Cultural diversity, manning strategies and management practices in Greek shipping

Abstract

The present paper examines the way Greek shipping companies and Greek seafarers perceive culture, and how this affects their approach to crew management and operation of the ships. The analysis focuses on the manning strategies employed by the companies, on the operational problems that might occur on-board, and on any possible disturbance of the relation between the ship, the office at shore and third parties. Finally, a number of management practices which, when implemented, help to overcome these problems is also examined. The research methodology includes a review of the existing literature and interviews conducted by means of questionnaires filled in by crew managers and seafarers. Results show that some of the predominant problems encountered aboard, as far as communication with multicultural crews is concerned, are rooted in cultural and linguistic incompatibility, as well as in inadequate and inappropriate training. Furthermore, crew managers and seafarers lack both a clear perception of culture, and share opinions on the implementation of manning strategies. The present paper concludes that culture management can enhance crew team cohesion, upgrade communication at all levels, and, finally, improve the quality of the working environment, the safety of the workplace and the overall performance of the team.

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the IAME Annual Conference, Izmir, June 2004. Authors gratefully acknowledge the eager response and valuable help provided by the executives of shipping companies who have participated in the survey, as well as the one provided by anonymous seafarers who accepted with great enthusiasm to share their professional experiences. Moreover, Mrs Progoulaki would like to thank the ‘Propondis’ Foundation for its support. Finally, the authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on previous versions of this paper, and Dr Helen Iakovaki for her comments on the final text.