In the shipping business, the concept of crewing a ship with a culturally diverse crew is nothing uncommon. Working with diverse workers in commercial vessels, on the other hand, might easily lead to misconceptions or misunderstanding difficulties. As a reason, before boarding ships, freight forwarders and operators must give cross-cultural training to all crew members. Given the problems of multinational staff hiring, the business must be well-prepared to deal with staffing variety while also being aware of the hidden hazards of mixed personnel. The diversity of people whose ethnicity includes variances in not just language but also religion and culture is a significant difficulty to conquer when dealing with lengthy onboarding durations. According to Corrigan et al. (2019), “the critical role of understanding Human Factors and the importance of Safety Culture in the maritime sector is becoming much more topical” (p. 252). This work was written with the aim of studying the problem of cultural differences in the maritime industry.
Shipping has become a multicultural, multinational, and technical business in the last 20 years. Previously, there were many crewmembers who all spoke the same languages and hailed from the same culture; presently, there are fewer crewmembers and a heavy workload. Nevertheless, technological advancements have led to fewer crewmembers. Improved technology results in fewer crewmembers, resulting in fewer funds spent and more revenue produced (Corrigan et al. 2019). Generally, fewer crew members have increased maritime accidents ranging from 75% to 95% of the rise in marine accidents, the majority of which were caused by human error (Daniels, 2017). Many safety rules are not observed or enforced, resulting in unsafe, insecure, and inefficient transportation. Intercultural communication, weariness, and training are all elements that contribute to human mistakes.
Cultural complexities aboard ships have received increased attention due to an increasing number of maritime mishaps linked to insufficient interaction and misreading of various actions on multicultural and multilingual ships. According to Oltedal and Håvold (2018), “the focus on safety culture took off when the term Safety Culture was used in the International Atomic energy Agency’s (IAeA) initial report following the Chernobyl disaster, resulting in the IAeA publishing a guide to safety culture in 1991” (p. 53). Poor grasp of English, incorrect categorization, differing knowledge of safety and workplace culture, and different attitudes toward risk have all been shown to contribute to major marine disasters and have an influence on a ship’s operating performance. Regardless of the fact that the maritime industry is largely globalized and the marine employment market is increasingly international, establishing cross-cultural proficiency is not on the goal of maritime training and education.
Cultural awareness is often defined as knowing about cultural differences and being conscious of one’s own civilization and its effect on one’s conduct (Corrigan et al., 2019). Nevertheless, crew cultural awareness training in the marine sector has yet to be widely established. According to Oltedal and Batalden (2018), “internal demands include a demand for observing and reflecting on everyday work, searching for small deviations and recognizing needs for adjustments, sharing and adjusting stories and accounts of what is going on to build a common understanding and common approaches and reactions to work demands, challenges, and unexpected events” (p. 32). As a result, the business and marine education institutions should provide excellent training in the English linguistic and social variations to enable crew members to overcome communication hurdles.
The phrase global mentality, in particular, refers to the psychological construct that is described as a manner of experiencing the world from a larger viewpoint. According to Progoulaki (2011), “in respect to labor, transnational employers reduced variable costs by intensifying the use of labor through reduced crewing levels, extended working hours and registering vessels under a “flag of convenience” (FOC) or “open registries” associated with lower regulatory costs, weak labor rights and lower wage levels” (p. 7). Developing and maintaining a global mindset necessitates understanding and knowledge of the widespread and diverse elements of the interconnected world, such as innovation, sociopolitical variables, culture, cross-cultural concerns, attitudinal components, and behavioral skills that allow for effective worldwide jobs.
It is well recognized that common language understanding and fluency can lead to a sense of isolation, disconnectedness, or even dissatisfaction, which can keep people from interacting with one another and from possibilities for engagement in both professional and social settings. On the other hand, people with excellent linguistic skills should be stronger at verifying claims about actions that represent diverse cultural traditions (Jiang et al., 2019). According to Oltedal and Lützhöft (2018b), “based on responses obtained from 142 navy surface war officers who had obtained BRM training, and 24 navy surface war officers who had not received BRM training, no significant difference between the two groups was found” (p. 14). In other ways, improving linguistic skills helps bridge the gap among cultures.
Another important part of cultural understanding is international experience. It may make a significant difference in a people’s career and organizational life by promoting personal growth and professional progress (Formela et al., 2019). At the same time, a range of overseas job experiences provides people with opportunities to recover past cultural information and life experience in the international collaborative effort. People who have extensive contact with other people with individuals of diverse social classes are thought to be more susceptible to exploring other civilizations from an educational point of view and embracing more grateful attitudes and behaviors, which eventually leads to a reduction in generalizations and an improvement in the strategic communication plan. As previously stated, these diverse levels of social interaction are likely to foster the formation of a more open “self” idea, which boosts individuals’ enthusiasm and variety in work.
Being socially conscious is attempting to prevent, or at least minimize, the external costs incurred as a result of one’s behaviors that have a detrimental impact on society. The social cost of a company’s actions, such as manufacturing goods or providing services, is tied to its personal accountability (Basaran, 2016). The key premise behind these categories is that businesses attempt to exploit opportunities and focus their skills for strategic advantage to contribute to long-term development goals.
The ability to manufacture low-cost services has always been the primary goal for companies in this sector. Because of the shipping industry’s extremely competitive business climate, cost reduction of operating expenditures has become critical for survival. The primary objective for organizations in this category is to be competitive in all ways, even if safety and quality ain in jeopardy. The normal conduct of the majority of enterprises working in the marine industry follows the flow of merely adhering to the rules of the game (Basaran, 2016). These businesses exist to generate profits while adhering to international regulatory frameworks. Finally, supporting conduct is demonstrated by a small percentage of businesses that go beyond conformity with regulations and norms.
A prejudice is a generalization about a group that is based on past encounters or ideas. Remember as a general rule that not all individuals from a particular location behave in the same manner. Working in a multinational team requires you to be tolerant and welcoming of all nationalities and their idiosyncrasies (Daniels, 2017). Being open to the customs and beliefs of various cultures is the greatest approach to showing your coworkers and crew that you admire and understand them. They are assessing human attitudes about persons who are different from them in a critical way. Therefore, being tolerant and tolerant of diverse cultures’ ideas and practices, standing out against workplace harassment, and continuously developing about a person can make a difference are all effective ways to make businesses more diverse.
Maritime law, often known as admiralty law, is a corpus of rules, treaties, and conventions that control civil maritime enterprise and other maritime affairs, such as shipping or accessible infractions. The Law of the Sea refers to the international norms that regulate the usage of the oceans and seas. Maritime law is governed by a different code in most industrialized countries and is separate from existing regulations. The United Nations (UN) has published various agreements via the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that can be implemented by the fleets and patrol boats of countries that have signed the agreement defining these laws. Many claims involving ships and cargoes, civil disputes between shipping companies, seafarers, and customers, and piracy are governed by the law of the sea.
Furthermore, maritime law governs ship licensing, licensing, inspection procedures, maritime transport, and the carrying of commodities and people. The IMO is in charge of ensuring that current international nautical treaties are up to date, as well as creating new accords when needed. There are now hundreds of agreements that govern all elements of marine business and transportation. The IMO’s website has a comprehensive collection of extant rules, historical modifications, and explanatory material.
The country of registration determines the nationality of a ship. For the majority of ships, the national registry in the country in which the owners reside and conduct business (Basaran, 2016). Shipowners frequently enroll their vessels in nations that permit international registrations. According to Oltedal and Lützhöft (2018a), “the deck officer certificate is neither ship nor ship type-specific, although certain ships need special endorsements, such as tankers, and there is little standardization of equipment design and layout of the bridge” (p. 80). Foreign registration, sometimes known as “flags of convenience,” is handy for financial planning and taking full advantage of permissive local legislation. Panama and Bermuda are two instances of “flags of convenience” nations.
To summarize, working with various staff aboard commercial vessels may easily lead to misunderstandings or comprehension challenges. As a result, freight forwarders and operators must provide cross-cultural training to all crewmembers prior to boarding ships (Formela et al., 2019). Given the challenges of hiring multinational employees, businesses must be well-prepared to deal with staffing diversity while also being aware of the hidden risks of mixed personnel.
Despite this, technological developments have resulted in fewer crewmembers. Improved technology leads to fewer crewmembers, which results in less money spent and more income generated. Many safety regulations are not followed or enforced, resulting in dangerous, insecure, and inefficient transportation (Formela et al., 2019). Intercultural communication, fatigue, and training are all factors that lead to human errors. Cultural challenges onboard ships have gotten more attention due to an increasing number of maritime catastrophes connected to insufficient engagement and misunderstanding of various behaviors on multicultural and multilingual ships.
International experience is also an essential component of cultural understanding. It has the potential to make a huge difference in people’s careers and organizational lives by encouraging personal development and professional advancement. Simultaneously, a variety of abroad career options gives people the opportunity to recover prior cultural information and life experience through international collaboration efforts. A bias is a generalization about a group based on previous interactions or beliefs. Remember, as a general rule, that not all people from the same place behave the same way. Working in a global team necessitates tolerance and acceptance of various nations and their quirks.
Law of the sea, also known as maritime law, is a body of laws, treaties, and agreements that govern civil, nautical activity, and other maritime matters such as transportation or maritime offenses. The term “Law of the Sea” refers to the widespread standards that govern the use of the seas and oceans. In most industrialized nations, maritime law is administered by a separate code that is distinct from current legislation. Moreover, maritime law oversees ship registration, license fees, inspection procedures, maritime transit, and the transportation of goods and persons. The nationality of a ship is determined by the country in which it is registered. Most ships are registered at the national registration of the country where the owners live and conduct business (Formela et al., 2019). Shipowners routinely register their boats in countries that allow international registrations.
The United Nations (UN) has issued a number of agreements through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that can be enforced by the fleets and patrol boats of nations who have signed the accords outlining these regulations. The law of the sea governs several claims involving ships and cargoes, civil disputes between shipping corporations, sailors, and consumers, and piracy. Being open to different cultures’ beliefs and customs is the best way to show the colleagues and crew that individuals admire and understand them. They are critically analyzing human attitudes toward those who are different from them. As a result, being tolerant and accepting of the ideas and practices of other cultures, speaking out against workplace harassment, and continually growing about a person may make a difference are all successful strategies to make organizations more diverse.
The cultural difference in the professional environment always creates difficulties in drawing up regulations because the management should choose the right regulations that coincide with the moral values of all employees. However, today there are already many organizations and rules that allow you to regulate the process of working in a professional environment. The maritime business is one of the most regulated due to the approach of organizations and the danger of errors, which suggests that although the cultural difference is present in this environment, it affects only indirectly affect the result of the work.
References
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