Importance of Situational awareness and critical thinking on board ships

1. Ascent Marine Institute
BRIDGE ENGINE RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Capt Ashok Menon

2. Situational Awareness
Forewarned, forearmed; to be
prepared is half the victory.
- Miguel de
Cervantes,
Don Quixote de la Mancha

3. The aptitude to take an overall,
objective and complete view of any
situation.
A person with a good situational
awareness quickly rises to the
occasion and takes over charge, no
matter what the situation.

4. What is Situational Awareness?
 It is the degree of accuracy by which
one's perception of his current
environment mirrors reality.
 It is if fact the art of maintaining a
realistic understanding of the current
situation by constantly reviewing the
situation and ones awareness of it.
 In other words it can be defined as the
degree of understanding the realities of
the situation.

5. Factors That Reduce S A
 Insufficient Communication
 Fatigue / Lack of Rest
 Task Overload / Task Underload
 Group Mindset
 “Press on Regardless" Philosophy
 Degraded Operating Conditions
 Stress and Other Medical conditions
 Overconfidence due to seniority and
experience

6. The various states of mind
 Alert and Ready
- Professionals always ‘ready for action’
- The normal state during duty hours
- Situationally aware and mentally alert
- Looks for signals that things may go
wrong
- Mind always in full control.
- Such people are efficient and capable.
- - Can be trusted to carry out duties.

7.  Inattentive and Lethargic
 An undesirable state of mind for any
seafarer
 Most accidents occur during this state.
 Occurs when people are fatigued / tired.
 Demotivation / lack of job satisfaction.
 Generally occurs when everything is going
fine and no known problems
 Mind drops guard and drifts
 Monotony in job and overconfidence.
 Cannot grasp situation and late to react.

8.  Panicky
 Most avoidable state of mind
 Panic during emergency and unable to
react.
 Heart beats faster, B.P. rises, mind stops
working, numbness sets in
 Act illogically and contrary to knowledge
and training
 Stop, take a few deep breaths - increases
oxygen supply and revitalizes the brain
 Go over the situation and start afresh
 If repeated mind control training.

9. Control of State of Mind
Motivation
Training and Experience

Overdependance on Automation
Workload and stress

10. The OODA (Observe-orient-
decide-Act)
OBSERVE -
What happened why did it happen?
Could this have been avoided ?
Who were present when the
incident occurred ?
Whose responsibility was it ?

11.  ORIENT –
 Why did the person responsible for the
incident act the way he did?
 Was there another course of action
open to him?
 What would I have done in a similar
scenario ?
 What sort of pressures were acting on
the person responsible ?
 Could the whole incident been avoided
with another course of action ?

12.  DECIDE – THEN ACT
 What must I do now to rectify the
situation?
 2. Should I replace the person
responsible, is he fit enough mentally to
continue with the task ?
 3. Is there any way to get out of the
situation ?
 4. Do I need extra inputs, if so, what ?
 5. What is the best course of action now

13. Control of State of Mind
 Motivation
 Training and Experience
 Overdependance on Automation
 Workload and stress

14.  Crisis Management on ships
and Handling the Media
The world believes the media
A crisis is what the media thinks it
is
Penguins matter more than
seafarers
You need to organise and be
prepared to deal with the press

15. Dealing with the press is as much
part of containing the crisis
A strong, confident senior manager
speaking out openly is vital
Establish yourself as a source of
information and set the agenda
Identify third parties who can damage
you and find ways to neutralize them
Try to have all your accidents in poor
countries away from the USA or
Europe

16. Decision making
Approach the problem analytically
Remember every problem has its
own solution. Be positive and think
positive.
Get all possible feedback about the
problem before making any
decision
Involve colleagues and juniors in
the decision making process.

17. Have a brainstorming session.
Experience is the biggest backup that
senior officers have. and must be
utilized.
Do not vacillate. Once you have taken
a decision, stick by it unless it
becomes obvious that it was not the
right decision.
Search for opportunities within
problems. Do not run away from
problems.

18. CRITICAL THINKING
"Believe nothing, no matter where
you read it, or who said it
-even if I have said it - unless it
agrees with your own reason and
your own common sense.“
- The Buddha

19. CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking is the use of those
cognitive skills or strategies that
increase the probability of a desirable
outcome.
It is purposeful, reasoned and goal
directed
Using skills that are thoughtful and
effective for the particular context and
type of thinking task.

20. Why is critical thinking important
The ability to make the right
assumptions at all times
Keep our lines of communications
open
Avoid stagnation and atrophy and are
willing to challenge the current
thinking.
extremely important for us to be able
to think on our feet
keep our lines of communications open

21. Absence of critical thinking
 Blindly reproduce the damaging
reactions we have learned without any
rethinking.
 We blindly accept at all justifications
given by organizations / political leaders
 We blindly believe TV and newspapers.
 We blindly trust political commercials.
 We blindly accept and say that if the
textbook / organizationsays it must be
true.

22. Attributes of a critical thinker
Asks pertinent questions
Assesses statements and arguments
Is able to admit a lack of
understanding or information
Has a sense of curiosity and is
interested in finding new solutions
Is able to clearly define a set of
criteria for analyzing ideas

23. Willing to examine beliefs,
assumptions, and opinions and weigh
against facts
Listens carefully to others and is able
to give feedback
Sees that critical thinking is a lifelong
process of self-assessment
Suspends judgment until all facts
have been gathered and considered
Looks for evidence to support
assumption and beliefs

24. Able to adjust opinions when new
facts are found
Looks for proof
Examines problems closely
Able to reject information that is
incorrect or irrelevant

25. Six Cognitive Skills
Interpretation
Analysis
Evaluation
Inference
Explanation
Self-regulation

26. BRAINSTORMING
Important and strategic decisions
are best arrives at through
consulting the team members
Interactive exchange of ideas,
deferring judgement until the end
Good way to quickly generate
many diverse ideas

27. Encourage active participation of all
group members.
Develop a high-energy, enthusiastic
climate.
Do not criticize or compliment ideas as
they are presented.
Encourage creative thinking, including
out of the box ideas.
Build and expand on the ideas of others.
Avoid stopping when the ideas slow
down

28. To conduct a brainstorming session
Review the guidelines for brainstorming.
Clearly state the question and the time
limit (15-60 minutes).
Members take turns calling out ideas.
Record each idea exactly as presented
on a flipchart
Discus the ideas to ensure that all
members agree

29. Advantages of brainstorming
Throws up new solutions to
problems
Develops good team spirit
Motivates all members of the team
Increases the situational
awareness
Improves leadership qualities

30. MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS
"...there is nothing in the world as
interesting as people, and one can
never study them enough."
Vincent Van Gogh

31. MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS
Presence of Multinational crew on
board ships
Interaction with local populace in
ports either in board or ashore
Need to work effectively as a
cohesive unit

32. Better understanding of crew
members from different
nationalities and cultures
Level of communication will
automatically increase
Better teamwork and a more
efficient ship
Lack of multicultural awareness will
lead to misunderstandings and
breakdown of communication

33. Cultural Knowledge: Familiarization
with selected cultural characteristics,
history, values, belief systems, and
behaviors of the members of another
ethnic group.
Cultural Awareness : developing
sensitivity and understanding of
another ethnic group. This usually
involves internal changes in terms of
attitudes and values.

34. Cultural Sensitivity : Knowing that
cultural differences as well as
similarities exist, without assigning
values, i.e., better or worse, right or
wrong, to those cultural differences.
Cultural competence: The ability
which enables us to work
effectively in cross-cultural
situations.

35. Cultural Perceptions
 Understanding commonly accepted
practices, particularly in work and family
dynamics, can help to identify differences
that volunteers need to be cognizant of and
consider when interacting with crew of a
different culture.
 Of utmost importance is remembering that
differences are not labeled good nor bad,
just different. Respect and dignity for all
individuals is the key.

36. CULTURE SHOCK
First Stage : The new culture
kindles excitement and fascination
Second stage : A crisis sets in. As
more and more differences occur,
the excitement turns to
disappointment
Third stage : Adjustment phase.
Fourth Stage : Adaptation phase

37.  Relationship-focussed cultures
 Generally wary of strangers and
 Take their own time to build up trust
 Does not mingle with other crew members
easily and prefers to remain in groups.
 Do not make first contact and prefer
indirect communication
 Believe in relationships, thus forming
groups within their own culture.
 Avoids conflict and confrontation.
 Example : Chinese, Philippine crew

38. Deal-focussed cultures
No inhibitions in mixing with
strangers
Direct and forthright in their
dealings and Prefers direct contact
Rely on business sense rather than
personal relationships in their deals
Example : Americans.

39. Formal hierarchical cultures
Formality shown as sign of respect
Values status differences and
Prefers to be called by family name
rather than first name
Maintains differences between
officers and crew as well as junior
and senior officers on board
Example : Indians

40. Informal cultures
Informal behaviour not regarded as
disrespectful
Call and expect to be called by their
first names rather than family
names
Do not believe in status differences
and Mingles with other crew
members
Example : Australians, Philippines

41. Polychronic cultures
Informal with colleagues and
seniors
More importance on personal
relationships.
Schedules and deadlines are
usually flexible
Mingles with other crew members
on board
Example : Russians

42. Monochronic cultures
Certain amount of formality
maintained
Importance on status differences.
Punctuality and Schedules are very
important
Deadlines are rigid and respected.
Does not like to mingle with senior
officers and vice versa
Example : South Koreans

43. Reserved cultures
Formal with colleagues and seniors,
keeps clear of senior officers
Speak softly, interrupt less and More
comfortable with silence
Do not believe in close contact – prefer
to keep their distance
Avoid eye contact , gestures and facial
expressions.
Example : Japanese

44. Expressive cultures
Opposite of reserved cultures
Speak loudly and engage in
conversations.
Prefers closeness to distance and
makes direct eye contact
Liberal use of gestures and facial
expressions.
Does not believe in status differences
Classic example : Italians

45. With Philippino crew, remember
to be informal, address them by
their first names and try to build up
a personal rapport. Enquire about
the family and try to be cheerful
and friendly.
With Indian crew, maintain status
difference, do not try to be too
personal and avoid calling them by
first names till you get to know each
other.

46. With Chinese crew, it may be
difficult to get across to them due to
the language difficulties. But
Chinese generally are hard workers
and do not shy away from work.
But they love to be in their own
group and needs an extra effort to
make them mingle with other
nationalities

47. Generally Asian crew can be quite
easy to get along with as they
maintain their formality and status
difference.
East Europeans are happy-go-
lucky and do not like to be
confronted. As long as things are
going fine they are great. Thus they
should not be confronted or
cornered

48. MAN MANAGEMENT& TEAMWORK
Man management is the art of
managing people
A manager is a man who gets things
done with people and other resources
in order to reach an objective.
He coordinates the activities of others
and thus it is important for him to learn
the art of managing people.

49. Motivation can be done round the
clock.
 It can take the form of official
meetings, get togethers, one to one
talk sessions, during emergency drills
and so on.
Juniors must be given due respect and
genuine mistakes must be pardoned
and turned into an opportunity for
training so that it does not re-occur.

50. Motivational Techniques
People can be disciplined only be a
man who is disciplined himself.
Boost the self confidence of juniors by
showing trust in them. Their sense of
responsibility will be fired by this.
Never raise your voice or lose your
temper for irrelevant matters.
A firing is more effective if done in a
calm composed voice

51. Earn the respect of juniors by your own
actions and behaviour and not by
pulling rank on them.
Raise your voice on important
occasions to show that you are angry
and will not tolerate such shortcomings
in future
Do not be sarcastic, point out
shortcomings in a straightforward
manner

52. Always be just, but never too kind, for
kindness on board is mistaken for
weakness
Prepare a training programme for
juniors. Senior Officers must take
special interest in training and
educating the juniors
All meetings, drills, brainstorming
sessions etc., are to be taken very
seriously and no laxity is to be tolerated
in this respect

53. All company procedures are to be
strictly followed and senior officers
should never tolerate any criticism of
the company
Safety should be given paramount
importance and a safety culture must
be encouraged on board
Welfare of the crew should be taken
seriously. Motivation can only come
from a crew who believe that their
interests are taken care of.

54. Demotivation
Demotivation is one of the major
causes of human error
Leads the mind to waver and
concentration levels to drop
Can lead to wrong judgment on the
bridge, in engine room etc
Demotivation and lack of concentration
may be caused due to fatigue, lack of
motivation or mental stress.

55. affect the performance of the team as
a whole
team leaders to remain motivated at all
times and keep all their members
motivated at all times
Can be caused due to lack of job
satisfaction
 May be also due to personal problems
on board or at home
Team leaders must try to find out the

56. State of a Team
Optimum State (+1)
- Workload and stress are optimum
- Always awake and alert
- Motivated and efficient
Concerned State (+2)
- Workload and stress increasing
- Time load
- Worries start affecting productivity

57. Inattentive State (-2)
- Boredom and carelessness together
- Tendency to make critical mistakes.
- Critical situation may arise unaware.
Critical Phase (-3)
- Crisis has set in unaware
- Time not enough to correct unless urgent
actions taken
- Confusion and lack of understanding
- Once situationally aware, go directly to
+3 phase.

58. Alarmed State (-3)
- Overloaded and Unable to keep time
schedule
- Cannot think clearly
- Stress level nearing panic state
Bored State (-1)
- Low workload
- Feeling of boredom and attention level
going down
- Motivation decreases and Fatigue sets.

59. Leadership Styles
 Tiger : Tiger style of leaders mix high
authority with high assertiveness. They
are good performers but bad man
managers
- Quite defensive team members
- Poor communication within the team
- Low assertiveness of team members
- Team morale and confidence level low
- Team members do not take any
initiative on their own

60. Disadvantages
- Authoritarian Style
- May have a tendency to do or to
control everything
- Does not believe in teamwork
- One-way communication
- Does not like challenges to
leadership
- Does not delegate

61. Advantages :
- Believes in performance
- Takes full responsibility for his or
her decisions
- Is loyal to the team

62. Penguin : Low assertiveness. They
are unable to exert the assertiveness
that their position demands.
Week leaders with no authority and
thus not taken seriously enough.
Everyone in the team starts to work
independently and soon the team falls
apart.
Believes that people are more
important that performance and that if
people are well treated, they will

63. Advantages :
- Good man manager
- Good Listener
- Forgives easily and avoids conflicts
- Positive thinking
- Good working atmosphere

64. Disadvantages :
- Low assertiveness and does not
challenge others assertiveness
- Too supportive of team members
- Too much unimportant
communication
- Tolerates lower standards on board
- Little ‘on job’ training

65. Effect on team members :
- Low respect for leadership
- Morale down due to perception of
weak leadership
- Lowering of professional standards
and efficiency declines

66.  Sheep : These leaders are assertive to
a degree but gets diverted by public
opinion even if it goes against their own
ideas and logic.
 Does not like to stand up and convince
others to do what they feel is right.
 Too much flexibility makes the team
members voice their opinion too freely
and thus no consensus on important
issues.
 This management style is average and
so is the performance of the team.

67. Advantages :
Promising management style
Adjusts well to surroundings
Accepts challenges
 Disadvantages :
 Compromises performance or team
spirit to achieve goals
 Communication could be better
 Training standards average

68. Snail : This is the worst
management style.
- The performance level of the team is
low and so is the morale of the team.
- There is a serious lack of motivation
and such leaders are often lacking in
any team oriented goals.
Advantages : Nil

69. Disadvantages :
- Low assertiveness and weak authority
- Not interested in job / does bare
minimum
- Inferiority complex, poor communicator
and avoids conflicts
- Little training
Effect on team members :
Low team morale
Team performance very low

70. Dolphin : The Dolphin style of
management is the best one.
It combines the best of all the styles
and results in strong and effective
leadership and teamwork.
The performance level is high as
well as the man management.
Disadvantages : Nil

71.  Advantages :
- Best management style
- Good communication
- Accepts challenges and delegates
jobs
- Knows strengths and weaknesses
of team mates
- Positive and optimistic style of
management

72. Effect on team members :
- High team morale and confidence
- Good communication within the
team
- Highly motivated team
- Very good performance and high
professional standards

73.  Analysis : The best style is the dolphin, but
others also have some advantages.
 Each leader should adapt his or her style to
the situation at hand.
 A tiger may be ideal for creating order out of
chaos in emergency situations.
 In the presence of inexperienced people, it
may be good to be more of a penguin.
 In periods of low activity, a sheep may even
be adequate.
 Every leader must do his own analysis and
constantly upgrade his management style to
achieve best results.

74. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Performance management is the
systematic process by which a y
involves its employees, as
individuals and members of a
group, in improving organizational
effectiveness in the
accomplishment of agency mission
and goals.

75. Employee performance management
includes:
Planning work and setting
expectations,
Continually monitoring performance,
Developing the capacity to perform,
Periodically rating performance in a
summary fashion, and
Rewarding good performance.

76. Aim of Performance Management
Achieving the goals of the organisation
and the community
Prioritising what gets done and making
sure there are enough resources.
Ensuring local authorities provide
value for money
Motivating and managing staff
Providing customer satisfaction

77. Basic Steps in a Performance
Appraisal
 Observations to track performance
- commitment, dedication, job competence
Exchange ongoing feedback about
performance
- more than one source so that no biases.
Conduct a performance appraisal
- Includes documentation of expected
results

78.  If performance does not meet
desired performance standards
- the next step is to make a
performance development plan.
This plan clearly conveys how the
conclusion was made that there was
inadequate performance, what actions
are to be taken and by whom and
when, when performance will be
reviewed again and how.

79. Benefits
Helps you think about what results
you really want
Depersonalizes issues. Appraiser
focus is on behaviors and results
Validates expectations - having
measurable results can help
Helps ensure equitable treatment of
employees

80. Optimizes operations on board
Cultivates a change in perspective
from activities to results
Supports ongoing communication,
feedback and dialogue
Performance is seen as an ongoing
process, not a one-time event
Provides specificity for further training
and improvements
Redirects attention from bottom-up

81. LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATION
Leadership is that rare quality which
enables a man to lead from the front.
There are no born leaders.
Leadership is acquired through a lot of
hardwork and dedication.
Good leaders spend a lot of time and
energy honing their competence as
well as their man management skills

82. Major Leaderships Traits
 Commitment : The committed carry on with
their work, even if disheartened or frustrated.
 Communication. Not just what you say and
write, but how well it is done and how well
you are understood and to hear the others
 Competence. A leader must have the
requisite knowledge of the job to be
respected and obeyed.
 Courage. The confidence to go against
established procedures

83. Qualities of a Good Leader
Integrity : It is a measure of a persons
inner values and beliefs even when an
easier and more advantageous path is
available
Dedication : Dedication means
spending whatever time and energy on
a task required to get the job done,
rather than giving it whatever time you
have available.

84.  Magnanimity : A magnanimous leader
gives credit where it is due. No backbiting &
accepts personal responsibility for failures
 Humility : It means understanding that you
are not inherently superior to others and
consequently that they are not inferior to
you. However it does not mean debasing
oneself or having a low self-esteem. It
means behaving is a dignified manner
 Creativity : A creative person thinks
differently, out of the box, so to say and
take a new and different viewpoint on things

85. Leadership Functions
 Organisation
 Planning
 Staffing
 Directing
 Controlling

86. Assertiveness
PASSIVE
- Overly courteous
- "Beats around the bush"
- Avoids Conflicts
- "Along for the ride."

87. ASSERTIVE
Active Involvement
Readiness to take action
Provide useful information
Makes suggestions

88. OVER AGGRESSIVE
- Domination
- Intimidation
- Abusive / Hostile

89. Too High Authority
 Total Command expected
 No communication skills n does not delegate
 Performance oriented n needs to prove.
 Juniors silenced by such leaders
 Even if leader makes a blunder, juniors
hesitant to correct them for fear of reprisal
 Surrounded by a coterie of ‘Yes men’
 Efficiency levels drop and team commits
mistakes

90. Too Low Assertiveness
Unable to exert pressure on juniors
Cannot gain respect as a team leader
Unaware of what is expected
Lacks communication and managerial skills
Too much confusion as juniors try to assert
themselves
Personality clash and Team works in
confusion / efficiency levels drop

91. Tips for Management Level Officers
 Earn the trust of the juniors - earned by
dedication, commitment and honesty
 Building Enthusiasm - meetings and
brainstorming sessions, giving pep talks,
being positive even when the going is not
so good
 Play Games - stress busters and relaxes
both mind and body
 Get Involved in order to know the ground
realities – team is motivated

92. Some More Leadership Qualities
Partnership and voice
Vision and values
Knowledge and daring
Savvy and persistence
Personal qualities

93. Delegation
 Why people don’t delegate
- Quality : If you want a job done properly,
do it yourself
- Time : By the time I show him, I can do it
twice
- Comfort : like doing the job and I do it
well
- Risk : What if he makes a mistake ?
- Power : But I will lose control. What will
be left for me to do ?

94. Thank You for paying
attention