Question 1

Applying the Hague-Visby Rules is often not straightforward and sometimes must be decided by the courts.

Consider, for example, the following situation: part of a cargo suffers some minor physical damage, but an economic loss is suffered in respect of the whole shipment (perhaps resulting from a diminution in market value due to delay). What is the resultant liability?

Considering the above situation, please state:

• The relevant article(s) of the Hague-Visby Rules for this specific issue.
• What different interpretations of these article(s) could arise from the point of view of a carrier and a cargo owner, if we were to apply them to the above scenario?

Question 2

According to Robbins (1990)* every organizational structure is characterized by:

1. Formalization – the degree to which an organization relies upon procedures and rules to control and direct employees.
2. Centralization/decentralization of power – which asks the following questions: where does the focus of decision-making authority lie? Do problems or issues requiring decision-making flow upward for senior management to decide, or are matters dealt with at a lower level with decision authority distributed downward in the organization hierarchy?
3. Complexity – which considers the degree of specialization or division of labor, the number of levels in the organization’s hierarchy, and the geographical distribution of the organization’s hierarchy. If we apply this thinking to the shipping industry, we may observe that each shipping market displays unique characteristics and imposes distinct organizational and management demands on the participating companies.

You are asked to perform research and apply Robbins’ (1990) model, to the organization and operation of liner shipping companies.

Question 3

Please examine the details supplied concerning the company Ransil Marine Ltd. in the Appendix.

From your detailed examination of the company details and accounts for (fictional) Ransil Marine Ltd., for the first year of trading ending on 31st December 20XX, please identify the key features of the business which you consider needing immediate
consideration by the owners.

Explain the reasons for your feature selection, over others that may deserve equal attention, and provide guidance on how owners can address the features you have chosen.

In addressing this question, you should focus on the structure of the business, its strategy, and direction, priorities, etc. as you see them, and explain why the features you choose to investigate should be seen as business priorities. You should support your discussion by using academic literature, as appropriate.

You are not required to comment on the financial performance of the business in any detail in addressing this question, but, clearly, financial analysis might be involved within your identification of features of the business, and so should not be neglected.