On the Acceptance of CRM-Methods by Pilots: Results of a Clusteranalysis

The CRM-Training of "Lufthansa German Airlines" aims at the improve- ment of behavior in three major areas: "communication", "judgement and decision making", and "teamwork". The whole seminar comprises 17 training units. At the end of the training course the participants (airline pilots and flight engineers) are asked to assess the rele- vance of the training contents of 14 units as well as to evaluate the "attractiveness" of the specific methods used in these units. These units can be characterized with regard to specific didactic elements (like "role play", "individual feedback", tuition/lecture, etc.). The feedback data of a large number of participants to diffe- rent training methods have been obtained (N > 700) so far and are discussed in general. The results of ratings given on a five point rating scale to the specific methods are reported. In a further step, interindividual differences in assessing the CRM contents and methods have been concentrated on. The ratings of the participants were classified into clusters based on the individual assessments of the training units. Four subgroups can be differentiated. Irre- spective of specific contents and irrespective of methodological approaches, two subgroups have alway assessed the training in the same way: Subgroup 2 (about 7% of participants) disagrees with the CRM-Training; subgroup 3 (about 50% of participants), however, totally agrees with the whole CRM-Training and each unit. The other two subgroups predominantly differ from each other in the evaluation of specific methods. Subgroup 4 (about 17% of participants) prefers units which contain dynamic elements (e.g. "role-plays"). However, subgroup 1 (about 26% of participants) especially dislike these methods. The results will be discussed with regard to consequences in the development of CRM-Training methods.