Shipping Companies Operations - the Influence of Australia's Resource Sector - Case Study Example

Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Class Name: Date Assignment is due: Shipping Companies Operations: the Influence of Australia’s Resource Sector Research Background I chose to select the topic ‘Shipping Companies Operations: The Influence of Australia’s Resource Sector’ after carrying out a research on how the Australia’s resource sector, influences the operations of the shipping companies. Shipping companies in Australia employ a lot of managerial skills in their day to day operations, these includes the skills on how to handle their employees, how to manage the ship schedules, as well as how to maintain other resources that are either in custody at the ports or are in transit. To come with this topic, I had to do a case study of what is comprised in Australia’s Resource sector. In this research, it came to my attention that the Australia’s Resource centre is a very wide one in Australia, with a wide range of resources that are to be managed. This implied a wider working force that is employed in the sector. The working force begins at the top levels with the Australia’s minister of mineral resources. In my research, I was able to find/search for more detailed information with regard to the Australia’s resource sector, which later on I compared with the shipping operations in Australia, so that I would deduce the main problems that would limit the success of Australia’s resource sector, in positively impacting to the operations of the shipping companies. My major focus in carrying out the research was to look at shipping in Australia with bias in the areas on how the peak industry companies are able to promote and advance the interests of the shipping agents. The ship owners and employees concerned in all the matters that relate to shipping policy, safe ship operation practices and the environmentally sustainable practices. In this research it came to my notice that the Australia’s Resource Sector is a wide sector that involves the following resources, processes and practices. The sector is thriving and comprises of minerals and petroleum, which is part of the country’s largest single export sector. The previous reports as at 2006/07 indicate that more than eighty percent of minerals and petroleum was exported. This accounts for an estimate value of forty nine percent, of the sum of the good and services that the country exports. In real sense, the petroleum and minerals contributed to more that eighty percent of Australia’s GDP and this further contributes to 63% of Australia’s earnings from merchandise export. I noted also that Australian liquefied natural gas, coal, iron core, copper, diamonds, zinc and other mineral resources, have played a great role in the growth of other nations. This is because the eighty percent of the resources is being exported, majorly through shipping to other countries (Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia 10). Overview of Research on Australia’s resource sector & Shipping companies Australia’s resource sector runs their operations on the resources they have jurisdiction on. The operation of Australia resource sector covers exploration, extraction, the processes and exportation of minerals and petroleum products. which include oil, condensate and gas products. This is because Australia is endowed with these resources, which it mines, for the purpose of domestic use, as well as, for exportation to the different nations of the globe. The function of exportation of the minerals is the major concern for it involves transport; which majorly is by shipping due to the surrounding factors, such as, Australia having a longer sea shore and ports. The bulky nature of the minerals and petroleum products, and finally the relative cost function of transporting by sea, as compared to other means of transport. Therefore, most of these products are transported through the sea, by ship. Australia’s resource sector is so critical to the economy of Australia, because it handles resources that underpin the important parts of industrial and export activity. Domestically, the Australia’s resources industries have a duty to ensure there is enough supply of energy and raw materials at relative friendlier prices to the businesses and households. The sector is also crucial, for it operates the main resource base of exports for the country. The sector handles a sensitive area of Australia’s resource because; Australia as at now has a well-deserved reputation as a reliable and competitive supplier of finest quality of energy and mineral products. This is even evidenced by the fact that the earnings from the resource exports make up about half of the summation of total Australia’s export earnings, it is this earnings that contribute to the Australia’s economic growth. I was made to understand through the research that growth in Australia’s resources sector critically depends on the investment invested in exploration of the resources. The solid growth in the sector in the recent parts has been brought down, by the robust mineral exploration expenditure over the decade that has just passed. The research brought to my attention that the expenditures on mineral exploration increased by eleven percent over the previous ten years. This strong increase in expenditure reflected high mineral prices in the market. The findings of my research also revealed that the continued high prices of metals and the ever increasing demand for the very metals, are looked forward to play a part in the increase in the exploration expenditure in the later years. Australia has a foreign investment policy which is designed specifically to promote and encourage investment in the industry, which is in consistency with the interests of the Australian community as a whole. The government in Australia has now and again recognized the huge contributions of the foreign investment policy made, and aimed at refining the policies, as well as, add new policies that will boost the development of Australia’s resources and industries. The past experience has revealed that the foreign investment proposals that are drafted and forwarded to the Australian Government often are approved, but this is subject to them not being contrary to Australia’s national interest (Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia 9). It was also worth noting from the research that Australia’s stable political and regulatory environment has provided the investors with a high sense of certainty and confidence, through all stages of mineral development. This has made Australia, for instance to be ranked as the fastest place in the world, to start and run a business; often the regulatory procedures take a period of two days. The Government of Australia has made efforts over time, to ensure that the policies and programs of the Australian resource sector to strike a balance between the social, economic and environmental goals. This has been done to encourage growth that can be sustained and as well can sustain development. In pursuit of this, the Government facilitated, the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program (LPSVP), which is in charge of providing the mining sector and its stakeholders, such as, the shipping industry with case studies and practical information that can make them come up with more production strategy that is beyond, the ones set down in regulation for mining activities. This program has brought to fruition a number of workshops and manuals that carry themes, such as Mine Rehabilitation, Community Engagement and Development, Stewardship, Mine Closure and Completion, Biodiversity Management, Management of Acid and Metalliferous Drainage and Tailings Management. In Australia, the territory and state authority have the responsibility, to regulate the many activities that the sector is involved in, starting with mining, to shipping of the products. In fact, the Australian Government is in charge of the offshore gas and petroleum regulation, by providing an environment that business can invest with much confidence to achieve results. Frankly, the first priority of Australia resource sector industries. A further research at Australia’ minerals deposits, revealed that Australia is among the world largest resource owners of minerals, for they have brown coal, lead, nickel, silicon, tartan, uranium, and zinc. It is also ranked as the world second best in the mining of copper, bauxite, gold, limonite and silver. The country is ranked the third largest in Economic demonstrated resources (EDR) for industrial diamonds and fourth in production of manganese. Data from Australia’s archives revealed that in the year 2006-07, the country total mineral exports summed up to $107.8billion, which accounted for 77.7% of Australia’s total commodity sale. Something worth noting was that Australia resource sector was able to progress the mineral production to meet the world demand, by increasing its production by 21 percent. In view of the contribution that Australia’s resource sector has made in the promo9tionn of exportation of mineral and petroleum production, then the contribution of the shipping industry through the sea, played a great role in ensuring that the increased world demand was met through the exportations (Bernerd 46). Looking at the above background, my research problem was the problem of formulation of policies in Australia’s resource sector that influenced the shipping companies, in order to meet the world’s increased demand for the petroleum and mineral resources that the sector controlled. Formulation of such policies has been a major issue now that demand for mining of the products, has increased alongside growth in shipping companies. However, the action of Australia’s resource sector in relation to mining involves the community concerns, now that land is owned by the community; who have to be slotted in the making of the policies. It has been a major challenge for the Australia’s resource sector, to come up with policies that would carry the concerns of the world demand, the community the resources are mined from as well as the shipping industry’s growth, so as to facilitate the growth of the export of the resources. Research objective/s and the scope of the research The research objectives include: >To come up with policy strategy that would regulate the Australia’s resource sec tor policy making processes that would cater for the worlds increase in demand for resources in Australia. >To identify the main management problems that face the operation of shipping companies that would affect the exportation of the resource products; which would determine the success level of the sector to meet the world’s increasing demands in the petroleum and mineral products. >To check on the effectiveness of the policy in influencing the operation of shipping companies in order to meet the demand to export the resources by sea to the various destinations across the world. >To find out the previous progress in Australia’s resource sector, policy making and output in production and exportation of petroleum and mineral products, and the contribution of the shipping companies with a view to give prediction of the level of production and exportation levels in the coming five years. The scope of the research extended to the following: Analyzing the policy strategy making process; and how this contributes to Australia’s resource sector success level in policy making processes. It also looks at how the sector would cater for the worlds increase in demand for resources in Australia. The research also involves analyzing the actions of the Australia’s resource sector that affects the operation of shipping company operations in Australia. This is with biasness of how it influences management of these companies through creation of formidable management solution to the management challenges that the companies face each day. The research also endeavored in addressing the management problems that the shipping companies faced, with a view tom land to solutions that will boost the companies, in order to boost the economy of Australia which is much depended on these resource earnings from exportation of the mineral and petroleum resources. The shipping companies have played a great role in contributing to the economic growth, owing to their contribution to transportation of these exports via the sea. Most of these products are bulky and the economic and suitable means of transporting them has always been by the sea. This is also supported by the fact that Australia has along sea shore and ports that can facilitate this. The contribution of the shipping companies is evidenced in the increase in the value of goods exports from the mining industry that was transported through shipping. Actually the number doubled since 2003/4. The major markets that Australian mineral and petroleum exports are shipped to include; China, Japan, India, Korea and Singapore (Dyster 47). Analyzing the policy strategy making process, was also carried in view of Australia’s Government commitment to formulation of policies that would support sustainable development among the industries that Australia’s resources sector controls, alongside the Government concerns for environmental efforts is safe shipping and mining processes involved in the exportation of the resources. This made the research inclusive of gathering data from the federal department of resources, tourism and energy ministries, as well as, the ministry of trade that concerns itself with the exportation practices that encompasses the stakeholders in it, such as the shipping companies. A research on this revealed that the department of resources is much committed, to supporting exploration and mining, through encouraging the efficient use of energy, it too monitors Australia’s oil and gas resources and also, has the mandate to ensure that these resources extracted and used safely and in environmentally responsible manner (Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia 4) The research also went further to find out, how the department of resources, enables the government and the community in the making of informed decisions on exploration of resources, management on the impact of this exploration to environment and the safety of critical infrastructure. The research also concerned itself with the previous and current efforts to promote productive relationships between the resources sector and Indigenous communities. For the Indigenous people have a special relationship with their traditional lands, and this interest has developed the need to develop partnerships that would respect the concerns of both parties and be involved in the protection of the sites of significance. The partnerships program is too involved in the aspirations of the wider community, to get the opportunities for employment, training and establishment of commercial enterprises. This is because the mining and shipping industries are often among the few industries that provide employment and business in the remote regions of the country (National library of Australia 38-44) Research question/s and how they help to address the research problem mentioned The research questions are based on the increasing demand for exportation of petroleum and mineral products that necessitate the increase demand in exportation of these products by the shipping companies, as well as, the concern by the Government to progress the economy through increase exportation, practice of environmentally frillier mining practices and increase in effectiveness of the shipping companies. The research question included the following: a) Is there a good working relation between Australia resource sectors with the shipping companies that get involved in exportation of their products? b) Were the Government policies towards exportation of the mineral and petroleum products inhibitive or supportive to the operation of shipping industries? c)What were the major management challenges in the shipping companies as well as the Australian resource sector , and were they slotted in their policies. The main problem that the research identified earlier in this paper was ‘the problem of formulation of policies. Australia’s resource sector that influenced the shipping companies in order to meet the world’s increased demand for the petroleum and mineral resources’. The first question addressed the problem by looking at how the policies formulated can be made effective through good working relations between the sector, the Government and the community. The second question addressed the Government concerns as a power broker, to the success of coming up with the policies bearing in mind, the demands from several quarters, and the third question addressed this problem by looking at management challenges that would influence policy making of Australia’s resource sector, towards the shipping company operations due to the increased demand for exportation of the products (Bernerd 34). Conclusion Issues to do with Australia resource sector in relation to exportation of the resources, which majorly involve shipping and shipping companies input, make the Government committed to the whole process, because of three main facts. These are, Australia has the world’s largest mineral deposits of lead, brown coal, nickel; uranium among other minerals (OECD 29). Secondly, Australia is ranked as third largest reserve of industrial diamond and the last one, Australia is the largest exporter of iron core, lead and zinc. The research was comprehensive for the Australia resource sector; it has touched on many other areas of Australia’s economy. Works Cited Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia. Indigenous participation in Western Australia's resources sector, Canberra: Australia’s Chamber of minerals and resources press, 2009. David, Dyster, Australia in the global economy: continuity and change. London: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Justin, Bernerd, Australian export: a guide to law and practice. London: Cambridge University Press, 2006. National library of Australia. APAIS, Australian public affairs information service. Canberra: National Library Australia, 1998. OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Australia, OECD Economic Surveys: Australia’s economic survey journal, 12.2 (2006): 6. Read More