Ben Waber reviewed Dead Reckoning by Diane Vaughan
A Must-Read Ethnography
5 stars
This is possibly the best workplace ethnography I've ever read. Vaughan starts out with the history of the aviation industry (which is nearly a book in itself in length), then dives into the fascinating workplace of aviation controllers. This starts with their brutal screening and training process (since changed, probably for the worse), followed by a meticulous ethnographic dive into nearly every aspect of this critical, demanding work. Coincidentally this work sandwiches the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which the Boston facilities she studied were directly involved with. This allows Vaughan to gauge the effects of this shock on how controllers worked and thought about their role, which as you can probably imagine is both informative and heartbreaking. This book is a must read if you want to understand more about work or management, or of course if you're interested in aviation more broadly. Highly recommend
This is possibly the best workplace ethnography I've ever read. Vaughan starts out with the history of the aviation industry (which is nearly a book in itself in length), then dives into the fascinating workplace of aviation controllers. This starts with their brutal screening and training process (since changed, probably for the worse), followed by a meticulous ethnographic dive into nearly every aspect of this critical, demanding work. Coincidentally this work sandwiches the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which the Boston facilities she studied were directly involved with. This allows Vaughan to gauge the effects of this shock on how controllers worked and thought about their role, which as you can probably imagine is both informative and heartbreaking. This book is a must read if you want to understand more about work or management, or of course if you're interested in aviation more broadly. Highly recommend