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CSER-09 Hodgson, Siemieniuch & Molloy.pdf (321.94 kB)

Evaluating the cultural aspects of complex systems

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conference contribution
posted on 2009-07-14, 08:06 authored by Allan Hodgson, Carys E. Siemieniuch, Ella-Mae Molloy
As technologies improve, system components are becoming more reliable and are delivering higher performance levels. However, most complex systems incorporate humans, and human performance issues are becoming relatively more important. In particular, individuals' and groups' cultures are increasingly recognized as major performance-affecting factors. In civilian aircraft systems, companies such as Boeing are finding that culture is now the key differentiating factor in aviation safety. A similar situation appears to exist across ostensibly similar military air forces. Accident rates vary greatly across cultures, even when comparing near-identical modern aircraft fleets. This paper examines the background to cultural issues; it presents a brief description of culture and cultural factors and, as an illustrative example, describes the effects of cultural variation on performance in aviation. It examines cultural bias in systems engineering standards, and comments on the lack of culture-sensitive systems engineering tools. The paper also describes a culture-based modeling tool that has been developed by the authors to evaluate the cultural match of individuals and groups to particular environments and, potentially, to complex systems. It concludes that human error and culture are closely linked and that culture must be formally considered in the systems engineering of complex systems.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Citation

HODGSON, A., SIEMIENIUCH, C.E. and MOLLOY, E.-M., 2009. Evaluating the cultural aspects of complex systems. IN: Kalawsky, R. O'Brien, J. and Goonetilleke, T. (eds.). Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on Systems Engineering Research, 20th - 23rd April 2009, Loughborough University, UK. Loughborough : Research School of Systems Engineering, Loughborough University

Publisher

Research School of Systems Engineering, Loughborough University

Publication date

2009

Notes

This conference paper was presented at CSER 2009 is also available at: http://cser.lboro.ac.uk/papers/S04-26.pdf

ISBN

9780956244000;0956244009

Language

  • en

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