CHAPTER 5

PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
 SHIPBOARD PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

I. SHIPBOARD PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

Shipboard personnel management onboard a ship is all about governing officers who have bigger responsibilities
because they are the ones who make decisions. They represent the administrative staff and it is their role to
integrate the crew with the technical aspects so that the relationship between the officers and crew will improve.

A key activity in shipboard organization behaviour is to develop an environment in which the crew are motivated
towards teamwork. Coordination refers to effective time and sequence in performing shipboard activities and
cooperation which indicates the willingness of the crew to work together to accomplish the assigned task.

Crew motivation is essential to the operation of the ship. No matter how sophisticated the vessel is, it cannot be
run by a single person. Therefore, every person must be motivated to work in order to run the ship.
Traditional ship management relied on principles to provide “one best way” of managing, such as:

1.Proper way to organize the work.

2.Proper way to delegate the work.
3.Proper way to divide the work.

However, research today shows that the contingency approach is more interdisciplinary, more system oriented and
more research oriented than the traditional approach. It helps to use in appropriate manner all the current
knowledge about shipboard organization. Sometimes it is called situational approach because appropriate action
depends on situational
variables.
II. LEADERSHIP
 
Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. Leadership is so important and its
human factor binds a group together and motivates it towards a certain goal. Leadership is part of management because
managers as leaders are required to plan and organize. They are to Influence others to follow direction either right or wrong.
This means that strong leaders can be weak managers if they are weak in planning and a manager can be a weak leader if he
is weak in governing.
 
As society has learned more about leadership, it has become increasingly evident that strong leadership is a result of
effective role behavior. Organizational leadership is a role behavior that unites and stimulates followers towards a particular
objective in particular environment. Four elements are variables and affect each other in determining suitable role behavior:
1. Leader
2. Follower
3. Goal
4. Environment
The role behavior of a leader covers three different skills:
1.Technical – refers to a person’s knowledge of proficiency in any type of process of technique. It deals with things.
2. Human – the ability to interact effectively with people and to build teamwork. It deals with people.
3. Conceptual –deals more with long-range plans, broad relationship and other abstractions. It deals with ideas.

Effectiveness is the result in a contingency model of leadership and is determined by the interaction
of a follower oriented with three additional variables:
1. Leader-Member Relations –are determine by the manner n which the leader is accepted by the group.
2. Task Structure –reflects the degree to which the specific way is required to do the job.
3. Leader Position Power –describes the organizational power that is provided for the position the leader occupies
Onboard a ship, what is a leader?
“A leader is an individual who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” After graduation, many of the
graduates from the Marine Transportation and the Marine engineering courses will definitely become deck and
engine officers onboard sea-going vessels. In other words, they will become leaders in their respective
departments. Therefore, it is important to train and prepare these soon-to-be officers to
become real gentlemen. Character formation for the future seafarers must be given due regards by schools for
maritime studies in preparation for a life of service on the sea.As what Capt. Rodolfo D. Estampador says in his
speech during the 2nd Merchant National Conference-Workshop of the Master and Mates Association of the
Philippines, Inc.” held in Cebu City on November 20-22, 1998: “In general, our approach in the development of
leadership skills depends on an individual’s actual exposure of observation. If he boards a ship with good leadership
skills for sure, he will end up as a good leader, but if he boards a ship with poor leadership skills (tayo-tayo lamang),
he will surely end up as a poor leader.”
 Is there any measure to adopt minds to correct the differences and come up with better approach on values formation in
leadership?
Yes. Value formation in leadership must be incorporated into the subjects offered by maritime schools or be mandatory training
as required for continuous professional education, this will lead our marine professional towards professionalism in preparation
for being “world class”.
Leadership styles:  
1. Traditional-they always demand respect for people they served.
2. Bureaucrat-they follow the manual exactly (procedures like parliamentary is closely observed).
3. Dependable-the jack-of-all-trades and knows everything (the followers need not worry because leader takes care of
everything).
4.Example-they are leaders who give responsibilities to their followers gradually so that in the future, they can stand on
their own.
5. Participative-they encourage their members to take their responsibilities even at risk of making mistakes so that
everyone will learn leadership by leading.
Kinds of Leadership:  
1.Autocratic Leadership –centralized power and decision-making for themselves. The members are obedient to the leaders who
dictate everything, thinking that their members are not capable of
making their own decision. Characteristics and personality:
a. Perfectionist –basically insecure (task and not person-oriented).
b. Getting what they want by threat or bribes –commanding (always refuse to listen to others).
c. Strong personality to demand obedience by fear –can not admit any mistakes (looking for scapegoats when something goes
wrong).
d. Give orders which must be obeyed –demand service but would not serve.
e. Have all powers for themselves –proud and aristocratic.
 
2. Liberal Leadership –free rein leader who sees their members as responsible. Every member is entitled to be heard and to be
responsible for what he does. As a result, there is no
controlling authority. Confusion is present because everybody claims to be right.
Characteristics and Personality:
a. Listens to everybody –easygoing.
b. Trusts everyone to be responsible –open and tolerant of everything and to everybody.
c. Accepts everything without evaluating –leaves everything for a chance.
d. Gets along well with everybody –good group-mixer.
 III. PREPARING MARITIME STUDENTS FOR THE SEAFARING WORLD
  During the time of preparation for the life of prospective seafarers, it is important to motivate them into the
direction of their chosen profession. It is also of utmost importance to ascertain that goals don’t bring them away
from their final dream but compels them to see and take a realistic view of life onboard a ship, their relationship
with others, the work and problems such as loneliness and longing for their families. Onboard ship life can be a
challenging and an enriching experience where a man gains new insights and knowledge of new cultures. Life
onboard ship may be lonely, tough, boring, dehumanizing and maybe even conducive to abuse and injustice,
therefore, life at sea is full of struggles with the elements of risks.
Seafarers need deep relationship that lasts, because living among strangers will make them always long for concern
and understanding back home. Loneliness is a worst scenario for a person who have not made themselves their
first friend. It will become serious when he is afraid to be alone with oneself and is frequent when he does not
believe in himself enough to go out to make friends. In time of preparing the maritime cadets to belong to a
community of seafarers is also one of ways of motivating them to be good members of the community that belongs
to them –onboard ship and on shore.

Factors that will help the seafarers persist in his goal and share happiness with his shipmates
The technical aspects which they learned in maritime schools are very important but there are also personal
aspects which are also important to be corrected such as their failure to recognize their real motives for the thing
they do. It means that they find difficulties to be truthful to the motives of some of their actions. This is true when
real motives go against the image that they are trying to present before others. Therefore, it is more important that
motivation should be injected in the minds of the maritime cadets.
THE ROLE OF THE SHIP'S MASTER IN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
These days, the role of a ship's master in personnel management is such a critic all thing to decide. Since managers
control the running of organisations and also get work done through others, while headers possess the qualities of
rising above the usual day-to- day activities of a managers. A far number of ship masters exhibits both attributes
and qualities of a manager and also that of the leader. tough sailors not born of calm seas, the harder the tests we
face, the sign that we are prepared to be a big person.

‘’Thank you’’