External Environment in Container Terminals and Port Development - Essay Example

External Environment in Container Terminals and Port Development SOCIAL Three things are important in the word social: attitudes, interests, and concerns. When we talk of SOCIAL we refer to the people along with their characteristics, wants and needs, aspirations, cultures and beliefs. Social interaction begins, first of all, in the family – at home. The welfare of the family, their needs and wants or survival, will reflect in a people’s aims in working with society. People always want the good side of life, better living conditions, and necessities answered. Family is the primary aim for working hard, and they expect this from society and the organisation to which they belong. Some of their aspirations: housing, public facilities, schools, hospitals, religious centres, cultural and recreational centres. People work hard for these aspirations, for these reflect one special characteristic of man – survival. Survival also involves the psychological, spiritual, physical and mental needs. POLITICAL Political situation in the community or country where port is located has to be looked out and given much importance. Political aspects vary from port to port or from country to country. Local authorities may provide different procedures, and may not be very cooperative when it comes to the development of business. Diplomatic procedures have to be in place to gain cooperation from local authorities. Careful study has to be done on particular ports and terminals in other countries, particularly Asian countries. These areas have different laws and political situations which can not be treated the same with more advanced countries. They have situations that are sometimes unstable, and laws and procedures which seem, at first, hostile to a new organisation. However, with recent trends, more and more countries, like Asian countries, are encouraging investors to conduct business into their lands. In most instances, local authorities support development of business in their area. They entice businessman to venture in their lands for economic growth. They become cooperative and encourage businesses to invest more. They do this with some special tax reductions and incentives to foreign businesses. Terminal development also has to cope with flexibility of the local community’s local regulations, availability (non-availability) of red tape, or if the laws are properly enforced. LEGAL Countries have different laws and procedures for business, especially if that business is for big ports, so called the nodal points of commerce where ships and other forms of transportation are interconnected. Laws naturally affect the operations of these terminals. Management must be able to give a thorough study of these ports. The Sources of Law and the Nature of Port Law Port law is a branch of law which makes use of the general principles of law (in other words, law applicable to every situation) and also comprises specific provisions. Every port operation occasions the application of rules that are of a legislative character (this means that they come under a law enacted by Parliament) or regulatory character (which fall within the ambit of an administrative authority. In the common-law countries, these rules are derived mainly from usage or jurisprudence. Contractual rules may also be applicable. These rules concern not only the performance of operations, but also the relations between the parties concerned. Thus, the rules which apply to relations between the port authority and the shipowner will differ from those existing between the latter and the shipper or cargo handler. The Common-law system This system grew up in Great Britain. British law is essentially based on case law. However, legislation and regulations are increasingly important in the British legal system. Originally the British system had a dual structure: Common law, consisting of rules developed by the royal courts (Westminster); and The rules of equity consisting of the rules developed b y the Courts of Chancery; these are equivalent to appeal procedures. In the twentieth century British law has tended to move towards statute law. One of the characteristics of common law is the value attached to precedents, that is to say, to rules whose existence the courts have recognised in cases decided earlier. Only decisions of higher courts constitute precedents with binding force. British Constitutional laws Great Britain has never had a formal constitution setting out the principles on which he system of government is based. Great Britain has, however, instruments which take the place of constitutional texts, in particular the Magna Carta of 1215. The British do not regard the organisation of the executive as being governed by the rules of law. The unique feature of British institutions is the concedpt of the Crown, which differs from the notion of the State in being more personalized and in not involving territorial divisions such as provinces or communes. The Crown is identified with the central power. In principle no injunction can be obtained against the crown. It is immune from distraint and its property may not be seized. ETHICS Some say this is the unwritten law because it involves the morals and standards of a people. Many laws are based on ethics, although it could be said that what is legal may not be necessarily moral. ECONOMIC The essential land-based facility for cargo ships are container terminals. Construction of a container terminal greatly affects economic development of the port. It generates revenues and also has high cost in construction. The presence of this port terminal is a sign of economic growth in the area. Local community has to cope with this kind of advancement and development. So do with the container terminal/port development. Complex problems may arise out of the economic growth. Port development has also to watch stock market or the rise and fall of stocks due to economic activity out of the emergence of the container terminal. The impact of ecommerce on business The internet is a communications medium providing businesses with global reach. The physical tasks involved in delivering the traded goods remain unchanged: trucks, trains, ships or planes are still needed to move the product and cannot travel much faster than they already do. A reduction in delivery time has to come from the people behind the scenes who know how to handle problems when they occur and who, in concert with their carriers, develop sophisticated networks and management systems. Nothing replaces solid business relationships and true commitments between shipper and carrier. Shippers, using the Web as another way of leaveraging carriers to provide more services at lower cost, might be greatly disappointed. Database software packages provide facilities to store data and their relationships and provide an effective way for updating and retrieving stored information. The overriding advantage of this is that all users within the organisation use the same information. Software packages are supplemented with a number of tools to prepare screens for inputting, retrieving and processing information and facilitating access to databases from other computers. Information Technology The flow of communication is much improved, at less cost and more time saved with the present introduction of the Internet. The internet has revolutionized communication and commerce. Ecommerce is the interconnection of different businesses and organisations over the worldwide web. In marketing and promotion, with the use of ecommerce and the modern means of communication, such as the internet and multi-media, products and services are advertised. The people are well informed of the new innovations and trends for the company. CUSTOMER It is important to understand the local market a port operates in, including such things as ship management’s expectations, and new developments that could compete for the customer’s time and discretionary spending; Also important to take a broader look at what is happening in those areas on the national and international level; The consumer or customers have peculiar and unique needs and wants. It is important that the business analyse these needs. They have their own behaviour attitudes that if not properly managed, could affect business. ENVIRONMENT The loss of biodiversity can be prevented by linking conservation to sustainable use and benefit-sharing, UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi will says at a UN meeting in Brazil next week. "In the context of our increasingly globalized economy, we will need to make sure that the process of globalization … works for the benefit of biodiversity and not its loss". UNCTAD or United Nations Conference for Trade and Development has been promoting bio-diversity, waste management, environmental protection and preservation. In a container terminal or port, a bulk of goods and products are shipped and delivered or processed, so that proper environmental protection has to be instituted. (http:www.unctad.org) Business has a big responsibility to the community where it conducts the many activities to earn profit. It’s just proper that it promotes and protects environment. A container terminal has the big responsibility to protect its workers and local community against the hazards of wastes. In the report "Self-Regulation on Environmental Management"(1) (65 pages), UNCTAD calls for attention on this new area of corporate policy-making. Since the early 1990s dozens of industry associations have published charters, guidelines and codes of conduct for their membership. In part, this has been in response to growing environmental awareness, which reached a peak with the convening of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. But the response is also more fundamental; many companies have already gone beyond the provisions of Agenda 21 that relate to the role of transnational corporations and other large enterprises. Industry can play a leadership role in reaching "sustainable development". In all industries, there is a gap between the best practices of the market leaders and the best practices of market followers. Industry associations can help to close that gap by encouraging the diffusion of their industry´s environmental best practices among member firms, thereby raising the industry´s average performance to its full potential. References: 1. UNCTAD website: http:www/unctad.org/templates 2. Common law System of Great Britain – UNCTAD website, and proceed to http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/poshipd639.en.pdf Read More