More important messages from this article!
Analysis: CAL corporate culture a problem: analysts
AP AND AFP, TAIPEI
Friday, Aug 24, 2007, Page 2
Just when China Airlines (CAL) seemed to be leaving behind a troubled past, it has encountered potentially damaging turbulence.
The series of explosions that destroyed one of the company's Boeing 737s on Monday were grimly reminiscent of the period from 1991 to 2002, when a string of disasters claimed the lives of 693 passengers and crew.
Though no one died in this week's accident at Okinawa's Naha Airport it raised questions about how far the carrier has progressed.
The persistent doubts seem incongruous for a company headquartered in Taiwan, which over the past four decades has transformed itself from an agricultural backwater to a vital link in the global high-tech chain, with a reputation for precision and digital innovation.
Critics lay the blame on a deadly mixture of intrusive government involvement and a corporate culture that places greater emphasis on hierarchy than teamwork and disdains basic accountability.
From in-flight menus with comical English misspellings to senior executives passing the buck, they say, the carrier needs a thorough overhaul to get its act in order.
"There's a selfishness there," said local aviation expert Earl Wieman. "You live in your own sphere, you don't care about others, you are indifferent to things around you."