Aerinatical mangement

Aeronautical

The September 11 terrorist attacks had a tremendous impact on foreign and domestic policy. One of the industries most directly affected by the terrorist attacks was the aviation industry. Shocked by the methods used in the terrorist attacks and forced to immediately address core managerial weaknesses, the aeronautical industry has risen to the occasion admirably. Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women who Kept America Flying is about people -- the people that comprise the American aeronautical industry who understood how to cope with extreme crisis. The anecdotes in Tom Murphy's compilation highlight key areas in which the aeronautical industry succeeded by meeting the challenges it faced after the terrorist attacks. Focusing on the positive aspects of how the various levels of management and employees dealt with the crisis provides a framework for the future of the industry.

Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women who Kept America Flying is unique in that it emphasizes the human side of aviation management. Blake & Sinclair (2003) provide a different approach to crisis management within the aeronautical industry by suggesting that sector-specific targeted subsidies and tax reductions would have the most dramatic, positive, and immediate impact on the aviation industry in the aftermath of September 11 or any similar crisis. At the same time, human factors research reveals the importance of taking psychological and sociological factors into account when analyzing a situation as complex as the response to the September 11 terrorist attacks (Campbell & Bagshaw, 2008). As Campbell & Bagshaw (2008) point out, dealing with crises in the aeronautical industry requires special sets of traits and skills. Those traits and skills are illustrated in anecdotal format in Murphy's Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women who Kept America Flying. For example, issues like stress, anxiety, coping mechanisms, and managerial policies that promote effective stress management are dealt with in empirical literature as well as in qualitative reports like Murphy's. Issues like these were central to aviation management far before the terrorist attacks of September 11 occurred, of course. As Jensen (1997) found, aeronautical decision making requires a high degree of situational awareness, crew resource management, and a core foundation in human factors. Such issues truly came to the fore after September 11.

The aviation industry is critical to all other industries, which is why stories like those in Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women who Kept America Flying remain salient. Most managers were not in the position of doing anything but coping with the crisis; knowing how many different lives and people depended on them was enough to keep them going. As Murphy puts it, "nerves were on edge," (p. 202). It was nearly impossible to operate using standard procedures after September 11. The tragedy hit every tentacle of the aviation industry -- from airport management to manufacturing and maintenance. Security issues evolved almost as extensions of the overarching problems that faced managers on a daily basis, ranging from distressed or grieving staff members to problematic passengers. The politics of aviation that ensued following the terrorist attacks were like never before; altering relationships between senior management and federal aviation officials; between senior management and employees; and between airport management and security personnel.

Murphy (2006) focuses on specific airlines and specific airports, too. The analysis allows for a microcosmic and microscopic view of events that took place the fateful day of the terrorist attacks. Murphy's perspective shows how the terrorist attacks did not just impact the airports and airlines that were directly impacted but the entire industry, worldwide. The post-September 11 regulations have dramatically altered the organizational climate in which aeronautical managers work, shaping policy in every area from human resources to procurement, from scheduling to pricing. It is hard to imagine one event leaving such a broad mark on an entire industry -- without any new technological innovations to stimulate change. The only forces driving change were human factors: the motivation to succeed, the need to keep stalwart companies afloat during a major crisis.