The Concept of Marine Organisations - Essay Example

Order ID: 114209 Marine Organisation Introduction The concept of marine organisations arises from different types of commercial organisations that operate in the marine environment. This leads to changes in the style of operation for different organisations due to the differences in the nature of their operation. Thus the differences between the operations can also be noticed from the differences in their styles of operation. 1. "An Organisation must operate in, and be responsible to, a number of different external environments" The concept of maritime organizations covers a wide are with a number of functions being completed by different elements within the team. It is also an industry where there are continuous fluctuations in business prospects as business is affected by a number of external factors. Thus the situation today is not the same as the situation that was present a few earlier. The first step in the exercise is to determine what are marine operations and this can be given as the planning and execution of specific requirements for different purposes within marine areas for transferring of loads, towing of vessels, transports of special items through the seas, servicing of installations which are fixed with the sea and are referred to as off-shore installations, lifting of all types of material from within the sea and from the sea bed, operations which are carried out below the level of the seas and transit and positioning of mobile offshore units. (DNV Rules for Planning and Execution of Marine Operations) During the cases when the marine operations are important for the purpose of battle, one of the most important aspects are to ensure the supplies for the soldiers involved in the war, as was observed to be the case in Vietnam. (Humphries, 1999, p. 223) While the general feeling is that services of marines are restricted to operations on the sea, there are occasions when they are used on land. These also lead to unfortunate incidents as was the case in Haiti, which was occupied by a marine detachment, and on occasions they were even rushed by angry peasants armed with stones, machetes and clubs. (Schmidt, 1998, p.205) In the earlier years, there were different purposes for marine operations, and they were mainly conducted by the navies of the countries, whereas today, the efforts are to use marine forces which are a cross breed between the navy and the army. Their main function is anti-terrorism which involves taking action to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and property to attacks by terrorists. (Pushies, 2003, p. 34) The definition of marine operations is itself a little complex and certain matters have to be comprehended and fishing is a marine operation as it involves collection of fishes from within the sea. Carrying of goods in both tankers and large cargo vessels come within the limits of load transfer operations. All maritime places of work are also treated as a workplace under the laws of most countries, but all of them have different laws which are applicable in the case of accidents which take place during the process of work. (Occupational Health and Safety Programs) This makes it compulsory for the workers to be treated in the case of unfortunate events as per the laws of the country where the ship is registered as ships are considered to be a part of the country. This is the reason why most ships of different countries, meaning those with owners in other countries are still registered under some "flags of convenience" like Panama, Liberia, etc. The attempt is to avoid payment of high liabilities. At the same time, after the incident, the vessel will reach another port, and the country where it reaches is also permitted to ensure that workers on the ship receive "minimum human treatment". (Darling unveils Marine Environmental High Risk Areas) There are cases where ships have been auctioned off to pay the dues to the country and the workers on the ship. On the other side, when the ship reaches a port, the port is also a marine installation and this is covered by the laws of the country where the port is situated. This is governed in many cases directly by the government of the country, or through its organizations. Even taking the example of United Kingdom, there have been relevant changes during the month of February 2006 itself. On the 13th, there was an announcement by Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling about some 32 locations situated around the coast of the country which have been identified as Marine Environmental High Risk Areas or MEHRAs. The stated objective of this exercise is to ensure that concerned ships are extra careful when they pass through that area and the reasons are also environmental to some extent. There is a feeling that there are risks attendant to the passage of ships in certain areas. (Darling unveils Marine Environmental High Risk Areas) The reference here is specifically from merchant shipping, though the reasons for the different treatment of merchant ships from ships of the navy are not known or understood. The entire exercise has started from the recommendations that have been made by the late Lord Donaldson in his report - "Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas" which was made as a result of the Braer tanker disaster which occurred near the Shetland Island in January, 1993. The entire matter will now be notified through a Marine Guidance Note for the mariners and the expectation is that mariners will be even more careful when passing through those areas. (Darling unveils Marine Environmental High Risk Areas) The entire effort is an attempt to make the passage planning as their primary aim is to inform the captains of the ships about the places where they have to be more careful than in other places. This is a part of the information that will be available to them for safe travel. (Written statement by the Secretary of State..For Transport on Marine Environmental High Risk Areas) The point to note is that a ship, its crew, the owners, and the captain suffers the most when there is an accident to a ship, yet, the society clearly feels that they should be even more careful. We are all aware that maximum care is taken by us when we feel that the goods belong to us. The situation was profitable for marine based companies in 2002. At that time, there was the case of Danielson Holding Corporation which purchased American Commercial Lines based in Jeffersonville, Indiana. As a result, the companies earning were boosted during the second quarter. The company reported a net income of $4.3 million which was a return of 18 cents per share compared to a loss of $5.8 million in the previous year, which amounted to about 29 cents per share. The point to note is the rise in revenue that was received during the quarter - a rise to $84.1 million from the $22.8 million received in the previous year. (Linda, 2002, p. A5) A further analysis of the results shows clearly that these revenues include $60.9 million during that second quarter which ended on June 30. This amount was received from the marine services group and the business conducted by the marine services group was operation of barges and marine terminals in United States, South America and Europe. (Linda, 2002, p. A5) This clearly reflects that there were a lot of profits to be earned from shipping at that time. Other industries often use the marine industry as potential life rafts. Ships are also required for the discovery of oil under the sea. The process involves locking the ship's computerized navigation system on a satellite and the data about the bottom of the water, the sea bed, as determined by hydrophones continuously are continuously locked with the position determined through the satellite. This permits the ship to come back and check about any interesting structures found on the sea bed. (Conway, 1999, p. 49) In a recent case, there is the Balmoral group which had a unit known as Balmoral Marines, employing around 60 persons and involved with providing mooring systems and other connected products to the offshore industry mainly in the North Sea area. The present high prices of oil from the offshore operations in that area has made many expect that those businesses will flourish. One of such thinkers was Ingrid Stewart of Deloitte, and accordingly an advice was given to Inflexion to purchase this business. Inflexion is a private equity investor and they supported the buy out with 9 million pounds. Thus they have also collected the majority shareholding in the new outfit. The operation, known as Balmoral Marine, whose name was changed to Viking Moorings was then purchased. Balmoral was in trouble with its principal business of tanks and advanced composites and was thus happy to be able to sell the Marine division for 22 million pounds. This was the opinion of the founder and managing director, James Milne. Part of the money will be used in the other business and another part will be used for building a business park in Aberdeen, near the group's headquarters. (Dorsey, 2006, p. 8) It is thus clear that the price of the marine unit in this case has gone up due to the increase in prices of oil, which has really nothing to do with the basic marine industry. To an extent, it has also led to a speculative investment since the seller was clearly conversant with the industry while the buyer was not. It would be wrong to view that all improvements are the result of the workforce. New ports, port extensions and other marine facilities are required when there are requirements from traffic of such facilities. This was the reason why even the Canals at Suez and Panama were built. At the same time, it should be remembered that the facilities helped in lowering the total cost of transport and that has to be the objective for all transport - land or marine. (Agerscou, 2004) For this point of view, let us consider the case of the Panama Canal authority Marine Operations Department. They are aware of their shortcomings in terms of quality and they have utilised the services of their Training and Development Division of the human resources department to improve the existing staff to the new world quality standards as defined under the ISO 9001:2000. (Striving for a New World Quality Standard) The process has started in October 2002 and as many as 5,000 employees of the organisation were already on their efforts to achieve the new levels required before 2003 ended. The activities of the Marine Operations Department are significant to world shipping - it is in charge of coordination of all traffic that goes through the Canal and the two ports at the ends, Balboa and Cristobel. The system also operates and maintains the three sets of locks and other concerned facilities; administers the services for line handling; measures all requirements; provides pilot services as also the services of the Board of Local Inspectors; is responsible for response to any emergencies; administers the concerned warehouses and inventories and is also responsible for the vehicle fleet maintenance and operation for the entire organisation. (Striving for a New World Quality Standard) Thus one can say with confidence that having good staff itself is not enough, but the organisation must keep them in line with the changing norms. (1758 words) 2. Does the Managing Directors' style of Leadership affect the method of applying the theory of organising in his company. By giving an example of a Marine Organisation based in the UK, demonstrate how external cultures may influence the methods to apply when opening an overseas office using local personnel. The entire business of handling people in marine organization depends to a large extent on the people involved in the job. Let us take the example of the port at Vancouver, which has recently taken up the responsibility for receiving and delivering cargo from truck, rail, and barge for cargo that was previously handled by an organization called MTC. Yet the previous organization is not totally disposed off and they are now labour brokers for the supply of labour and equipments for the receipt and delivery operations. The change took place when 2005 was rung in and the port took over the responsibility. According to the port this helps them in managing its terminals, warehouses and cargo storage yards, while it retains for the carriers the choice of stevedoring. The person put in charge was Kenneth Mishler and he had been a representative for "K" Line in the area. He had the responsibility for autos, containers, break-bulk and bulk cargoes. Now he has to manage terminal operations through coordination of truck and rail schedules with customers and this will help in the receipt and delivery of cargoes at terminals 2 and 3 which have been taken away from Marine Terminals Corp. (Paul, 2005, p. 6) Thus it is clear that the business is one in which people shift from chair to chair. One of the important positions in any shipping company is that of Chief Operating Officer and this is generally filled up be individuals who have had long experience with the trade. "He brings over twenty-five years of industry experience to the company, including the technical management of different classes of large ocean-going vessels, as well as the oversight and financial control of approximately one hundred vessel dry-dockings in various shipyards worldwide." (General Maritime Corporation Management Team) Another line had a person with a 32 year ocean cargo transportation carer and the concerned person had been appointed to many management positions with Maersk- Sea- Land and Sea-Land Service. The person had also worked in California, Korea, Republic of China, the Philippines, Canada, Hong Kong, Alaska, Ireland and Georgia. (Company Profile: Executive Team) Thus, in this business there is certainly a clear importance for experience in the business as the main aspect of this trade is to handle people. The machinery is still quite simple and still it involves a lot of hardship. The same position exists even with organisations and let us takes the case of an organisation like Ocean Services. This is a marine operations group which is of service to many different clients with services to offshore petrochemical companies, fisheries, the government of United States, and with submarine telecommunication cable survey operations and installation. The company has worked in many places including the East Coast of United States, South America, the Caribbean, and Bering Sea and all over the Pacific Ocean. (ABS NS E-News: Nautical systems E-News) Yet this is expertise which exists with some of the employees within the company and the organisation is just a summation of the expertise. Even taking organisations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, their expertise is in operating a wide range of different research vessels, like those engaged in hydrographical surveys, oceanographic research and fisheries research. These vessels are supported through different marine operations centres, or vessels that they have in Woods Hole, Charleston, Pascagoula, San Diego and Honolulu - all of which are in United States. What is the source of their expertise They have a large number of commissioned officers. They are the core of the service that is provided, though there are a large number of civilians who are also involved. The required civilians are all wage marine personnel including masters, mates and engineers as also unlicensed members who operate the engine, stewards and deck departments. Apart from this, there a number of survey and electronic technicians who are required for operation and maintenance of the ship's main equipment as also communication and navigation equipment. (NOAA Marine Operations) It is clear that the organisation has divided its employees in two classes - commissioned staff and others. Obviously the distinction is based on the relative importance of their functions as perceived by the organisation. As an example, let us take the case of one their prestigious vessels, Rainier. This is a particular ship is suitable for conducting hydrographical surveys along the coast. It is a medium sized vessel with a crew of fifty-five members of whom only ten are officers commissioned by NOAA. Clearly the cost of these officers is higher and involves a long term commitment and that is the reason why their numbers are limited to only 20 percent of the total crew. The ship is however, impressive with an intermediate depth multi-beam swath survey system, six aluminium survey launches which are equipped with multi-beam swath and single beam echo sounders, a hydrographical data acquisition system and other equipment. The vessel also has three small boats to support the shore stations and dive operations conducted by other units. The biggest asset is the seven members of the crew who are certified as NOAA divers. (Arctic Logistics and Information Support: Vessels - Rainier) Here the example of the organisation is in United States, and there is no managing director, but a government official in charge. Yet, the policy clearly states that local persons suitable for use will be used. Some changes are being carried out by the government and one of them is called the Port Marine Safety Code and the objective of this act is to ensure safety in ports. While the development of this act took place, there was the involvement of a large number of individuals interested in the port and shipping industries. The main result of this code is a national standard for every aspect of port marine safety. The improvement of safety is important for all persons who have employment in ports, ships, passengers and cargoes and even the environment. There are also methods through which harbour authorities can now be considered to be responsible for all legal powers and duties which they have to take up for the purpose of safety in their ports. The main aim of this act is the assurance of adoption of good practice. The code is now viewed to be important for all harbour authorities and this is especially important regarding their duties and powers concerning marine safety. (A guide to good practice on port Marine operations) The currently practiced techniques of risk assessment and safety management systems are now being applied to the marine operations in ports. Since there are a lot of differences between different ports and harbours, the systems to be adopted by them, according to the code are also varied. There are now Guide to Good Practice on Marine Operations which are available for the implementation of the code. The general layout of these guides follows the code so that the user finds it easy to refer to them for determination of action needed to solve certain issues, and this requires often the repeating of main points. The objective of this sort of a layout is simple - whenever it is seen that a duty or obligation is mentioned clearly according to the code, the methods on implementing that aspect should be noted. The total form is a summary and thus advises people regarding good practice for the industry and thus assists individuals responsible for port marine safety. For this purpose, a number of examples have also been given and the needed standards to be reached by professionals in the field have also been outlined. Naturally along with this, the methods of usage also have been outlined. The code is not a new law and is only a summary of the established legal functions of harbour authorities who are established by statutes. (A guide to good practice on port Marine operations) This is the case of an organization in UK where a lot of changes have been carried out as the person in charge felt that it was needed. The importance in this case is also on the local situation and persons. The local persons are from Scotland, Wales or Ireland, but the decision is made in England. The delay in making these changes and yet going through the changes were clearly due to the influence of outside persons. While the importance of any individual's leadership and his importance in the success of the organisation have been discussed, it is also useful to remember that there are many other factors that are involved - laws, financial conditions of the proprietor, benefits expected from certain operations, and so on. Even nature plays an important role. The last example of these can be seen due to the effects of the hurricanes which swept United States during this year and that led to many vessels being removed from water and being dumped a long distance away for the sea. Considering all vessels, from the smallest rowboat to the large yachts, all types were affected in this. The total value of damages has been estimated at over $2 billions since tens of thousands of vessels were involved. (Watercraft business: Choppy water ahead) (1515 words) Conclusion The question of all marine matters are probably as immersed in water as the entire business is supposed to be conducted on water. 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Retrieved from http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_shipping/documents/page/dft_shipping_611170.hcsp Accessed February 26, 2006 Read More