9.3 Social Psychology

Social Psychology (9.3) Learning Objectives

• Individual Responsibilities: State some responsibilities of the individual in the aircraft maintenance system (Level 1)
• Team/Group Responsibilities: State some responsibilities of teams or groups in the aircraft maintenance system (Level 1)
• Motivation: Recall typical ways individuals may experience internal or external motivation to perform in aircraft maintenance systems and show links to Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Level 1)
• Demotivation: Recall typical reasons why individuals may be demotivated to perform in the aircraft maintenance systems (Level 1)
• Peer Pressure: Define positive and negative peer pressure and state the pressure people may be subjected to in order to conform in a workplace (Level 1)
• Organizational Culture: Define aspects of organizational culture and the key components of a safety culture such as just culture, reporting culture, learning culture (Level 1)
• Teamwork: Define teamwork and the advantages, disadvantages and important elements of working in a team (Level 1)
• Leadership: Recall duties and responsibilities of leadership positions and the characteristics that need to be demonstrated by a leader (Level 1)

Summary

• The previous chapter focused on individual abilities and limitations.
• This chapter examines the social context of aircraft maintenance, including organizational structures, delegation of responsibilities, motivation, teamwork, supervision, and leadership.

Responsibility: Individual and Group

• Aircraft maintenance work is critical for safe and efficient travel
• Responsibility in aircraft maintenance is spread throughout the organization, from accountable managers to individual workers.
• A Part 145 maintenance organization must nominate an Accountable Manager and a Responsible Manager in its exposition document.

Working as an Individual or within a Group

• Traditionally, aircraft maintenance responsibility has focused on the individual, leading to advantages of direct accountability.
• However, a focus on individual responsibility can overlook the importance of teamwork and collaboration.
• Aircraft maintenance workers are commonly assigned to teams or groups. This could include shift teams, or smaller groups within shifts.

Individual Responsibility

• Licensed staff have detailed responsibilities stated in regulations, often requiring them to perform and record work in a satisfactory manner.
• All AMEs are highly trained and take pride in their contribution to air safety.
• Non-certifying workers also have responsibilities, such as demonstrating competence and providing traceability through maintenance records.

Group or Team Responsibility

• Advantages of group/team responsibility: collective responsibility, cross-checking, challenging others.
• Disadvantages of group responsibility: possible diffusion of responsibility (nobody taking accountability). Key issues concern: intergroup conflict, group polarisation, social loafing.

Motivation and Demotivation

• Motivation is a basic human drive, a goal-directed, purposeful action.
• In aircraft maintenance, motivation determines what individuals will or won't do.
• Motivation is generally considered a positive force.
• There can be several things motivating someone, such as money or the desire to create something beautiful.
• Conversely, demotivation can stem from things like low wages.

External and Internal Motivation

• External motivation: rewards/punishments from organization.
• Internal motivation: intrinsic desire to perform. (much more effective)

What Do People Want From Work?

• Workers generally want to feel valued, competent, and have some control.
• Rewards are often more effective motivators than punishments. Immediate rewards are more effective than delayed ones.
• Management interest in the workforce and attention to workers are correlated with improved productivity (Hawthorne Effect).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow's hierarchy describes different levels of human needs. The lower needs (basic physical needs) must be satisfied before higher-level needs can motivate individuals.
• Intrinsic motivation is associated with higher-level needs, while extrinsic motivation is associated with lower levels of the hierarchy.

Demotivation

• Tiredness, discomfort, and environmental extremes can reduce motivation among aircraft maintenance workers.
• Financial incentives or demotivation can influence worker behaviour/actions.

Different Personalities

• People have different personalities and are motivated by diverse factors.
• Recognising and understanding these differences within teams is crucial for productive teamwork.

Characteristics

• Motivated individuals strive for excellence, demonstrate consistent energy, commitment, co-operation, and willingness to adapt.
• Demotived individuals may show apathy, lateness, absences, and resistance to change.

Dealing with Conflicting Motivations

• Supervisors need to be aware of conflicting motivations in the workforce.
• External factors like poor wages, harsh weather, or interpersonal conflicts can affect worker motivation.

Peer Pressure

• Peer pressure within a working environment can affect an individual to conform to peers' actions/opinions.
• The influence of peer pressure and conformity on a person's views can be reduced if individuals voice their opinions from the outset and resist conforming.
• Conformity is often linked to cultural norms.

Culture Issues

• Organizational culture is comprised of shared values and beliefs; these impact behaviours and norms.
• Changing practices are easier than changing values and beliefs, and a firm safety culture needs both types of alteration.

Safety Culture

• Safety culture within an organisation is characterized by a shared belief that safety is essential and by the consistent effort being made to uphold safety standards across all levels of the organisation.
• Effective safety culture evaluation involves observing actions, not just pronouncements.
• Many factors can assess whether an organisation has a good safety culture.
• Various methods can measure attitudes towards safety.

The Blame Cycle

• Blame is often inappropriately applied to individuals rather than systems in error analysis.
• The illusion of free will often influences how we perceive and assign blame.

Creating a Just Culture

• Just culture fosters trust between individuals and the organization.
• It is built around recognising that human error is frequent and that systems and situations often contribute to accidents or errors.

Liability, Culpability, and Employer's Expectations

• An employer cannot blame an honest mistake (if in line with expectations), but can do so when the employee deviates from standards or expectations.

Disciplinary Policy

• Discipline policies within just culture should differentiate between mistakes and violations.

Culpability Matrix

• The culpability matrix is a tool used for distinguishing appropriate error responses from other more serious deviations.

Teamwork

• Teamwork involves interdependence amongst individuals to meet shared goals.
• Teams may comprise individuals working towards the same goal (parallel or sequential tasks)
• Aircraft maintenance teams often comprise multiple specialities and levels of experience (e.g., LAMEs and AMEs).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Teamwork

• Team work presents numerous advantages, including knowledge and resource sharing, problem solving, and cross-checking work.
• Disadvantages to team work include peer pressure, performance disparities between team members, and communication barriers/conflicts.

Important Elements of Team Work

• Team needs to have strong interpersonal and social skills.
• Interpersonal communication, co-operation, coordination, and mutual support are essential for productive teamwork.

Team Communication

• Team leaders need to ensure members understand instructions, allowing for issue/problem raising/discussion.

Management, Supervision and Leadership

• Managers/supervisors play a crucial role in maintaining a safe and effective aircraft maintenance operation.
• They handle safety issues, oversee workloads and resource usage, and maintain the group cohesion within the team.

Characteristics of a Leader

• A leader needs to motivate and encourage team members while ensuring a strong safety culture is maintained.

This quiz covers key concepts in social psychology as they relate to aircraft maintenance systems. It explores individual and team responsibilities, motivation and demotivation, peer pressure, and aspects of organizational culture, including safety and teamwork. Prepare to evaluate how these factors impact performance in the maintenance environment.