Download Aneta Varbanova, Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Varna, Bulgaria

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THE CASE-STUDY APPROACH ON MARITIME
EDUCATION: APPLICATION IN SHIPPING BUSINESS AND SHIP
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Aneta Varbanova
N. Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Varna, Bulgaria
Abstract
Maritime educational institutions are faced with the challenge of quality and excellence in
education. Higher maritime education has to meet the needs of the global and dynamic
shipping industry. Education in shipping business and ship management requires application
of problem-solving methods reflecting real issues as a supplement to actual practice activities.
The case-study approach offers the opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills to shipping
business and ship management issues, test theories, evaluate and draw conclusions in a safe
environment with the help of experienced instructors. Simultaneously, case-study approach
adds relevance and real world context to the theoretical frames of shipping business and ship
management programs. Student teams are required to brainstorm the potential background,
evaluate and generate solutions and select the best method for elimination of problems. By
employing case studies in shipping business and ship management programs, students learn
effectively how to apply skills and techniques to real world situations.
Key words: case-study approach, shipping business and ship management education, problem
solving, reality-based learning
INTRODUCTION
Higher maritime education is inevitably a practice-oriented system. For this reason various
educational approaches are applied in order to promote practical skills of students. The most
important task is to utilize such approaches and methods for the benefit of the students. At the
outset of the professional career self confidence is an important factor facilitating the
adaptation process in the working environment be it the ship or the ship owner’s office.
Therefore the establishment of appropriate training environment for the students serves as a
valuable tool for ensuring of successful maritime career.
The Faculty of Navigation at the “N.Y.Vaptsarov” Naval Academy has always had very
strong industry links as the programs of study are aligned with the legal requirements and the
core of operations as carried out in the shipping industry. The teaching content of the
disciplines of Shipping Business and Ship Management is well structured to ensure for
practical learning.
Students majoring in “Fleet and ports technology and management”, “Navigation” and “River
Navigation” study the disciplines of Shipping Business and Ship Management in their third or
fourth year of study. Each discipline envisages minimum of 30% for practical exercises of the
total teaching hours. The practical exercises are conducted in sessions which last two or three
consecutive study hours each thus ensuring sufficient time for preparation and development of
practical assignments.
CASE-STUDY APPROACH IN HIGHER MARITIME EDUCATION
In recent years there has been a noticeable move from lecture-based activities towards more
student-centered activities in higher maritime education. Among these activities are case
studies. They provide an opportunity for the development of key skills such as
communication, group working and problem solving. They enable students to acquire more
individual study skills and more independence in information gathering and analysis. They
attract attention to the importance of time management in order to be able to come up with all
the requested deliverables at the end of the study. Written and oral presentation skills
represent an important benefit of using case studies. Finally, this approach increases the
students' enjoyment of the topic and hence their desire to learn.
Cases or, more generally, accounts of real-world events or situations, can be found more or
less frequently in a broad variety of educational environments, including maritime education.
Case studies are a valuable way of presenting concepts in a practical sense as concerns the
shipping industry. They foster the achievement of teaching objectives through actual
situations and theoretical background interactions in the commercial shipping education.
Theories are often more easily explained and shown if a case study can be developed. This is
particularly appropriate if students are familiar with some aspects of the case study. There is
not necessarily a difference between case studies within these two disciplines for students
majoring in seagoing and non-seagoing programs.
Case studies for the future seafarers outside of the bridge simulators consist of multimedia and
paper based exercises devised around the vast variety of activities that take place in the
seagoing arena. Over the years lecturers have build up banks of case studies even if these are
only known as practical exercises sheets. Applying case-studies in teaching students majoring
in seagoing programs is very much concentrated around the demands of the syllabus dictated
by national and international regulations of educational programs. That is why the lecturing
material is constrained to conform to the rigorous learning outcomes required by Certificates
of Competency.
With regard to non-seagoing students lecturers generally have more control over practical
exercises in the syllabus and therefore have a much wider scope and flexibility in the form and
outcomes of their material. Case studies in these areas are individual or worked on in groups.
As an example the following topics are often used for application of case-studies: voyage
planning, appointment of port agents, vessel chartering techniques, laytime calculations, all
designed to illustrate both general and specific concepts in a practical setting. The use of
actual data from real events brings to life concepts that are clear to the students. These case
studies are timed to last for minimum one teaching session of two or three teaching hours and
are preceded by a taught session. Where the learning outcome is not necessarily clear to
students then the taught session is essential however as the case study develops and the
meaning is clear then the taught session can be reduced to outlining the scope of the case
study before it begins.
The cases applied are specifically designed to cover, as far as possible, situations which
typically arise in the world of shipping business and ship management and raise students'
awareness of the application of managerial principles to industrial and commercial problems
in shipping. The overall aim was therefore to simulate situations which require solutions.
During the discussion of the cases students learn that decision making is often a
confrontational activity involving people with different points of view. Most important,
students learn how to work toward consensus while tolerating legitimate differences of
opinion. Being international and global in nature, shipping industry requires that the decisions
of managers are benefitial to the company in the broadest sense as decisions directly influence
revenues, costs, and profits of a shipping company.
APPLYING CASE-STUDY APPROACH
The application of case-studies in these programs is conducted within the following major
steps:
Thorough perception of the case which includes reading and/or listening to the
specifically assigned case
Definition of the central problem. Many cases involve several issues or problems. The
most important problems are identified and separated from the more trivial issues. After
identifying what appears to be a major underlying issue, related problems are examined in the
functional areas (marketing activities of the shipping company, legal status of port agents,
etc,). Functional area problems help students identify deep-rooted problems that are the
responsibility of top management.
Identification of the constraints to the problem. The constraints may limit the solutions
available to the company. Typical constraints include limited finances, lack of time and
emergency situations, personnel limitations, strong competitors, relationships with suppliers
and customers, and so on. Constraints have to be considered when suggesting a solution.
Identification of all the relevant alternatives. Students prepare a list with all the
relevant alternatives that could solve the problem(s) that were identified in step 2. Students
must be able to suggest better solutions even when solutions are suggested in the case.
Selecting the best alternative. Each alternative is evaluated in the light of the available
information. Students are prompted to carefully take the proceeding of the previous five steps
so that a good solution to the case is apparent. Furthermore, students are required to explain
the logic they used to choose one alternative and reject the others.
Development of an implementation plan. The final step in the analysis is to develop a
plan for effective implementation of the decision. Lack of an implementation plan even for a
very good decision can lead to disaster for every company. Students are asked to explain how
to implement the decision.
By preparing solutions to cases studies, students are exposed to a variety of shipping
management roles and business situations. Students decision-making skills are enhanced as
they sift through large volumes of information to identify problems, determine corporate
goals, define relevant alternatives, and develop plans to implement decisions. Students
improve their ability to apply analytical tools in true-to-life shipping business situations. By
preparing reports on the case, students learn how to express themselves succinctly, both orally
and in writing. Students also develop their ability to defend the logic of their analysis and
conclusions. These are all valuable skills for future ship managers that will help them go a
long way in a rewarding career. Finally, amongst other learning objectives, the students are
given the opportunity to develop planning and organizational skills, as well to develop an
understanding of the issues involved in the management of shipping business.
THE IMPACT OF CASE-STUDY APPROACH APPLICATION
The need of application of the case-study approach is determined by high degree of
uncertainty in shipping business and management, time constraints for decision-making, need
of complex knowledge skills in a dynamic and global shipping industry and need to recognize
the rules of business ethics in order the meet the expectations of the rapidly changing maritime
industry. The cases serve multiple purposes: they are narrative accounts of representative
problem situation often drawn from the lecturer’s own experience, the case is a way to bring a
snapshot of the real world of shipping into the classroom and confront students with its
messiness and complexity. Larger cases that require longer time to apply in the classroom are
designed to give students a sense of the many disciplines, specializations and roles involved in
the industry, and the intricacies involved in collaboration between different practitioners in the
shipping industry.
The aim is to prepare the students to become practitioners who do not need purely in-depth
knowledge, as experts, but need broad knowledge and need to know how to put the puzzle
together. A practitioner is somebody who can run a fleet of ships and comply with legislation,
keep the balance sheet right and knows which expert to ask. Cases are designed to be the
bases for exploring, in a discussion, situations deemed to be representative for situations
future ship managers will be facing. As cases are not very resource-rich they are instead
designed to engender the application of codified knowledge as well as relatively unconstraint
exploration of issues. Indeed, the analysis of one of the case-centered discussions showed us
that students rely on lecture material to develop understandings of what the situation is about,
but also explore issues in dependence of their personal interest and experiences. It is these
activities that realize the teacher’s aim to help students ‘reason like managers’ and to provide
them with ‘conceptual’ thinking tools for their future.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
The application of cases in the shipping business and ship management disciplines is among
the most challenging assignments given to the students. Approached properly, case analysis
can be extremely beneficial in preparing students for a career in the shipping industry by
giving them the opportunity to develop decision-making skills in the classroom so that they
are better prepared to meet the challenges of their after-graduation job. Students learn how to
analyze complex and unstructured problems, increase their ability to establish reliable
communication, learn to take responsibility for their decisions and build self-confidence.
Cases applied in the Shipping Business and Ship Management disciplines are the mediators of
the continuing interaction between the educational institution and the shipping industry as
they embody the latest and most actual challenges of the world of work.
REFERENCES:
1. Barnes, L. B., Christensen C. R., Hansen A. J., (1994), Teaching and the case method:
text, cases and readings, Harvard Business School Press
2. Grewval D., H. Haugstetter, (2007) Capturing and sharing knowledge in supply chains
in the maritime transport sector: critical issues, Maritime Policy and Management,
34(2), pp. 169–183
3. Halinena, A., J.-A. Toernroos, (2005) Using case methods in the study of
contemporary business networks, Journal of Business Research, 58, pp. 1285– 1297
4. Tuna O., Cerit A. G. et al (2002), Problem Based Learning in Maritime Education,
IAMU Journal, (2), pp.
Contact details:
N. Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy
73, Vassil Drumev Str., Varna 9026, Bulgaria
Faculty of Navigation, Dept. of Economics and Water Transport Management
Tel: 0897 860709 / E-mail: [email protected]