The book examines organisational communication in two Chinese chemical shipping companies with particular focus on communication between the management ashore and crew on board vessels. It further explores the role of such communication in influencing seafarers’ Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSM). The data was mainly collected by semi-structured interviews, supplemented by field observations, informal discussions and document analyses.
By examining major areas of communication closely related to OHSM, i.e., shore to ship communication for work support, shore to ship communication for management control, ship to shore communication for safety reporting, ship to shore communication for safety suggestions, the book presents the range of purposes behind communication between the two. The result shows that communication between shore management and ship’s crew is apparently influenced by divergent interests between the two. It reveals a set of socio-economic and cultural factors that underlie their communication. As a consequence, such communication has noticeable influence on crew’s shipboard working practices as well as indirect effects on crew’s health, safety and well-being. The findings show that shore-ship communication is mainly in an asymmetrical form, and generally disengaged with the concerns of OHSM, which suggests that communication achieves limited outcomes for OHSM. The book concludes by calling policy makers as well as industrial practitioners to rethink the role of communication in effective OHSM and reshape maritime regulatory strategy in promoting OHSM in the global shipping industry.

CHAPTER 1 COMMUNICATION IN ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT 8
1.1 COMMUNICATION AND ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION 8
1.2 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION 10
1.3 MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 11
1.4 MANAGEMENT-EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 13
1.4.1 Defining Communication in This Book 13
1.4.2 The Role of Management in Downward Communication 15
1.4.3 The Role of Employees in Upward Communication 23
CHAPTER 2 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF SHIPPING 28
2.1 OHSM STRATEGY IN SHIPPING AND ITS RELEVANCE WITH COMMUNICATION 28
2.2 A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE ISM CODE 31
2.3 SYSTEM BASED APPROACH TO OHSM AND ITS APPLICATION IN SHIPPING 35
2.4 OHSM REGULATIONS IN CHINA 38
2.5 CHINESE CULTURE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON WORKPLACES 40
2.6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE SEAFARERS LABOUR MARKET 42
2.7 SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION 43
CHAPTER 3 INDUSTRIAL BACKGROUND 45
3.1 TYPES OF CHEMICAL TANKERS 45
3.2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLOBAL CHEMICAL FLEET 47
3.3 MAJOR PLAYERS 49
3.4 THE PATTERN OF CHEMICAL TRADING AND ITS IMPACT ON CHINA 52
3.5 THE CHEMICAL SHIPPING SECTOR IN CHINA 54
CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY AND INTROUCTION TO THE CASES 55
4.1 DOING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 56
4.1.1 Semi-structured Interview 57
4.1.2 Field Observation 59
4.1.3 Complementary Techniques 59
4.2 PILOT STUDY AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE CASES 60
4.2.1 Pilot Study 60
4.2.2 Identification of the Cases 62
4.3 THE CASES 63
4.3.1 Company 1 63
4.3.2 Company 2 70
4.3.3 A General Assessment 76
4.4 IN THE FIELD 78
4.4.1 Field Work on Shore 78
4.4.2 Field Work onboard Ships 80
4.5 DATA PROCESSING 83
CHAPTER 5 (SHORE-TO-SHIP) COMMUNICATION FOR WORK SUPPORT 84
5.1 INTRODUCTION 84
5.2 THE MANAGEMENT 85
5.2.1 Operational Support 85
5.2.2 Problem Solving 87
5.2.3 Types of Support 89
5.3 THE CREW 91
5.3.1 Technical Support 91
5.3.2 Safety Information Support 96
5.3.3 Material Resource Support 102
5.4 SUMMARY 106
CHAPTER 6 (SHORE-TO-SHIP) COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGEMENT CONTROL 108
6.1 INTRODUCTION 108
6.2 COMMUNICATION DURING SAILING 108
6.2.1 The Management: Respect and Approval 109
6.2.2 Captain’s Authority 112
6.2.3 Other Crew Members: Compliance and Follow 120
6.3 COMMUNICATION DURING A SHIP VISIT 126
6.3.1 The Management: The Need for Ship Visit 126
6.3.2 The Impact on Crew 133
6.4 SUMMARY 142
CHAPTER 7 (SHIP-TO-SHORE) COMMUNICATION FOR SAFETY REPORTING 144
7.1 INTRODUCTION 144
7.2 THE MANAGEMENT 145
7.2.1 Reporting Encouraged 145
7.2.2 The Less (Reporting) the Better 148
7.3 THE CREW 149
7.3.1 The Need for Reporting 149
7.3.2 Nonconformity Reporting 151
7.3.3 Accident Reporting 157
7.3.4 Hazardous Situation Reporting 161
7.3.5 Under-reporting and Biased Reporting 167
7.4 SUMMARY 170
CHAPTER 8 (SHIP-TO-SHORE) COMMUNICATION FOR SAFETY SUGGESTIONS 173
8.1 INTRODUCTION 173
8.2 THE MANAGEMENT 173
8.2.1 Improvement of the Management System 173
8.2.2 Reasonable Suggestions 175
8.3 THE CREW 176
8.3.1 The Managerial Influence 176
8.3.2 Shipboard Hierarchy 181
8.3.3 The Cultural Elements 182
8.3.4 The Fluidity of Seafaring Occupations 186
8.3.5 Peer Communication 188
8.4 SUMMARY 190
CHAPTER 9 COMMUNICATION: ITS CONTEXTS AND INFLUENCES ON CREW’S OHSM PRACTICE 193
9.1 INTRODUCTION 193
9.2 CONTEXT OF COMMUNICATION – FACTORS UNDERLYING THE NATURE OF WORKPLACE AND ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION 194
9.2.1 Hierarchy, Power and Discipline in Management 195
9.2.2 Efficiency, Profit and Safety 203
9.2.3 Crew’s Participation in OHSM 207
9.2.4 Other Influences 209
9.3 COMMUNICATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON CREW’S OHSM PRACTICE 213
9.3.1 The Effectiveness of Shore Support 213
9.3.2 The Effectiveness of Management Control 214
9.3.3 The Quality of Feedback in Safety Reporting and the Limitations of Its Role in Organisational Learning 217
9.4 INDIRECT EFFECTS ON CREW’S HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELL-BEING 220
9.5 SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION 224
CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSIONS 227
10.1 INTRODUCTION 227
10.2 ASYMMETRICAL COMMUNICATION 228
10.3 COMMUNICATION DISENGAGED WITH THE CONCERN OF OHSM 230
10.4 COMMUNICATION CONTRIBUTING TO LIMITED OUTCOME OF OHSM 231
10.5 IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS FOR THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE OHSM 234
10.6 IMPLICATIONS FOR MARITIME REGULATORY STRATEGY 235
10.7 SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES 238
BIBLIOGRAPHY 240