Organizational Issues in Air Traffic Control (ATC)

A Rose by any other Name Smells just as Sweet: is Efficiency the same as Effectiveness?

2013-06-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

The above is a Cyrilic script which means, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." These words form part of Juliet's sonnet of the 17th century Shakespearean lovers' tragedy. In it, she lamented that Romeo's name did not take away from his seemingly perfect character in the same manner that changing the name of a rose will not make it smell less pleasant. Can we apply the same reasoning to the efficiency and effectiveness of our Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs)? Is an efficient ANSP the same as an effective ANSP? Does it matter if we use these terms interchangeably to describe our ANSPs?

Efficiency and effectiveness are 2 terminologies that describe organizational performance. While we may be tempted to use them interchangeably, researchers have made a distinction between the two. Efficiency refers to the comparison or ratio of inputs relative to that of outputs, while effectiveness is the examination of the extent to which inputs are acquired and utilised, or the limits of accomplishing certain outcomes. Similar views have been investigated by the pioneers in organizational performance studies (Pennings and Goodman, 1977; Ostroff and Schmitt, 1993). How can we apply this reasoning in our sphere of Air Traffic Services (ATS)?

An ANSP might be efficient because it can train and retrain Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) in a relatively short period of time. But this ANSP may be ineffective, because it might be caught in an ongoing cycle of training due to several reasons that include high turnover and leapfrogging to keep pace with the procedures of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Whatever the reason, the root of ineffectiveness for ANSPs lie in their misperception of organizational deficiencies as well as misuse and inadequate allocation of organizational resources.

While it is everyone's wish to declare that their ANSP is among the best in global efficiency and effectiveness in providing ATS, we should be careful about affirming speculations. An ANSP will truly know whether it is efficient or effective only after an appraisal of its performance. How many ANSPs are consistent in gauging their organizational performance?

To thrive, ANSPs are required to be both efficient and effective (Katz and Kahn, 1978; Mahoney, 1988; Ostroff and Schmitt, 1993). However, there are some ANSPs who are very efficient but not so effective and few have found a balance between efficiency and effectiveness (Grigorov and Mark, 2013).

In the unfortunate lovers' tragedy, Juliet and Romeo were forbidden to publicly explore their romantic notions for each other because the Capulets had an ongoing feud wth the Montagues - the family names were associated with a historical disagreement between them. Similarly, we will be able to accurately describe our ANSPs by investigating their performance. We can have an indication of the extent to which we are simply doing the right things by being efficient and the extent to which we are also effective by doing the things right in our ANSPs.

Note, performance evaluation of ATCOs and complementary staff in an ANSP is not an indication of organizational performance which has several dimensions. One such methodology for organizational performance measurement is called the Prism Performance Measurement (Neely et al, 2002). You can view another blog post here for further information on this type of measurement.
Without adequate secular training, measuring the dimensions of efficiency and effectiveness in an ANSP may seem daunting because there are no direct measurements for these dimensions, particularly effectiveness. The question that arises then, is: How can we measure efficiency and effectiveness as distinct characteristics of ANSP performance?

A look at examples of 3 studies in these 2 dimensions reveal that every methodology is unique to the organization under investigation. In 1981, 2 researchers, Angle and Perry, measured the organizational effectiveness of the US national bus service by examining the behaviorism of organizational commitment among employees.
In a second study, Denison and Mishra (1995) used 4 traits of organizational culture as indirect indications of effectiveness. Using 764 organizations, they observed involvement, consistency, adaptability and mission both from the employee and the management perspective.
In a third study on US police departments of bigger states by Skogan 1976, he used linear regression analyses based upon the anatomy of the departments to determine efficiency and the residuals to account for the effectiveness of the police departments. Where are our

examples of studies in ANSP performance?
You may think that there are more important issues facing your ANSP but gauging the organizational characteristics of ANSPs are essential to knowing their readiness for restructure, their capacity for development, understanding the problems so as to identify the areas that need more or less resources and determining the level of organizational motivation.
Recognizing the need for organizational appraisals begins with the understanding that ANSPs are not real business enterprises and that the individual perceptions of top level management can weigh heavily on the organizational characteristics of ANSPs which can promote or stunt organizational development in the long term. We also need to fully comprehend the ramifications associated with whether we are doing the things right - being effective; or, whether we are efficient by doing the right things; or, whether our ANSP is both effective and efficient. Which name aptly describes your ANSP? Is it effective, efficient or both?

The ANSP Alphabet

2013-05-17T12:40:00.002-07:00

How will you define an Air Navigation Service Provider or ANSP? On the basis of its legal classification, ANSPs should be familiar with 9 letters, which we will call the ANSP alphabet. Can you guess what each of the following letters of this alphabet stands for?

O is for O _ _ _ _ _ z _ _ _ _ _

P is for P _ _ _ c y

Q is for Q _ _ l _ t _

R is for R e _ _ _ _ c _ _ _ e

S is for S_ r _ _ _ g _

T is for T _ _ _ Management

U is for U _ _ f _ _ m

V is for V _ _ s _ _ _ _ e

W is for W _ l l _ _ _ _ _

A legal notice for the provision of civil aviation services by EUROCONTROL classified an ANSP as as organization (S.L.499.95 (2006)). In the picture at the start of the post, an artist depicts an organization as a group of persons in alignment, following some type of order or perhaps a sequence. Notice that they all run in the same direction. They also seem to know where and how to place their feet and they seem to run with some sense of determination. These features describe thriving organizations.

For any ANSP to exhibit these organizational features, there must be a policy of clearly defined aims and goals that are not limited to the operational procedures of ATC. ANSPs will benefit from quality assessments and other performance evaluations to determine whether these goals have been easily met or whether they pose a definite challenge. Less than optimal organizational performances form the basis for restructure, not individualized perceptions, or off-the-wall policies, or arbitrary rules that mask the personal ambitions of a manager.

Organizational restructuring is about innovating strategy, time management and establishing uniform standards. This may require collaborating with the ATCOs and other employees of the ANSP - including them in the decision-making; as well as cooperating with other ANSPs and even making valuable linkages at an international level.

Restructuring is necessary for the sustainable development of ANSPs. The goods of production are services, most ANSPs are small firms from an economic perspective, the systems are complex and ATC is a highly dynamic process - all are important reasons why ANSPs should be versatile organizations. There is another reason: the social resources of the ANSP are the most important assets. Unlike the complex systems of ATC, the ATCOs themselves do not depreciate over time. Commitment to the wellbeing of ATCOs is a boon to the work culture.

How many versatile ANSPs have we heard about, know of, read of and can use as benchmarks for improvement? Which ANSP has tried any 1 of the following models of organization and can relate their experience for the benefit of other ANSPs?

1. Lewin's Change Management Model (1947)

2. Weisbord's 6 Box Model (1976)

3. Burke and Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change (1992)

4. Institutional and Organizational Assessment or IOA Model (2011)

Annex 19 - Levity

2013-05-10T13:31:00.001-07:00

What do you think of the theme of this post? Did it make you smile?

Did you smile at work yesterday? How many times did you laugh? Last year, 57% of 1400 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) surveyed, felt that workplace humor was important. Do you think that humor is also important for our ATC offices and workspaces?

Humor does have a place in ATC. It can be an effective communicative tool that reduces tension in a stressful atmosphere, build cohesiveness between coworkers and foster wholesome friendships that are based on trust. One employee who worked in a high-pressure sales office decided to lighten the mood in response to a command by her boss to label everything correctly. She did just that. She labeled all the files, the desk, the chair, the copier, the phone, the stapler, even the dead bug in the light fixture. Soon she had everyone in the office relaxed, including her boss due to her good sense of humor (Lester 2013).

You may remember similar situations in which an ATCO relates a humorous experience or tells a joke right after unusual situations in the Centre or the Tower. Or, you yourself might have exchanged a "petite plaisanterie" with a pilot or two over the frequency. Indeed, the levity effect, as it is expertly called can do more than to act as a stress-reliever at work (Christopher and Gostick, 2010).

Incidentally, the theme of this post was an example of workplace humor which is the synonymous phrase for levity. While all ANSPs may indeed benefit, there is no Annex 19 in our ICAO SARPs (Global Standards of Safe and Recommended Practices for ANSPs from the International Civil Aviation Organization). What do you think about the poster below? It is another example of workplace humor.

Levity can enrich workplace culture, encourage employee engagement and create a welcome atmosphere in our workplaces. How will you describe the atmosphere where you work? Is the work atmosphere of the Tower warm or is it uninviting? Is the work atmosphere of the Enroute Centre pleasant, or is it filled with a cold silence that is interrupted mostly by squelches of the frequency and flat, toneless, impassive instructions from our fellow ATCOs? And what about our administrative office, is the atmosphere there friendly or is there an undercurrent of hostility? If so, your ANSP will benefit from a dose of levity.

But workplace humor has a dark side. This darker aspect of humor is more serious than the sometimes offensive, tasteless jokes we hear and the nervous laughter that follows embarrassing moments. Humor is an effective communication tool because it can also be used to demonstrate power. This is not a bad thing since the softer face of its power has been useful to engender team spirit, mitigate conflict in meetings and even to reprimand an employee while still showing dignity and respect as a superior (Holmes and Marra 2006).

However, humor at work can become a sword in the hands of a manager to subtly ridicule her employees, or to tacitly emphasize her status (Romero and Cruthirds 2006). Of course, the psychological motivation for the former behavior is an indirect way to force compliance while the latter is an indirect way to demand respect. Both behaviorisms are passive-agressive displays of workplace bullying. An ANSP can never transform progressively if the leadership style has caused or is a source of discomfort among ATCOs and other employees.

While tricky, workplace humor can benefit the management and leadership style of ANSPs (Myatt 2012). Levity in all corners of an ANSP, if properly handled, improves the work climate and contributes much to an ATCO's wellbeing.

Mr. Pilkington comes to Tea (with ANSPs)

2013-05-01T02:06:00.001-07:00

In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm (1945), Mr. Pilkington is a stakeholder who dines with and elicits the cooperation of Napolean, the pig who owns the farm. The novel tells satirically of the progress of a farm that overthrows a human farmer and is run by animals. For us, it raises a poignant issue: What sort of relationship should stakeholders have with Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs)?

Both the inside and outside stakeholders (Soni, 2009) were not exempted from culpability when a commission of inquiry investigated the nuclear accident at Fukushima Japan, 2011. According to columnist Hiroko Tabuchi (2012), the statement from the inquiry declared that there was a “breakdown in communications” between the stakeholders and executive management. The stakeholders “misunderstood” the executive management while the latter displayed an “inability to report clearly” to the stakeholders.

The inquiry also exposed the collusion between the stakeholders, the executive management and the regulators. For inspite of the revision of safety standards for Nuclear Reactors in 2006 and the mandate for upgrades and inspections, the commission found that the stakeholders and the executive management “manipulated the regulators to have a cozy relationship”.

In a more recent example, the US Senate passed a furlough-relief bill (Dazio, 2013) the week of April 21^st to halt the reduction of staffing and the closure of Aerodrome Towers across the country due to sequestration. The furloughs resulted in a surge of air traffic delays and staffing woes – problems that could have been avoided had the stakeholders involved the national and regional Air Traffic Control Associations in the communication process.

The Senate approved a Reducing Flight Delays Act that will grant the secretary of transport the permission to render increased financial support to the Federal Aviation Administration. And yet, it seems that the Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) are still left out of the decision-making process.

These 2 examples undoubtedly highlight that stakeholders could be misinformed. Their objectives could be conflicting and counterproductive. Translating these aims of stakeholders into functions for an ANSP may present no small challenge as our ANSPs are atypical industries: we do not produce goods for household consumption and we do not contribute directly to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Relationship between stakeholder and ANSP

The image at the start of the post is an artist’s depiction of the battle of the windmill which, according to the plot of the novel, was instigated by a stakeholder. Another stakeholder, Mr. Pilkington, elicited the cooperation of Napolean to join an alliance of farmers that will certainly benefit the farm. But the alliance is also a movement that will increase hardship for animal and human laborers.

In the context of Air Traffic Control (ATC), stakeholders represent anyone who has an interest in the ANSP as an organization. The role is not limited to government and others who proffer financial support. They could be supervisors or line managers which makes them inside stakeholders. Obviously, it is in an ANSP’s better interest to engage the commitment of as many stakeholders as possible. But with this privilege comes the added responsibility of keeping them engaged via collaborative decision-making. And this involves more than pleasant talk and scrumptious pastries.

According to the company BSR who specializes in stakeholder strategy, the engagement of stakeholders is a negotiating process that includes the mapping of stakeholders, the streamlining of similar goals and the consistent reviewing of the performance of the organization. If the task seems formidable for 1 ANSP, it is even more daunting for a group of ANSPs in an alliance. But effective strategy starts from within. Improperly or poorly defined organizational structure of an ANSP or lack of uniformity in organizational structure among groups of ANSPs will undermine the engagement of stakeholders.

In the novel, while the stakeholders dined with the executive of the farm, the rest of the animals stood outside the window and watched. Instead of having them as passive observers, or subservient participants, it is best and smart organizational practice to actively include ATCOs; particularly the inside stakeholders, in the collaborative decision-making process.

Wellbeing; IFATCA Conference 2013, Bali

2013-04-22T21:25:00.001-07:00

Wellbeing in Air Traffic Control from P Mark

A printable document can be accessed here

Whose Fault is it?

2013-04-18T16:37:00.001-07:00

When a Venetian merchant of the 16^th century demanded “a pound of flesh” as collateral from a nobleman, the latter was spared from an insolent death when a woman justly stated that the contract required flesh and no blood. The practice of “Just Culture” follows a similar parallel whereby an errant employee is treated fairly in an atmosphere of trust and an ecological approach is applied to investigating the situation at hand. But how many Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) are ready to adopt the principles of "Just Culture" to safety and /or error management?

The phrase << a pound of flesh>> was made famous from a Shakespearean play – The Merchant of Venice (1656) and it questioned the justice system back then. It highlighted that penalties could be sometimes harsh and even spiteful. It also referred to the absurdity of sticking to the letter of the law instead of weighing the contextual circumstances and considering the moral principles. The merchant’s daughter had eloped and it was an opportunity for him to levy his anger against charming noblemen.

The culture among Venice merchants certainly was not helpful to alleviate the situation since death by the sword was the punishment for any crime among them. And the nobleman, according to the legal system deserved to die. He had impetuously agreed to a contract using his life as a guarantee. But a third person applied the principle of “Just Culture” and the nobleman was spared a rash death.

To increase safety, the concept of “Just Culture” has been introduced into the ATC arena within the last decade to encourage not just the reporting of errors, but also the adopting of an ecological approach towards the investigation of errors and the meting out of fair treatment to the errant controller. An ATCO may be afraid to report an error in the face of punitive action and isolation from other workmates which includes personal embarrassment. But implementing “Just Culture” policies imply that ANSPs admit the deficiencies in their system, an action that some of them may not be quite ready for.

According to Sidney Dekker, Professor in Human factors and Flight Safety, error management involves a complete reversal in the mindset of management from keeping tabs on incompetent ATCOs to a deeper cognizance of the complex dynamic systems with which we work in ATC. Taking an ecological approach means that managers, particularly seniors and executives understand that safety in ATC expands beyond achieving zero incidents and accidents. In other words, they will examine their system to determine the flaws that could have contributed to the error which could be likened to weak links in a chain and then work towards resolving those weak organizational links.

We should not overlook the perceptions of our senior managers and their level of organizational commitment which play important roles. Under a “Just Culture” system, they too will be held accountable for deficiencies in the daily organizational functions of our ANSPs. The well-trained senior manager will readily recognize that a negative occurrence is not an indication of personal failure and the need to be fearful of incrimination. No complex, dynamic system is infallible. But are ANSPs really ready to embrace the mode of “Just Culture” within their organizations?

For this concept to flourish, the organizational culture must be stable. If an ANSP lacks aptly qualified management personnel and a well-coordinated governance structure, what kind of organizational culture do you think will be present?
The layout of organizational goals is also important. Without a well-laid structure, the goals of the ANSP will remain incompatible and clashing. In such an atmosphere, the probability or the risk of an error happening is increased because the organizational practices are unsafe. In other words, there is a level of disorder because good organizational ethics are not fully endorsed in the workplace.

In ANSPs where the organizational ethics are questionable, our ATCOS will not only feel a false sense of security from their job. Their discomfort will be heightened or increased whenever operational safety is compromised. For these ATCOs, the blame-game will take a toll on their well-being as the work atmosphere becomes heavy with the issue of whose fault it is.

"As managers, we need to shift our thinking from command and control to coordinate and cultivate - the best way to gain power is sometimes to give it away." - (Thomas Malone, 2004)

What is Your Favorite Game?

2013-04-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking of a way to enhance your Air Traffic Control (ATC) skills? Investing in an action video game is certainly a good option. 2 studies, almost a decade apart, reveal that action video games enhance our visual skills, our hand-eye coordination skills and our concentration abilities.

In 2002, a group of researchers at the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, New York, carried out 5 experiments on 2 groups of subjects. 1 group was the control group who did not play video games for 6 months. The second group played video games for at least 1 hour per day for a minimum of 4 days per week for 6 months. They played video games such as: Grand Theft Auto 3, Spider-Man, 007 and Super Mario Cart.

The first 4 experiments showed that video-game playing increases the attention capacity and resources of the visual system. The experiments also supported the claims that our visual perception is enhanced spatially (which means increased spatial distribution or wider visual range) and temporally (which means better temporal resolution or less time to resolve conflicts).

In the first experiment, the subjects were given the Flanker compatibility test which involved identifying geometric shapes in circles while they were supposed to ignore a distract shape that was either compatible or incompatible with the target shapes. Then they were given some pictures and were asked to guess the number of squares. This was repeated over expanding visual ranges. In the fourth experiment, they were given a rapid series of black and white letters interspersed with blank cards. They had to identify the black “X” after a white letter appeared.

To confirm the findings, a fifth experiment was conducted using 2 groups of non-video gamers. Both groups trained by playing 1 hour per day for 10 consecutive days. One group trained by intensively playing Medal of Honor, an action video-game from Electronic Arts^™ requiring a superior level of combative skill while the second group trained with Tetris^™. The researchers compared the players’ performance in the above experiments before and after the training. They found that performance was enhanced in both groups with the performance of the players who trained on the action video game being better than the players who trained on the non-action video game.

Action video-games can be beneficial to our visual, attention and perception skills

9 years later, Professor Daphne Bevalier of the University of Geneva set up a lab to study the effects of action gaming on the brain. Like the first set of experiments, she observed that action gamers have better attention spans and are less prone to distraction. They concentrate better, increase their perception for the finer detail even in clutter and can multitask relatively easy with technology. What does this mean for Air Traffic controllers (ATCOs)? How can action video games help?

ACC PHNOM PENH

If a cluttered radarscope is unnerving; or if you have problems reading the fine print on the screen; or you think that the resolution is too dark; or you feel some degree of uneasiness with several potential conflicts because the traffic is intense – action video-games can help you to overcome these problems. You will find that you can multi-track many radar blips with increasing ease, when you spend time playing action video games for a minimum of 10 hours. Yes, after 2 weeks of gaming, you will hear about a colleague’s comic experience while “working the traffic”, progressing a strip and coordinating with several sectors in one minute. You will have a wider visual range and your attention to detail will improve. What is the farthest distance away that you can read the QNH, the Flight Level and the speed or Mach number?

You can benefit even if you are an Aerodrome Specialist. Your visual acuity improves in that you will spot aircraft not only against the backdrop of a sunny sky or starry night but also on a grey day. The effect of distractions like ringing phones and background conversations will diminish.

The underlying reasoning is that if you spend just 1 h a day for at least 10 consecutive days, you strengthen and exercise your eye muscles and your brain matter by virtually evading, running from and dodging your enemy. Yes, the effect is similar to the way that a Thai Muay kick boxer strengthens her shin by routinely kicking it against a punching bag. Playing action video games stregthens our visual skills, attention and perception. If you are an ATCO that plays action video games, can you attest to the statement that these games enhance ATC skills? Which is your favorite game?

The Fountain of Wellbeing

2013-04-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

We can find the name of at least 1 person associated with a quest for the fountain of youth in the annals of history. Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon is the most outstanding example because he was the center of a historical debate about whether the search for a mythical fountain was the motivation for his sailing adventures.
In our 21^st century, the legendary fountain has a new name – wellbeing. And the search is now openly embraced by swashbuckling organizations. We wonder if Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) are involved in this quest and the question arises:
What is the extent of wellbeing in Air Traffic Control (ATC)?
The following are excerpts from an information paper on wellbeing in ATC to be presented at the upcoming IFATCA conference.

<<The theme of this year’s IFATCA conference <<satisfied controller = safe sky>> is a truism with important implications. What ideas come to your mind when you see the phrase “satisfied controller equals safe sky”? If controllers are satisfied, wellbeing will increase which will result in better performance and in turn, safer skies. ATC is a service based industry so if wellbeing increases, controllers will produce better service-related goods of communication which will yield better performance and in turn, safer skies. But, do we have a definition of wellbeing in ATC?

From 1946 till now, this aggregate concept has taken on several meanings - mainly job satisfaction and wellness. In 2011, Professor Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania explained that one of the elements of wellbeing is engagement, or a state of flow. A controller who is engaged in the job is in a state of flow. If you are a controller, is this how you feel about ATC?

Workplace wellbeing has gained ascendance over the past decade. In 2006, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, United Kingdom recommended a symbolic fountain of wellbeing as a panacea for the pandemic of worker absenteeism and increases in stress-related illnesses among employees.

In 2010, the Versailles Court of Appeal ordered the Rénault Guyancourt Technocenter to pay compensation to the widow of an employee who had committed suicide. The court ruled that the employee had developed anxiety-related depression due to his dissatisfaction with certain working conditions inspite of the Technocenter boasting of novel management techniques. The syndicate that investigates working conditions found that the Center’s managers were largely to blame for the state of poor workplace wellbeing of the workers.

To determine the extent of wellbeing (W) in our organization, 140 Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) around the world participated in a survey with 52 Likert-type statements pertaining to the Organizational Structure (OS) and the presence of a Social Matrix (SM). Statements about narcissistic management behaviorisms and managerial policies including the role of the union represented the Organizational Structure. Coworker support and behaviorisms of workplace happiness, trust, confidence, bullying and emotional dissonance represented the Social Matrix.

Using STATA 12, a SEM analysis (Structural Equation Modeling) revealed that we need a symbolic fountain of wellbeing in ATC. For Organizational Structure had no significant impact upon Wellbeing which was in contrast to a Worker Ethnography sample that showed a significant relationship between OS and W. This study demonstrates that wellbeing is not prevalent in ATC and that there is great scope for improving our organizational structure globally.

However, the study also showed that the social matrices in ANSPs impact upon wellbeing in ATC. But deficiencies in the structure or organizational framework of an ANSP indicate the presence of organizational disorder (OD). The situation is characteristic of administrations with uneven distribution of roles and unsuitable management personnel who either lack the expertise or have self-glorifying ambitions.

If our OS improves, the chances for greater workplace wellbeing in ATC will improve and we will be in a more favourable position to realize the benefits of workplace wellbeing. >>

All ANSPs are equal, but some are more equal than others

2013-03-26T11:10:00.001-07:00

In the late 1970s, 35 French millers decided to come together to improve the quality of baguettes in the face of declining bread consumption and competition from supermarkets using cheap flour and low prices. Their complex organizational arrangement provides a sterling example of hybridization* for Air Navigation Service Providers. How can hybridization help?

The millers are currently a hybrid company with a sterling strategic center. They present 2 reasons for hybridization: to ensure improvement in the quality of baguettes and to create a strategic alliance. In exchange they receive a brand name and an opportunity to vote on decisions. Each miller gets the privilege of 1 vote per miller inspite of the uneven distribution of capital among the millers.

They are responsible for their own resources and strategies; each remains in control of his key asset: flour. Yet the strategic center is made up of several committees who are responsible for making policies about the brand name, while another committee sees about marketing the brand name; a third group is responsible for conflict resolution and a franchisor who monitors the bakers. There are currently at least 3000 bakers.

Hybridization is analogous to a symbiotic relationship. One of the best examples of symbiosis is that between the hermit crab and the sea anemone. The sea anemone is attached partly to the shell that the crab inhabits and partly to the crab’s shell. The crab is protected from predators by the stinging cells of the anemone, while the anemone is transported by the crab and so has a greater chance of finding food. It is the same with hybridization.

Firms form symbiotic arrangements and enter into a network of interdependence. They hybridize to form strategic alliances and partnerships to share supplies and organizational strategies. Other reasons why firms hybridize: to have a better reallocation of resources and to gain knowledge in addition to the reasons stated here.

Hybridization of firms has been around for decades in an unobtrusive corner of economics. Hybridization is beneficial particularly to these small, atypical firms because it creates opportunities that these firms would have not experienced had they remain as single entities. Not every firm is large and has a production line that makes a significant contribution to national GDP. Also, not every firm conforms to the norm of classroom market economy. These are our atypical firms like the French millers. If nothing else, the process ensures the survival of the firm.

These reasons substantiate the need for our ANSPs to consider strategic alliances and symbiotic arrangements with other ANSPs. Like the millers, they face the problem of closing Towers due to sequestration in the West and the pressure to form partnerships in the East. Recently ANSPs globally came under fire for lack of organizational progress.

Our ANSPs qualify for hybridization because they are small atypical firms that do not have a production line and they certainly do not conform to the textbook rules of economic lemmas but they can benefit in principle. For ANSPs, hybridization provides an opportunity to raise the bar of functional equality and the opportunity to invest their key asset: the social resources – the human factors.

* Special thanks to Professor Claude Ménard (Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne) who provided the source material on economic hybridization. The material came from his chapter in a book edited by Robert Gibbons and John Roberts - The Handbook of Organizational Economics, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 2012

The Day that a Zouave Soldier becomes an Air Traffic Controller

2013-03-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

It is said that a long time ago, carpenters would make marks on their workbenches to indicate measurements and they would then use these measurements as references. Throughout time, benchmarks came to signify reference points for measuring something. As an example, the J32 benchmark that we see in the above picture, is a geodetic benchmark to indicate a reference point that was used in measuring the curvature of a part of Earth's surface. What are our benchmarks in ATC? Do we have any? Do we need benchmarks?

In Paris, the benchmark for the Seine river is the statue of a 19th century Zouave soldier under one of the arches of the bridge, Pont Alma. Last Spring, his feet were dry. This Spring, for about a day, his feet were wet. His boots were soaked because the water was at his knees. Many had to abandon the idea of going for a ride in a Bateau Mouche because no boat was able to pass under the bridge due to the height of the water level. Is there a Zouave soldier in our aerodromes? What about the Enroute centers? Do we have any Zouaves in our Flight Information Regions?

Feet dry

Feet wet in February 2013

That we have no benchmarks in ATC have been made evident by the comments of Lord SOLEY at the just concluded ATC Global Conference in Amsterdam. A UK parliamentarian and transport expert, he lamented that "the functional airspace blocks in Europe (ICAO and EU) manifest the failure of cross-border progress; they are administratively functional (yet) practically dysfunctional (and that) ... more work needs to be done on people issues".

We do not know if he saw CANSO's Global ANS Performance 2012 Report and ECAC's airspace complexity report for the same period. But both reports are still in the initial stages of the ATC benchmarking process. We need to hasten this process to ensure our survival at local levels of organization and in order to thrive at regional and global levels of organization.

Fabien LEPOIVRE (2004) of NEVAOCONSEIL a french consultancy, defined benchmarking in organizations as,

"a cooperative attitude that allows the internal or external comparative analysis of: concepts, methods, tools, processes, products, services. It is based on the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative information and on the understanding of the culture of organizational partnership. It must be an integral part of the process of evaluation and constant improvement with the purpose of becoming and remaining the best" (translation by Paula Rachel MARK, March 2013).

Yes, benchmarks are the bases for global best practices in organizations with subsidiaries worldwide, such as in ATC. In our profession, the Zouave soldier pictures our establishment of best practices. So far, we have examined complex traffic scenarios and levels of ATC productivity from a purely economic and technical perspective. It is time to start thinking outside of the box. Where do we start, and in which direction do we go? While we prevaricate, the Zouave soldier for ATC is waiting. And time is running out...

Sustainable Development

2013-03-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

In November 2010, at the World Summit of United Cities and Local Governments, culture was added to the mix of economic, social and environmental dimensions to reflect a new strategic approach to sustainable development. What applications of this can we make in ATC and how can we benefit?

When you hear the words "sustainable development", what comes to mind? The word sustainable is synonymous with words like viable, tenable, feasible, workable and rational.

So any development of ATC must be viable, tenable, feasible, workable and rational. How do you rate your local ATC organization? Will you agree that it is sustainable?

An organization is qualified as sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." That was the first definition of sustainable development (World Bank, 1987). If we want to know whether our local ATC organization is sustainable we must first identify the present needs or the aims. Do you know what your organizational aims or goals are? Does your ATC unit have a mission statement that is related to its goals?

These goals are different from providing ATS. They are aims that satisfy the needs and the deficiencies of the organization so that it can grow in a certain direction. Objectives and aims at each level of our ATC organization can make the difference between initiating a project and seeing it completed with results in a short space of time rather than observing developments in slow motion over several years.

In 1987, the World Bank investigated the reasons for the abdication of 13 out of 25 projects even though attention was placed on a lack of economic resources and technical problems. They found that the projects that lasted were consistent with the aims of local institutions that were “strong, flexible and autonomous”. These institutions had clear cut policies that changed as the expectations of society changed (Brown, 1991).

For long term sustainable development, organizations can follow the MCE plan:-

Mobilize social resources to

Create horizontal linkages via cooperation and

Enable grass roots influence to form vertical linkages

Local ATC organizations may be justified in declaring that they are stunted from making progress due to there a lack of economic resources and inferior equipment. However, these justifications do not excuse ATC units from not having a set of established policies that every employee is aware of. These policies should equivalently reflect the dynamic needs of ATC operations and the social resources of ATC - the human factors.

In order to benefit from long term sustainability in this domain, we need to endorse methods of strategic management. Diversification of skills is more than just training to adhere to new methods of ATC operation. It is also more than a strengthening of the methods that are already existent.

The ATCO who has an eloquent voice and receives constant commendation from pilots on his manner of speaking, has a skill that is useful to the organization. The ATCO who has this knack for writing lucid reports so that anyone can read it and understand at least 1 notion, also has a skill that is useful to the organization. The ATCO who may be outspoken and sometimes very blunt but is pragmatic in either explaining a concept or voicing an opinion, has a skill too that is useful to the organization.

When we can tap and skillfully use the talents of ATCOs to help the organization to grow, we are making ATC sustainable. When we can strategically diversify the skills in our ATC environment, we are also laying the groundwork for future generations of ATCOs to benefit. This is what is entailed in strategic management and to succeed, we must have clear cut policies. Only then, would we be on the path towards sustainable development of ATC.

Communicating the Spaces between the Words

2013-03-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

Paul Bernhardt's painting of Communication Breakdown portrays the view that disaster to the industrial landscape is a result of faulty communication systems. What about the human communication systems in the service industry of ATC? Can communication styles of management threaten the wellbeing of ATCOs and support staff? For example what is the link between the use of memos and the communication process? Further, how does a manager's view of chronemics impact upon her communication style?

"The day that soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day that you stop leading them" - General Colin Powell

Remember the nuclear reactor accident at Fukushima, Japan? In Hiroko Tabuchi's 2012 column in the Asia Pacific edition of the New York Times, it was affirmed that a breakdown in communications was a causative factor according to a parliamentary inquiry into the accident. The chairman of the inquiry condemned his country's culture for "reflexive obedience" and "the devotion to sticking with the program". If the managers had been approachable and if the operators had tried to clarify the instructions that they received, the situation would have had a different outcome. Could there be a parallel in ATC?

For example, consider the use of memos. Could it be that memos communicate the indications that our managers expect reflexive obedience and are insular to questions, clarifications, suggestions and even criticism from ATCOs? Well, how many memos have been circulated for this week? Are memos distributed in response to a negative occurrence or, to emphasise "rules" or, to reprimand an errant ATCO?

If so, managers will want to revisit the textbook explanation for the use of memos. To reiterate briefly, according to Janice Tingum of Demand Media, memos are public tools of communication to: concisely supplement a change in policy or, commend and recognise the efforts of outstanding employees. Anything outside of this requires the use of a letter or an email. Yes, memos used improperly send a negative message about the communicative style of a manager and the use of power, which can negatively impact upon wellbeing. The same principles apply to chronemics.

Chronemics are the ways in which we view and in this case; use time as part of our communicative style. Summoning a trainer to an impromptu meeting while expecting that ATCOS make an appointment when they need to speak with a manager sends a subliminal message about time, communication and power. A manager who makes an ATCO wait unduly long before speaking with her is another use of chronemics to send a message about communicative styles and power. A manager who checks her messages on her mobile or portable while at a meeting; or who persistently arrives late for meetings; habitually postpones meetings; holds frequent meetings and does not answer correspondences timely, are some other examples of chronemics and communicative styles as an indirect display of passive abusive forms of power.

Recall that communication is the 2-way interaction between a sender and a receiver with mutual understanding indicated by feedback. An ATCO can discern the expectations or ethical code of behavior from the way in which her manager communicates the spaces between the words. That is, the nonverbal forms of communication, can send potent messages about behavioral expectations which can negatively impact upon employee wellbeing.

Managers are encouraged to use engaging forms of communication over informing styles of communication which will be the subject of a future post.

The 3D View

2013-03-04T05:48:00.002-08:00

What does pavement art and the electron microscope have in common? Both show visual effects in 3D. Thanks to the work of Nobel Prize Physicist Dénes Gabor et al, the prismatic effect of light and paint can be used to create illlusions, enlarged images and even rainbow holograms on our credit cards (Toal, 2012). When Professor Andy Neely* was describing the prismatic effect however, he was not at a seminar in physics, or art. He was describing innovative methods of performance measurement in organizations.

Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of dust, magnification (22 x 10^6)

How can we measure organizational performance in ATC? Is it necessary? The word measurement is synonymous with capacity, analysis and evaluation. Any activity, program or operation that effects change to an organization should be measured. It is a way of gathering feedback on the practicality of investing in these changes (Page et al, 2006).

It is also a means of determining whether adjustments should be made and if a plan needs reformulation to derive more benefit or to increase the marginal returns to the particular strategy. Note that we are measuring the introduction of activities, programs or operations which is very different or dichotomous to evaluation of employees. The size of the local ATC organization and the fact that it is a highly specialised, service industry are not suitable disqualifying factors for performance measurement. One example of measuring organizational performance in ATC involves the use of a prismatic ruler.

In Physics, to create the 3D effect, light from an image is separated, reflected, and reorganized, based on the principle of light diffraction from a prism. Similarly, the Performance Prism is used to examine the WHO, the WHAT, and the HOW; our 3D effect of any activity, program or operation that brings about change to ATC. From the diagram below, we see that it has 5 interrelated faces just as a real prism (Neely, 2001). Each side represents a feature in the measuring process. Thus, in examining the 3D effect, ATC organizations will want to ask themselves the following questions: -

WHO are the stakeholders and what do they want from this organization?
WHAT are the strategies we require to satisfy the stakeholders?
WHAT are the processes we have to put in place in order to deliver those strategies?
WHAT are the capabilities we require to operate our processes?
HOW can we (every employee, not one person or a group) benefit from the stakeholders or derive value from the stakeholders and even attract other stakeholders?

We cannot view our ATC units in 3D if only the Chief Executive Officers know the policy and the aims of the local organization. In strategic management, every employee knows and is aware of what the immediate goals for March 2013 are, and how they will be acheived. At some appropriate time in 2014, every employee and members of the general public will know what the strategic objectives were for the annual period 2012 - 2013 and whether those goals were met.
We also cannot view our organizational performance in 3D if we do not have a complementary database with the appropriate data. We will need to compute statistical analyses, graphs and use these results to supplement our evaluation.

The prismatic ruler for organizational performance is ideally suited for ATC organizations because it allows for the role of stakeholders, given the fact that the majority of ATC organizations receive financial allocation, or technical assistance or support from governments, MNCs, other local ATC organizations and other subsidiaries of the avaition community.
Helping stakeholders to understand the role of ATC is just as important as properly negotiating with them. Flawed negotiations at the outset inevitably leads to problems in meeting strategic objectives. We set strategic objectives that are SMARTERS: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely, ethical, recordable and should satisfy not only the strategic vision of the local ATC organization but also the visions on regional and global levels (Meyer, 2003).

What are some examples worth measuring at the organizational level? Any plan - an activity, program or operation that brings about changes. These events include training, new equipment, the implementation of the new Flight Plan Format, methods of PBN, reorientation and rearranging of staff. Introducing these plans is the beginning and the easiest part of strategic management. The real test of organizational efficiency is being able to demonstrate the WHO, the WHAT, and the HOW aspects of a plan; to view ATC in 3D using the Performance Prism.

*Director, Cambridge Service Alliance, UK

Bridging the Generation Gap, Part II

2013-03-01T15:50:00.002-08:00

Will you cross this bridge? Will you look down, hold your breath, feel the urge to go to the bathroom, take forever to cross or stop halfway because your feet do not seem to move further? If you will pass up on the opportunity to cross any of the bridges shown throughout this post, do not be disconcerted. You probably have a fear of crossing bridges. It is called gephyrophobia. We are going to look at gephyrophobia in ATC, fear of crossing the bridges that link the generation gaps in the workplace.

In the first part of this post, we recognized that there is a generation gap in ATC due to the wide diversity of ages. A person's outlook on life, her style of communication and interaction is shaped not only by the environment in which she lives and her culture, but also the era in which she was born. Click here to read Part I of this post. It will help you to understand the logic developed in Part II.

How many of these bridges of intergenerational conflict exist in ATC? At least 3, and at most 10 if we do a quick mathematical permutation on our fingers of one hand. Thus saying one thing will have several different meanings to 4, or 5 different generations working side by side . But this is not the only cause of the conflict. The generations have critical views of each other.

The younger generations think that the older generations are resistant to change, lacking in recognizing the efforts of others and are micromanagers, according to a survey done by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) in February 2011 (Gale, 2012). Because of the difference of viewpoints, we find that controllers tend to form cliques because they are very selective in who they work and associate with. How then can we overcome our gephyrophobia in ATC as managers and as members of a work group?

Managers need to be conscientious in getting to understand the communicative styles of the workforce. It is called transactional style leadership. This includes allowing controllers to express their wishes without fear of reprisal. It also means balancing the work groups with controllers from different generations, taking into consideration the personality of each controller. It is not easy but not impossible also. In what other ways can managers display transactional style leadership?

Assist new controllers to develop a sense of loyalty. Make them feel as part of the entire workforce. Are they familiar with Enroute operations, the Enroute specialists, or do they only know their instructors, trainers, and the other new ATCOs? Get to know their issues, concerns and suggestions; help them acclimatise and adjust to the demands of ATC.

Arbitrarily introducing new rules for new controllers alienate them and will increase workplace gephyrophobia. We want them to stick around, cross bridges and enjoy ATC with ATCOs of other generations, not leave after a few years. It is also helpful to hire across age groups. Realising too late that the new batch of ATCOs are 90% Linksters will be a potential factor that worsens the situation. The less cliques there are, the smaller the fears of crossing the bridges of intergenerational conflict.

We cannot recognize the efforts of any controller if we do not know the skill of each ATCO. That is what strategic diversification of skill means. It is also called sustainable development of ATC. Get the ATCOs involved in different stages of a project that matches their skill. Do not refuse an ATCO who takes the initiative and offers to help in a project. You want to lessen the gephyrophobia, not increase it. Send a Generation Yer and an Xer along with a Baby Boomer who are all capable of understanding the proceedings of a conference or workshop and who can also easily share their knowledge with all, upon their return. Think of it as marginal returns to the development (MRD) of ATC. If for instance, an ATCO shows that she has great potential in understanding the technical problems of ATC equipment, take the initiative and encourage her, even helping her to specialise in that area. It is all part of making organizational progress.

These and other creative measures to close the gaps or cross the bridges of intergenerational conflict not only increase social interactions or interactive communication but they also build trust between the generations. The good examples of managers who try to reduce their gephyrophobia will also have positive cyclical effects upon the rest of the staff, who will in turn make the effort to overcome their fears of crossing the bridges of intergenerational conflict. We can all learn from each other.

You may think that this is too idealistic but the stark reality is that there is a wide age diversity in the workplace - 5 generations with differing outlook. The reality is that qualified Generation Yers could become managers of Baby Boomers. In the absence of proper training on the part of the Generation Yer, the gephyrophobia is even worse. So we have to come up with creative ways to overcome the conflict and be conscientious about those methods.

There are many other practical solutions, all with the same aim - to cross those bridges that span the generation gaps. This is not an easy task. But all of these bridges can be crossed, once we make the effort to confront our gephyrophobia in the workplace, we will certainly overcome our fear of crossing the bridges of intergenerational conflict.

Bridging the Generation Gap, Part I

2013-02-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

"Encontro das Aguas" - The Meeting of the Waters - a spectacular phenomenon just off Manaus, the capital city of Amazonas, a state in the northwest of Brazil. For at least 3 miles, there is a clear demarcation as the dark waters of the Rio Negro flow alongside the sandy colored waters of the Rio Solimoes swirling around at the center in some slow dance but never mixing. In ATC too, there is a similar dance called intergenerational conflict.

NASA MISR image of the confluence of the 2 rivers, Manaus is the grey-white patch

Last week 10 controllers from around the world were asked the following question:-
Do you think that a generation gap exists in ATC and why Yes/No?
How would you have answered? Reflect for a moment on the members of your work group/team/shift, other groups and the staff of management. How many generations can you identify?
Which of your managers are Traditionalists, born before 1945?
Are there any managers who are Baby Boomers, born between 1945-1964?
How many trainers are Generation Xers, born between 1965-1979?
The controller who relieved you from your position this morning, is she a Millenial, born between 1980-1994?
And the assistant controllers who just started training, how many of them are from the Linkster generation, (Johnson & Johnson, 2012) born in 1995?
5 generations, working side by side, swirling but never mixing like our Brazilian counterparts. The work climate is certainly ripe for intergenerational differences (Deyoe and Fox, 2011)! Does the phenomenon of the Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes teach us anything about intergenerational conflict?
The reasons proffered for the cordial relations between the 2 rivers are the temperature, density, pH and the velocity rate of flow. We have the warmer, crystalline, more acidic, dark brown to almost black waters of the Rio Negro lazily meandering along the rippling, cooler, sand colored waters of the River Solimoes. There is a fifth reason.
They originate from different sources, the Rio Solimoes comes from the Peruvian, Andes Mountains situated on the left and the Rio Negro comes from the Venezuelan, Orinoco watershed on the right. They come from the left and the right to a confluence at a central location, just as ATCOs coming from different generations; with different value systems and outlook on life, shaped according to the era in which they were born, converge at a unit for the purpose of ATC. What does it feel like to be working alongside different generations?

Murat from Turkey, a Generation Xer and a team leader answers in the affirmative, that a generation gap does exist. He observed that the younger generations are not interested in the whole aspect of ATC operations. They do not understand what it means to be part of a team, that the team has a soul of its own.
"They are only concerned with what they need to do and nothing more", he says. "There is no caring, no empathy and no sympathy."
Francis from Trinidad, a Baby Boomer, retired controller and part time instructor also agreed that a generation gap is present in ATC. He admires the techno savy of the younger generations and the amazing speed with which they learn to do ATC but he laments that they "lack the wit [and the wisdom] to recognize that they are providing a service and included in that service is developing the ability to make the pilots feel comfortable".
Nicolas is from Cyprus, another Baby Boomer and Air Transport Counsellor at the European Union Office in Brussels. He too, responds positively like Francis and Murat. What was his observation?
"As in all other professions such as pilots, teachers, doctors, even footballers...nowadays, the main motive is not anymore the love and affection for the profession itself but the motive of remuneration and prospects."
Which of the above statements do you agree with? Nicolas mentions that the generation gap is present in other professions. In February 2011, a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that 72% of the 434 HR professionals identified intergenerational conflict as a workplace problem (Gale, 2012). Notice, it is not the problem of hiring younger generations and they alone are not culpable of causing tense situations at work. They have been observing the older generations and they too would like to share their sentiments.
In tomorrow's post; (I am making up for my weekend absence), we will consider the situation from the perspective of the younger generations and we will consider some practical ways in which we can bridge the generation gap.

English - the Crosswind* Perspective

2013-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

"Milord, gentlemen, facing you in the witness box is a citizen of substance and stance; a man of unimpeachable honesty."

Thus begins the defense speech of J. Thaddeus Toad - the notorious hero of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel about the adventures of an outlandish, talking toad. His charm and proficient use of the English language helps him to escape from prison disguised as a washerwoman.

English is a requirement for Air Traffic Controllers, pilots and anyone who wishes to join the aviation community. Many of us may have never given much thought about the selection of English as the language of ATC. Also, for some of us, learning English or any other foreign language is a challenge. What can be done to make this experience more enjoyable?

Mandarin Chinese Characters

English is now the second most spoken language in the world. It was number three to Hindi and Mandarin Chinese which, still remains the world's number one dialect. It is with good reason that English is the lingua franca - or globally accepted tongue of ATC. English is the language of globalization - the language of technology, commerce and international relations between important stakeholders such as the UN groups. Psychologists give additional reasons as to why ATCOs should happily learn to be proficient in english.

No, it is not to prepare for a daring escape like our talking toad but research has shown that we tend to make judgments about the competence and warmth of persons based on the way they speak.** Since in the ATC scenario speech is a primary product of this service industry, pilots and other 'consumers' of our communication will have a more positive cognitive reaction to a controller whose english is well enunciated.

The ATCO who properly uses vocal pitch, pace and power transmits not just commands but altruistic or feel-good elements such as reassurance. Her speech has its own power that impacts upon the wellbeing of the 'consumer' of her communication. Yes, how we say the phraseology is very important. It is worth the effort to speak english professionally and cordially. In the process of communicating with a pilot via radio frequency, a genuine smile cannot be seen but it can be heard in the inflection of our voices.

If english is not your native tongue and you wish to improve your proficiency level, try thinking and reading in english for at least a few minutes every day. It will help to improve your fluency. The following illustration shows what happens when we learn to speak a foreign language but rarely practice thinking in that language. Simply read the colors below, not the words :

RED YELLOW AQUA RED GREEN RED

ORANGE ORANGE AQUA BLACK GREY

FUCHSIA PURPLE AQUA PINK CHOCOLATE

BLUE YELLOW YELLOW BLUE PURPLE

How did you do? Did you read the colors or the words? Did you fumble or stumble or pause for a few microseconds between words? Did you find yourself making the conscious effort to read the colors and not the words? You may find that you have to read those colors several times before you can correctly read all 21 of them. Now try to read the colors quickly and observe what happens.
Your experience is similar to what takes place in our brain when we learn to speak a foreign language but think mostly in our native tongue. To become more fluent in speaking english, we must practice to think regularly in that language. Taking a few minutes every day to read in english will help our thought processes. This will aid us to improve in speaking the foreign tongue and our growing self-confidence will be transmitted subliminally or subconsciously in our diction.

Learning a second, third or an additional language becomes a bigger challenge particularly if we think that we are inadequate. This creates a mental block. It will help if we have a changed viewpoint. Learning to speak a foreign language is like learning to dance, only this time - we dance, but with words.

* - the word crosswind is used in ATC to (1) describe the direction of the wind or (2) describe the position of the aircraft in the traffic circuit. I used the second meaning to imply a different perspective on the requirement of learning English as a foreign language.

** - (Bornstein & D'Agostino, 1992; Lee & Fiske, 2006; Grossman, 2011)

Hybridized - to be or not to be

2013-02-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Ebb Tide rose: to get it, you start by taking a seedling from the parentage of an orange rose bush and a yellow rose bush and cross pollinate it with pollen from a red rose bush. Then you cross breed for three more generations with 2 varieties of lilac and another type of orange rose and voila! Or, you can go to the nearest florist and place an order for some seedlings. You also have the easiest option of simply buying a bunch of these lovely, purple blooms. Whatever the choice of floriculture, hybrid roses and genetically engineered 'blue' roses like the Applause rose are among the world's best flowers. Hybridization has indeed proven to be beneficial for the floral industry. The burning question is - can hybrization of Air Traffic Control and related services bring betterment to the aviation community? Let us see.

The Applause blue rose, the colour is similar to the bluish tinge in the sky just after dawn.

To understand the issue of hybridization in ATC, we need to consider why firms decide to become hybrids. The hybridization process involves more than mergers and acquisitions or M & A. Just as with the cultivation of roses with deeper, colored pigments, firms hybridize to accomplish specific, unified goals and these goals are not limited to increasing profits.

From my classes with Professor Ménard*, I have learnt that organizations get involved in hybridization to minimize transaction costs or the costs involved in producing a unit of good or service. They also participate in the process to increase competitiveness, to add life to an organization and to enhance performance via skill diversification or via the introduction of other measures. Can you think of some more reasons in support of the hybrid concept?

In 1960, a Convention was signed to initiate the process of European cooperation for a safer sky. The decision by several states to unite to improve the quality of ATC is an example of hybridization. The travelling class rooms of ICAO and IATA, or the places around the world where they present the same workshop or seminar for the benefit of several states, are by-products of the hybrid process. Outside of ATC there are numerous examples of this process in the aircraft, car and other industries.

From a psychoeconomic perspective, hybridization provides gains to the industry and parallel gains to the social assets or the employees of the particular industry. Yes, problems with workplace wellbeing can be solved by this process. In addition, the gap between formulating an organizational plan and realizing the objectives of this plan can also be minimized by following the rules of the hybrid concept. But there are challenges.

Economists usually admonish that organizations submit to a feasibility analysis before making a decision for any enterprise. First, it must be confirmed that the benefits outweigh the costs. Then the cooperating parties decide on their comparative advantages or assigning matching duties to the most capable party. Other issues worthy of consideration are the relegation of power and the personal biases that could hinder the process. Once this germination stage is past, the hybrid organization experiences growth. Do not expect to see the benefits of the process immediately.

In 2001, the European AIS Database Services was formed to provide Aeronautical Information Services to Europe. That service is currently seeking to transit from the old AIS platform to the innovation - Aeronautical Information Management (AIXM) according to AIS analyst, Félix Rubio. Their customers now include Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

What do you think, will hybridization be good for your ATC unit?

Red flowering jatropha whose hybrid form is currently used in biofuel research for aircraft and other commodities

*Economics of Organizations, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne

Challenges to Implementing Wellbeing

2013-02-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

When a controller from Bulgaria asked about the elements of a realistic complexity score, all of the respondents touched on various aspects of wellbeing. One entrepreneur of a South African Air Traffic Management (ATM) advisory service spoke about the culture and structure of management. A controller from Pakistan candidly described the conditions under which they worked and the points in their airspace that were frequently congested. An FAA representative described the value of a suitable work environment with support systems. The message that wellbeing is and will be a daunting issue in ATC was very clear. But what are some challenges to implementing wellbeing and how can we overcome these challenges?

When ants have to carry heavy loads they adjust the size of the microscopic pads and increase the secretion of glue under their feet to help them transport objects that are 100 times their weight. How many of our managers have adjusted their thinking and increased their awareness to the role of wellbeing in ATC? The CEO of Ontonix Complexity Management remarked that "we are still linear in our thinking and philosophy (when) in Nature there are very few things that are genuinely linear." At a class in organizational innovation and strategy, a professor once noted that managers are always quick to verbally affirm their willingness to innovate but they are rarely ever ready to fully commit to the process. If managers are inflexible in their thinking toward the role of wellbeing, they will always perceive it as unimportant and irrelevant to the profession of ATC.

In addition to the misconstrued perceptions of wellbeing, is the ecology of the ATC unit or the working conditions under which ATCOs and AIS specialists operate. Globally as an organization, we may be aware of some ATC units with less than optimal equipment or acute issues of work culture such as staffing, wages and training. But what about the cultural issues that we are ignorant of or work ethics that we have accepted as the norm? More and more organizations outside the domain of ATC are reviewing their hiring practices for employing managers because of the increase in narcissism or egotism and hectormania or passive bullying in the workplace. ATC units are not immune to these negative traits. Managers who are egotistic and prone to hectoring ATCOs and other staff will create unbalanced ecological work systems that hinder the effects of wellbeing.

If deficiencies exist in management, then it is likely that floor employees will also display behaviorisms that make it difficult to experience a happifying work culture. As you observe the following painting by Mark CROSS, can you think of an appropriate title? His painting describes a negative behavioral trait.

Have you ever found yourself acting like any of the persons in the painting? Look at the way they sit. Observe their facial expressions. The painting describes complacency. It is called Complacency's Profile. An ATCO who voices her dissatisfaction about any aspect of work with her colleagues, or who observes and passively accepts mediocrity at the ATC unit is displaying complacency like the people in the painting. Nothing is wrong with voicing dissatisfaction or observing mediocrity. But the complacent ATCO is content to complain in a forum where nothing happens because of fear of reprisal, or because of despair as a result of prolonged organizational disorder in the ATC unit.

The situation mentioned at the start of the post stressed the emergent need for ATC managers to recognize that without a suitable niche for wellbeing, efforts at modernizing the management of Air Traffic (ATM) will never be fully realised. There will always be a gap between theoretical intention and perplexing reality.

What do you think we can do to overcome these challenges to implementing wellbeing? Consider this quote from Einstein:

"We cannot solve our problems by using the same kind of thinking we used, when we created them."

Wellbeing Sensory Perception - WSP

2013-02-10T15:00:00.002-08:00

"Heaped -up earth becomes a mountain; accumulated water becomes a river." - Chinese Proverb

Wellbeing in the ATC environment will contribute to increased safety performance and a more fulfilling work atmosphere. ATCOs and their assistants can use their Wellbeing Sensory Perception (WSP) to identify several ways in which they can contribute to a happier work culture. What are some ways in which ATCOs can use their WSP?

Being supportive of our colleagues at work is the most important way that we can practice WSP in the workplace. Several studies by Kahneman, Khan, Bateman, Ismail and others have shown that coworker support is a key factor in counteracting workplace stress and other detractors of wellbeing.

Humor when it is sincere, respectful and well-timed is a good stress reliever in the ATC environment. A coworker who can laugh at herself and is known to have a cheerful disposition will also know how to build meaningful, supportive friendships.

How many ATCOs can freely confide in you about a problem outside of work knowing that you will respect their dignity and privacy? Do you feel comfortable talking with another ATCO about your personal life? Are you always inclined to tell others what they should and should not do? Do your words build up or tear down others? Do you see your fellow ATCOs as competitive threats to promotion, or as teammates working together to accomplish a common goal of providing excellent ATC?

To be supportive of our coworkers, we must first learn to be supportive of ourselves by improving our personal wellbeing.

By identifying activities that appeal to our senses of sight, taste, touch, smell and sound, we are using our WSP to improve not just our own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of other persons who we interact with. See if you can identify the suggestions on improving personal wellbeing from the following illustrations:-

Les Deux Magots, Saint Germain Des Pres, PARIS

ATCOs and assistants can propagate workplace wellbeing if they are more aware or perceptive of their personal capabilities and limitations. This cognizance makes it easier to use their Wellbeing Sensory Perception (WSP) to identify various ways in which they can improve their own wellbeing and that of others.

In the next post, we will look at some of the challenges to implementing workplace wellbeing.

Creating a Happy Work Culture

2013-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

Wellbeing Labyrinth

How can managers and executives create a happy work culture? By developing a style of transactional leadership. Let us examine some of the practical ways in which this can be applied to promote wellbeing in ATC.

The leadership style is a transactional one in much the same way a commercial transaction takes place but in this scenario managers and executives are trading parts of their personalities as they interact with employees. We are going to use the analogy of a fruteria on Las Ramblas, a major street in Barcelona, to illustrate the use of transactional style in promoting wellbeing.

As you approach the fruteria you will observe the wide display of fruit, juices and pictures of fruit. Surprisingly, the vendor and his wife speak a variety of languages and they help you select a juice of your liking or preference. The dialogue ends when you make your selection. You end the commercial transaction by paying for the juice and you are happy. You can walk for another hour. The principles of transactional style leadershp for promoting wellbeing are the same.

Your state of happiness as the consumer, started before you drank the juice. It started when you observed the pictures and a well-arranged stall. What do you think of the idea of having in the ATC unit at least 1 painting that illustrates wellbeing? It could be abstract as the paintings used for the posts or of landscapes which indicate balance between the elements of nature or it could simply be of people resting like the woman in Picasso's Rest. The paintings will not only induce mental and emotional happiness but they also encourage the observer to recognize the benefit of work-life balance.

The Spectrum for Happiness

In addition, the work environment like the stall is well-arranged. It does not have the appearance of being cluttered or disorganized and the work area is not drab or boring. A seemingly minor thing as the interior colours or the design of the work environment can detract from wellbeing. However, the work culture can also become cluttered or disorganized with unnecessary meetings, improper usage of memos and the simultaneous use of ATCOS and assistants on a plenitude of projects. This shows a lack of consideration for the human aspect of the profession. It is also indicative of an acute lack of organizational strategy and an absence of clearly defined policies.

The ability of the vendor and his wife to communicate in a variety of languages is an enhancement for their fruteria business. Imagine the challenge if they could not speak your language and you had to communicate that you wanted cantaloupe smoothie instead of watermelon juice. Add several other thirsty customers and the challenge increases because you now have a few seconds to communicate your preference. But there is no difficulty because they speak your language. You understand each other.
In addition, while you are speaking with the vendor and his wife, they smile pleasantly and they are kind, giving you the attention you need in spite of the other customers, some of whom seem to think that they are near death for lack of liquid. Satisfied with the service, you pay for your juice which is slightly more expensive than what is offered in the Boqueria Market, a 5 minute walk away. But you do not mind because you are happy.

In promoting wellbeing, the importance of communicative style and the body language of managers and executives cannot be overemphasized. Yes, what managers say and how they say it reveals much about themselves and their ability to make other employees feel either that they belong or that they are underdogs and the unit belongs to the executive. When managers and executives act in this manner, they transfer increased emotional stress and duress which counteract wellbeing.

The vendor of this fruteria improved the fruit concept by selling a variety of fresh juices in addition to fruit. Managers and executives can also be innovative in promoting wellbeing in simple, cost-effective ways. How do you feel about providing free, fruity alternatives daily for ATCOs and support staff: fresh fruit juice, fruit salad variations and fruit baskets?

Today we looked at transactional style leadership and the C aspect of the ABC of promoting wellbeing. Remember, A is for addressing the issues that pertain to stress, health and work-life balance. B stands for being exemplary and C is for creating a happy work culture. In the next post we will consider what ATCOs and support staff can do.

Sublime Wellbeing begins with ME

2013-02-02T16:08:00.001-08:00

Managers and Executives can follow the ABC plan in promoting wellbeing: addressing the issues that pertain to stress, health and work-life balance, being exemplary and creating a happy work culture. In this post we will focus on the B aspect - being exemplary. In the last post, we focused on the A aspect - addressing the issues.

How can managers and executives be exemplary in promoting wellbeing? "[They should] be more gracious", writes Kevin Daum a columnist for Inc.com and Smart Business Magazine. How much do you agree with that statement? Popular opinion is that they should be assertive and agressive. But more and more focus is placed on organizational ethics and innovating the hiring process for leaders because of the increase in narcissism and hectormania or bullying in the workplace. Let us see how we can apply these modern concepts of exemplary leadership in the ATC environment.

To promote wellbeing, our ATC units should be looking for exemplary leaders and not bosses. An exemplary leader is hired by a process defined by organizational strategy. It involves more than simply hiring someone because a vacancy exists. What is the organizational strategy of your ATC unit? Because it is not part of the ICAO Annex does not mean that organizational strategy is not important in ATC. Strategies help us to define the objectives, identify problems and challenges, determine what might be needed to solve problems and how to allocate financial and other resources such as time and skills. If organizational strategy exists then the exemplary leader will be someone who is capable of promoting wellbeing. Can you describe the hiring process for managers and executives at your ATC unit?

Everyone should be aware of the integrative aspects of organizational strategy at the ATC unit including the hiring process. It is all part of promoting wellbeing. Knowing that the ATC unit has specific objectives and needs, will help the ATCO to feel secure and to develop her potential to suit the needs of her organization. From a psychological perspective, this engenders a sense of loyalty. From an economic perspective, the gains to utility or returns to the employee and the organization will increase. Whether the utility is individualistic, altruistic (others), synergistic (team) or collective as an organization, it will yield an increase in benefits. As a result, wellbeing improves as well as safety performance.

The columnist mentioned at the beginning showed that the exemplary leader is "confident yet empathetic, bold yet discreet and proud yet humble" among other qualities of graciousness. The exemplary leader who is gracious will not have a problem to exhibit these qualities. The rest of the staff will see beyond any doubt that the gracious ATC manager has leadership qualities and is exemplary. She will have earned a reputation of having accomplishments and will encourage others to grow and to have accomplishments also. The gracious ATC executive will not feel threatened by the advancement of their staff because they recognize that this is part of fulfilling the strategic aims of the modus operandi of the unit. The gracious ATC manager will take positive steps to promote wellbeing which we will look at in the next post, the C aspect - creating a happy work culture.

For more information on being gracious, you can click here to read Kevin Daum's column.

Promoting Wellbeing - Addressing the Issues

2013-01-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

"An individual's happiness at work will create happiness throughout all areas of their life...likewise a company with a happy, motivated workforce will see exceptional results in its products and services." - Matt Miller, Chief Technology Officer, CareerBliss

How can we promote wellbeing in the ATC environment? Over the next few weeks,we will consider what the managers of ATC units can do and what ATCOs and other supportive staff can do. We will also consider some of the challenges to implementing wellbeing in the workplace.

Today,we will focus on the role of managers. At the end of the last post, there is a cartoon illustrating the inclusion of employees in the decision-making process. The title of the painting above is <Calm Down> by Chris Butler. Art is one example that is used by various organizations to promote wellbeing. We will examine this further in a subsequent post. Notwithstanding, these and other examples can be part of a simplified universal plan that acts as a guide which could be easily adapted to each ATC unit.

Managers can follow the ABC plan of promoting wellbeing by:

- Addressing the issues that pertain to stress, health and work-life balance

- Being exemplary and

- Creating a happy work culture

The rest of the staff can also make a contribution by exercising their WSP - Wellbeing Sensory Perception. Today we look at the A feature of the ABC to promoting wellbeing.

Having a proper training program is one example of addressing the issues. What happens when trainees enter the workforce? They receive training on various aspects of ATC procedures that help them to grow in the profession. But that does not constitute a well-defined training program neither does the production of an increased amount of Aerodrome Controllers nor the addition of more trainers to the training program.

How about including onboarding tactics for new controllers and support staff? In a study by Gruman and Saks, 2010 on 140 University students entering the workforce, they found that where onboarding tactics existed, students felt happier, more confident and thought that their skills fit the job. What is onboarding tactics you may wonder? A structured process that helps new employees adjust and acclimatise to the job. We can refer to the scenario as a program that encourages newcomer engagement.

The absence of onboarding tactics and programs for newcomer engagement can be likened to a plant that is given too much water. Practical training in ATC procedures is essential but like a plant that dies from too much watering, the absence of onboarding tactics and newcomer engagement could deprive new ATCOs of the feeling that they fit or belong. How do managers of ATC units measure up in this regard?

What practical measures have managers taken to help new ATCOs and support staff adjust to the profession of ATC?

Are there any onboarding tactics for new ATCOs and support staff at your ATC unit? What do these tactics comprise of? As an example, are new employees left to fend for themselves when it comes to getting to and from work? Are efforts being made to integrate them with the rest of the staff? Or is it common for other ATCOs to be aware that new employees are present at the last minute? Do these new employees have a work policy? Is it different from that of other ATCOs and off-the-wall? The researchers concluded from their analysis that helping new employees to feel engaged improves their wellbeing and empowers them to discover their potential which is a boon for producing better services. In this case, helping new ATCOS to fit in will certainly contribute to the increase of safety performance and low turnover.

I will like to keep the posts short so that more persons will be encouraged to read them. In the next post, we will look at how managers can promote wellbeing by being exemplary. Boa semana o todo!

Identifying the Drivers of Happiness

2013-01-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

A Chief Executive of a factory complex that manufactures brand name software components is being interviewed about his efforts to improve working conditions for his 1,000,000 employees.

"No one in our industry is doing more to improve the life of our employees...We are constantly auditing facilities, going deep into the supply chain, looking for problems, finding problems,...fixing problems and we report everything because we believe that transparency is...very important in this area."*

However, his impressive answer could not hide the fact that within a 4 year period, 18 fatal employee incidents were linked to suicide. How can we apply this situation to the ATC environment?

To improve workplace wellbeing in ATC, working conditions of ATCOs must improve. This requires an honest look at the management style of ATC units as well as identifying the drivers of happiness. These drivers will be our tools to help us find innovative solutions to problems of wellbeing.

In the investigation at the outset, the managers defended themselves by claiming that the employees are paid above the country's minimum wage, that working conditions are better compared to other factories, that the employees know their legal rights and they proudly declared that they sent 60,000 employees on free courses. But that figure is just a little more than 5%. Though they tried to fabricate a good impression, their actions showed that they are not interested in their employees' wellbeing. Their idea of improving the lives of their employees meant installing suicide nets around the compound in response to the deaths.

Can you describe your workplace culture in your ATC unit?

To reiterate, the efforts of management whether good or bad, will not go unnoticed by the employees. One employee of that company noted that management is strict and when working there is no time to think about whether the work is dull or boring.

The behavior of managers, their reputation, their relationship with the employees and their policies determine to a large extent the culture of the workplace. This culture determines the size of effort required to improve workplace wellbeing. What kind of workplace culture exists in your ATC unit? Also, how would you describe the efforts of your management towards workplace wellbeing?

What are the drivers of happiness in the ATC environment?

Improving wellbeing in ATC calls for a definite set of valid objectives and a savoir-faire that includes flexibility, strategy and innovation. This calls into question the hiring process of managers for ATC units. That will be the focus of another post.
Secondly, we need to identify the drivers of happiness in the ATC work environment. In the preliminary study of 139 ATCOs worldwide, they were asked to rank different elements of work happiness and these controllers decided that the most important drivers in descending order of importance are: recognition, the environment and compensation.
How can managers use these drivers in a practical manner to improve wellbeing by promoting work-life balance in ATC? What practical application can ATCOs and their assistants make? These questions will be answered on Wednesday. Here is a hint:

*www.dailymail.co.uk (01/2013)
topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies (01/2013)

Finding Happiness at Work

2013-01-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

A Controller from Israel once wrote that he loves his job but there is too much focus on the technical aspect. Do you feel the same way? If you had the power, what is one thing that you will do to increase the level of happiness in the ATC unit? Do you think that happiness at work is important? Let us consider the evidence from 2 studies and an investigation.

For the past 2 years, each year, over 100,000 employees had the chance to rate the best companies that have made their happiness levels increase. What did these employees consider to be important for their happiness at work? Was it more pay, more vacation, or the type of job? Au contraire! While employees valued compensation, the culture and the environment of the company was equally important. What are some features of work culture that contribute to our happiness at work?

According to Forbes, here is what one employee from GE wrote,

"It offers fantastic opportunities for professional and personal development and career growth in a friendly and supportive environment with the best leaders I have ever met."

Can you say the same of your ATC unit? What are the opportunities for professional and personal development? Are opportunities at career growth scoffed at or endorsed only when it suits administrative fancies? Is the work environment friendly and supportive? Would you describe the managers of your ATC unit as outstanding, charismatic, or narcissistic?

One of Google's best incentives for its employees is to provide death benefits for the surviving spouse up till 10 years after the death of an employee. There are no conditional clauses, no hard-bargaining with the union, no secret applications of this incentive. What is your favorite incentive in your ATC unit? In late 2011, Coca Cola decided to keep its workers happy by launching its highly interactive intranet system which would keep its 700,000 employees worldwide connected to each other.

Since the massive launch of its Employee Wellness Program over a decade ago, Johnson & Johnson, one of the happiest global companies can testify to sharp declines in smoking, hypertensive and obese employees. The CEO of this multinational happy company did not think that the responsibility rests upon the shoulders of his employees to deal with their health and other aspects of wellbeing.

Fatigue remains an issue in ATC. What are the views of your Director of your ATC unit on fatigue? Does your ATC unit have a well-equipped restroom where an ATCO can take a power nap? In fact, the companies that have Nap rooms and Nap times, with the exception of NASA are in no way affiliated with aviation. Is it coincidental that these companies are at the top of our happiest companies listing?

Nap pod

In 2010, the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that ATCOs take power naps based on a study done with NASA's nap time. The study showed that a power nap improved performance and alertness.* How many ATC units can testify to the veracity or truthfulness of these claims? No wonder fatigue is an issue that is far from being resolved in the domain of ATC!

Improvements in ATC can neither be restricted to technological progress nor be described as cosmetic or superficial. Managers need to be conscientious of the importance of a happy work environment in ATC units and a work culture that increases the wellbeing of the ATCO. Is it reasonable to make such a claim? What drives workplace happiness in ATC? In Saturday's post - tomorrow, we will answer these questions by considering an investigation and the findings of a study on happiness in ATC...stay tuned!

This photo was taken from Pfizer, Canada. Can you guess what efforts have been done to promote a happy work environment?

*Rosenkind, Mark et al. (1997) The NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Program: The Next Generation

The Art of being Satisfied

2013-01-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

Wellbeing is important in ATC. How much do you agree with that statement? What ideas do the word wellbeing bring to your mind? In 1946, the World Health Organization (WHO) used the word in the preamble to its constitution; "health is a state of complete physical, social and mental wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The simplest notion of wellbeing is that it is a holistic state of being well. It is a state that is dependent upon several aspects of wellness. What is the link between wellbeing and work? How can we define wellbeing in the context of ATC? How important is it to understand the concept of the satisfied contoller? What contribution can ATCOs and their assistants make?

Since 2001, WHO has associated mental wellbeing with productivity. Workplace wellbeing is important since we spend at least a third of our life and at least half of our waking hours at work according to the Blackdog Institute, one of the prominent organizations devoted to the research of workplace wellbeing.

How can we describe our wellbeing at work? Kahneman (1973) made a link between happiness and productivity. Kahn (1990) postulated that for an employee to feel engaged to her work she must have meaningful, safe and available psychological resources for purpose, self-growth and support. Seligman (2011) explained that when we are engaged in a task, we enjoy it; we are in a state of flow. Based on those concepts, how will you explain wellbeing in the ATC unit?

To illustrate the role of wellbeing at work think of yourself as a chain with links. From the diagram above, each link in your chain represents an aspect of wellbeing that is subject to your past and present experiences as well as your hopes for the future.

At the workplace, there are a collection of these chains to make a bigger chain. Imagine if one of your links were broken due to the culture of management style or physical work environment, what do you think will happen to the organizational chain?

The theme of this year's IFATCA conference is Satisfied controller = safe sky. For an ATCO to produce a safe sky, all aspects of her wellbeing must be satisfied. This means that we will strive to develop the concept of wellbeing within the context of ATC if it is important to us. Before I left for my studies abroad, I explained my research interest to 2 senior managers, one with an ATC background and the other without ATC experience. Both were of the view that my research was irrelevant and my studies were not suitable for ATC. Today, those sentiments remain unchanged even though there is a new senior manager. Hopefully, recognizing the importance of wellbeing is the consensus of the majority of ATC units.

If you are engaged in ATC, you will enjoy it, you will be in flow. Apart from the actual process of ATC, what feature of your ATC unit makes you feel engaged ?

From a national survey across the United Kingdom on workplace wellness by Nuffield Health Organization, 87% of the companies with more than 1000 employees discussed wellbeing at a board level. 41% of these companies viewed it as a strategic priority. Companies that were concerned about workplace wellbeing performed 10% better than those who were not concerned. What can we say about ATC units across the globe?

To validate the statement that job satisfaction is equated with safety performance, we need to carry out a study or data analysis. This requires evidence. We need to collect evidence of the organizational behavior across ATC units and to collect evidence of individual behavior in each unit. We need to measure, compare and make inferences from the evidence to know if our speculation is correct - that the more satisfied controller produces a safer sky. The most effective way to collect the evidence is via data collection. If the data collected is insufficient, then we will not have enough evidence to verify our claim. For the conference, I will incorporate a data analysis to test the evidence from ATC units and to compare the results with those obtained from outside the domain of ATC.

Each day we make inferences by analyzing data, we must do the same to validate our claims in ATC

This is the second study on wellbeing in ATC. The first was a preliminary attempt which I will talk about in the following post. ATCOs and their assistants can make a contribution to this research by either clicking here to fill out the inventory or by clicking on the blue writing at the top of the blog which also leads to the inventory. I will try to include a counter. If it is not possible, I will simply post the total number of respondents once a week.