The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes

“The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes” Reflection Paper The seventh chapter of “Outliers: The Story of Success” written by Malcolm Gladwell is unusual in terms of topic but attention-grabbing passage. At first, you have to read the text thoroughly in order to grasp the details and get the whole picture of the accidents, but over time, the narrative is perceived more easily. The author is an excellent storyteller indeed. He does not simply involves real people into the story, but also attracts with a deep analysis of what is happening, explaining such a phenomenon as plane crashes in terms of cultural and national differences. I guess the thing surprised me the most is the way Korean and Colombian members of the crew behave in the face of danger. This is really difficult to put in my head how people can follow a strict chain of command when their own lives are at stake as well as the lives of hundreds of passengers. I understand and respect the nuances of communication in foreign cultures, but at the same time I believe in such situations one cannot do with just “hints”. Instead, you need to speak up and do everything in your power to save the situation. Anyway, despite the shocking dialogues and details given by the author, the chapter is informative, as it tells about such aspects of behavior as “mitigated speech”, as an example, which refers to attempts to downplay the meaning of what is being said. So, in order to communicate clearly and assertively one should avoid any mitigation. However, what is easy for a European or an American is not always clear to an Asian who is accustomed to a different type of communication. In this regard, the author mentions Geert Hofstede’s dimensions which are the most used paradigms in cross-cultural communication. The Dutch psychologists distinguishes such measurements as “individualism-collectivism scale”, “uncertainty avoidance”, and “power distance index” which is concerned with attitudes toward hierarchy and explains the both plane cases. The pilots were too afraid to object to the superiors, and this led to irreversible consequences. I suppose such examples can be transferred to any field, whether it is governance, medicine or education, where mistakes are also common. Bad communication experiences should help overcome misunderstandings and express one’s opinion in order to be heard. So, in my personal life I will make some attempts not to be afraid of speaking frankly if something bothers me or may lead to unfortunate consequences. This can be useful not only when dealing with foreigners, but also in everyday conversation. Besides, there are other examples of failures in cross-cultural communication. They may be not as scary as in the given chapter, but they can also lead to a ruined business or a broken heart. I have heard many stories of young people whose parents are against marriage, as they belong to different cultures and are unable to find a common language. Businessmen also often make mistakes in negotiations, being late for meetings, making inappropriate compliments or gifts to their partners from other countries, or simply not taking hints. So this is a common problem, in order to solve which we need to learn more about other cultures and strive to understand them.