes, such as the degree of readiness to challenge, as well as to respect, superiors and to assume authority in crimes, has an obvious and direct bearing on team effectiveness, not only in aviation and medical operating theatres, but in all complex industries. The authors investigate and describe a range of cultural attributes, and the consequent impact on the quality of individual and team performance. National, organizational and professional cultural influences are all considered in the light of the wealth of results derived from the authors' research in aviation and medical environments.

The Myth of Mondragon: Cooperatives, Politics, and Working-Class Life in a Basque Town (Anthropology of Work)

Sharryn Kasmir

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Twisted View of Reality 2 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

There is no myth in Cooperative Mondragon if you have lived in Mondragon in 1960's, if you grow thru an artificially induced process of 40% unemployement, and sharing day to strugle of been lucky to get minimum wage and abuses of dictatorship under industrialism of General Franco.
The priests who funded the Cooperative (today with 60,000 employee owners) althought no perfect found a better solution.
Mondragon is perfect in front of the Enrons, MCIs, not a single person in the cooperative is yet to lose a pension or health coverage, or security of live, that beats 99% what Kasmir tries to compare Mondragon against other forms of ownership.

New insights into the Mondragon cooperatives 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 15 people found this review helpful.

The book contains many new insights into the internal working of the Mondragon cooperatives and their economic, social and political problems. Ms Kasmir's meticulous field-work and her studies of different historical archives of the Mondragon community offer a realistic picture about the Mondragon cooperatives unique experience

A good counter-balance 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I recently read Roy Morrison's "We Build the Road As We Travel" to gain a better understanding of cooperatives in general and the Mondragon cooperative system in particular. After reading Morrison's book I wanted to know more about Mondragon and so I picked up Kasmir's book.

After reading "The Myth of Mondragon" I have a very different idea of Basque Spain throughout the Franco years and the developmental years of the Mondragon cooperative system. While Morrison's book mentions the complexity of the region and the cooperative system itself Kasmir actually digs into both and produces quality thought-provoking information helping the reader to find a broader conclusion base.

While it is true that the cooperatives have provided job stability and health care - things that all folks ought to be guaranteed - Kasmir also points out that globalization has exacerbated class issues within the cooperatives as well as created an atmosphere in the cooperatives that is less distinct from the local private firms than it maybe once was.

The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda

Graham S. Lowe

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Editorial Review:

This book is designed to spark debate about the impact of current trends in employment. Based on years of research on employment practices in Canada, Lowe argues that employment figures are a poor measure of economic health and an inadequate basis for policies. Instead, he proposes that we reorganize the workplace around the idea of meaningful work--work that offers personal development, a social purpose, a decent standard of living, and a sense of economic security. Far from being whimsical or fiscally irresponsible, quality work can lay the groundwork for better lives for workers and a strong, stable economy.

Work and Personality: An Enquiry into the Impact of Social Stratification (Modern sociology)

Melvin Kohn, Carmi Schooler

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Social Research and the Practicing Professions "by Robert K. Merton"

Thomas F. Gieryn

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Research
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Editorial Review:

Originally published by Abt Books in 1982, this three-part collection of essays taps the seminal thinking of Robert Merton, one of America's foremost sociologists, a social theorist whose work has long had what are described as 'potentials of relevance' for diverse domains of practice. This book examines the interplay between social research and social policy with a focus on the practicing professions | medicine and its allied disciplines, the law, social services, and the clergy. Aimed at members of the practicing professions, sociologists, economists and makers of policy.

Men's Work, Women's Work: A Sociological History of the Sexual Division of Labour in Employment (Feminist Perspectives)

Harriet Bradley

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Professionalism Reborn: Theory, Prophecy, and Policy

Eliot Freidson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 1.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In industrialized societies, professionals have long been valued and set apart from other workers because of their specialized knowledge and skill. But has their role in these societies declined? Of what significance are they today?

In this concise synthesis of the major debates about the professions since World War II, Eliot Freidson explores several broad questions about professionalism today—what it is, what its future is likely to be, and its value to public policy. Freidson argues that because professionalism is based on specialized knowledge, it is distinct from either bureaucratic or market-based forms of work. He predicts a rebirth of the professions during which practitioners lose some of their independence and become more accountable to standards of a professional elite. And, defending professionalism as a desirable method of providing complex, discretionary services to the public, Freidson argues that market-based or bureaucratic methods would impoverish the quality of service to consumers, and suggests ways the virtues of professionalism can be reinforced.

The most accessible survey available of almost fifty years of theory and research by the scholar whose own work helped define the field, this book will appeal to the growing international body of scholars concerned with studying and theorizing about the professions.

The Sociology of Work: An Introduction

Keith Grint

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Editorial Review:

Drawing on a range of contemporary and historical material, this introductory textbook examines the nature of work in its more traditional guises as paid employment as well as the wider context of work as "unpaid labour" in the home. The emphasis is on links between the social processes and institutions of employment and their domestic and social contexts. Thus rather than focusing wholly on male factory workers, the author also considers the significance of gender and race as well as sectional divisions within the class structures.

Mindfulness and Meaningful Work: Explorations in Right Livelihood

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Consciousness & Thought

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Makes a great gift for Christmas, birthdays or friendship 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This book inspired me! It presents a wide range of views on the subject of right livelihood, from traditional Buddhist thinking to essays from well-known non-Buddhist writers. I was especialy impressed by the inclusion of essays on Amish economics, Islamic banking, and the scientific study of mindfulness founded by psychologist Ellen Langer at Harvard. In addition, the author's closing essay did a great job of describing the practical steps you need to take to find "right livelihood." And, the book happens to have a beautiful cover, which makes it a pleasure to give as a gift.

mindless explorations 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 10 people found this review helpful.

like any compilation, there are a variety of theories that are good, not so good and poor. most of the contributions sound good, but have no practical value. it would be nice to have jobs which help us be mindful, skillful and fulfilled. but let's face it. most jobs are low paying and unfulfilling no matter what frame of mind one should place themselves in. it's all nice ideologies from well-known (and successful) zen authors. this book does not help you explore right livelihood as much as mocks your efforts to try. this book is akin to those get rich infomercials which state "if i can do it, you can too". get this from the library or don't get it at all. don't like my review? check out how many used copies are for sale. i rest my case.

Editorial Review:

Mindfulness and Meaningful Work is a classic, providing a wealth of resources for investigating the challenge of integrating work with spiritual practice. It contains thirty-seven contributions by some of the leading thinkers and activists of our time, helping us to find work that is meaningful, life-affirming, and non-exploitive.

Gender Differences at Work: Women and Men in Non-traditional Occupations

Christine L. Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Gender (Nonconformity) Matters! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Williams studies women in the Marine Corps and men in nursing to discuss what it is like to be a gender minority in an occupation. Her most important point is that the experience differs based upon biological sex. If women in a male-dominated field have it rough that does not mean men in a female dominated field will have it the same way.

What came across most directly to me is how much gender still matters. If this book, Dr. Williams writes that men CHOOSE to avoid nursing whereas male military leaders actively PREVENT women from entering the field. Moreover, gender is complex. Female Marines see their femininity as a strength, but male Marines see that same quality as substandard. Male nurses get called doctor because patients simply can't fathom the idea of a male nurse. In fact, some patients say the men practice "male nursing" because the idea still seems so novel and oxymoronic to them. Unfortunately, the continued reality of violence against women is documented: male nurses noted that male doctors throw things at female nurses. I was scandalized by that!

At first, I was surprised that this sociology text had so many psychological underpinnings. Then again, the two disciplines are highly interrelated. Still, the Freudian idea that earliest memories and parental practices affects everything may rub some readers the wrong way.

The author is clearly a feminist and not just some neutral observer. I support women's rights, so that didn't bother me. However, other readers may indict her for "having an agenda." To me, however, pointing gender inequality is a legitimate aim. Both her discussions on nursing and the Marines mentioned the military often. Thus, I am surprised that she did not directly cite the feminist military scholar Cynthia Enloe.

The book starts off by saying, "In the same way studying transgendered people tells us a lot about mainstream gender, so does studying female Marines and male nurses tell us about gender in the workplace over all." I would argue that transgendered people have not been studied enough, especially as they deal with the employment settings. I hope more scholars take on that project.

My biggest critique of this book is how lesbians and lesbophobia is mostly ignored. The author notes that heterosexual male nurses go out of their way to announce their sexual orientation and that gay male nurses may not receive the advantages that their straight counterparts do. She also mentions gay men being expelled from the military. However, huge numbers of lesbians get expelled from the military too. Because this book was published in 1989, Dr. Williams did not have the benefit of numerous books printed in the 1990s that spoke about lesbian oppression in the military. Still, gay rights activist Urvashi Vaid noted that discrimination against women and specifically lesbians has been a longstanding feminist issue. Dr. Williams doesn't even state that the military's discriminatory policies may be why women's inclusion in the Marine Corps is taken as a given. Dr. Williams' erasure here is quite problematic.

Dr. Williams quotes several men who say that they did not have the money to attend medical school and thus they became nurses. I don't buy that one bit! You can get loans for med school if you have the grades. Getting into medical school is difficult for anybody. Undergraduate nursing courses don't stress a premedical curriculum in the way that science departments do. Getting into medical schools is such an intense weeding process that the argument the informants present here cannot possibly true.

From the start, Dr. Williams confesses that finding female Marines to talk was much easier than finding male nurses. I know it's taboo to rank oppressions, but I wish the author had spoken about how male femininity is punished in society more than female masculinity. Parents discipline girly boys and laugh off tomboyishness. Women can wear pants, but men are punished for wearing dresses. Thus, maybe men will be punished more for entering nursing than women who enter the Marine Corps.

I enjoyed this book, just as I do everything Dr. Williams writes. She is an insightful and promising academic. Gender radicals and traditionalists should investigate what she has to say.

Editorial Review:

Nurses and marines epitomize accepted definitions of femininity and masculinity. Using ethnographic research and provocative in-depth interviews, Christine Williams argues that our popular stereotypes of individuals in nontraditional occupations--male nurses and female marines for example--are entirely unfounded. This new perspective helps to account for the stubborn resilience of occupational stratification in the face of affirmative action and other anti-discrimination policies.