Term Paper on "Crew Resource Management"

Term Paper 5 pages (1461 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

CRM

Crew resource management reflects basic principles of human communications but applied directly within the unique cockpit environment. Cockpit mismanagement and conflict are major culprits in aviation accidents: "failures of interpersonal communications, decision making, and leadership" are responsible for most errors (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wilhelm 1999). Interpersonal strife, miscommunication, and errors in judgment are some of the areas crew resource management can address. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workshop introduced the importance of crew resource management (CRM) in 1979 and since then CRM has helped avert a "significant" number of aviation accidents (American Psychological Association, 2004). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA 2004) calls CRM an "integral part of training and operations."

With structured guidelines for dealing with conflicts, aviation personnel can prevent the problems that cause tragedies. Although the FAA does not offer one single method of CRM training, it does offer resources for aviation industry personnel to help each organization craft its own crew resource management program. The details of CRM may differ according to the needs of the organization, whether a commercial, private, or government carrier. The FAA notes that most CRM training focuses on " situation awareness, communication skills, teamwork, task allocation, and decision making within a comprehensive framework of standard operating procedures (SOP)." Because of its impact on public safety and on reducing aviation liabilities, CRM is mandatory for the FAA certification process (FAA 2004).

Situation awareness increases a pilot, copilot, or crew member's ability to respond to sudden changes to the status of a flight due to unforeseen circumstances. Crew resource management encourages situational awareness by helping aviation personnel pay better attention to their environments, their coworkers, their equipment, and their clients. Therefore, situation awareness focuses on improving accurate perceptions and reducing the chance that a crew member might misread or misjudge a scenario. Honing situation awareness takes much practice and time; perceptive pilots and crew members are usually seasoned employees who have decades of experience reading people and making split-second judgments when surprises arise. However, junior crew members and pilots can improve their awareness of situations simply by incorporating proven principles learned during CRM training.

Situation awareness applies not just to what is currently happening in the cockpit environment, but also to the crew's goals for the specific resolution of a conflict. Assessing a situation honestly and then comparing the assessment to an ideal scenario is another way of envisioning situation awareness. The ultimate object of situation awareness is to match cockpit decisions with desired outcomes.

Because cockpit personnel work together as a team, too, each individual should also be aware of his or her roles and the duties expected of each crew member. Situation awareness starts with self-awareness and the ability to know one's strengths and limitations in any crisis scenario. Role clarity and expected duties are generally taught to crew members undergoing CRM training. Situation awareness is in many respects the core of crew resource management.

Communication skills, however, are a key part of CRM training and implementation. Pilots, flight attendants, and ancillary crew members need to work together and cooperate under abnormally stressful circumstances. Effective communications start and end with honesty, and all crew members need to be up front about any issues, problems, or concerns. Confronting supervisors or subordinates demands tact and sensitivity. No crew member, no matter how senior his or her position within the organization, can rely on status as a reason to bark orders to subordinates. All crew members, no matter how junior their position within the organization, have a responsibility to report any suspicious situation to a supervisor. Subordinates also need to learn when and how to question authority because CRM depends on opening lines of communication with the main objective of ensuring flight safety. Cockpit communications may also depend on improving diversity awareness and sensitivity to difference. As Schultz (2002) points out, culture effects cockpit communication especially in a multicultural aviation industry.

Teamwork is also a major part of CRM, and teamwork depends on both situation awareness and on effective communication. Sharing information and collaborating to meet shared objectives is the essence of teamwork in a cockpit setting. The FAA (2004) itself stresses the importance of teamwork as being central to the CRM training process: "CRM training should focus on the functioning of crew members as teams, not as a collection of technically competent individuals" and "CRM training should provide opportunities for crew… READ MORE

How to Reference "Crew Resource Management" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Crew Resource Management (CRM) Research Paper

Crew Resource Management (CRM) is a term which was according to Smith (2002) defined by Jon K. Lauber in 1984 as the process of using all of the available resources,… read more

Research Paper 10 pages (2748 words) Sources: 20 Style: APA Topic: Transportation / Mass Transit

---

Crew Resource Management Research Paper

Crew Resource Management

Over the last several years, the issue of crew resource management (CRM) has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because both the military and civilian… read more

Research Paper 12 pages (3336 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Transportation / Mass Transit

---

UAS Operator Crew Resource Management Research Paper

Aviation

Since the first authorized use of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) in 1990, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has employed UAS in a variety… read more

Research Paper 6 pages (1766 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA Topic: Transportation / Mass Transit

---

Management in Spite of the Modifications Essay

Management

In spite of the modifications within the micro and macro environments, the number one goal of economic agents remains that of registering profits. Still, they now do this by… read more

Essay 13 pages (3753 words) Sources: 20 Style: Harvard Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Management Development Process Has Been Adopted Term Paper

management development process has been adopted in the public and private sectors for the enhancement and development of the new managers and professionals. The enhancement program was adopted and implemented… read more

Term Paper 16 pages (4207 words) Sources: 7 Topic: Management / Organizations

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>