The port is part of the wider transport sector that forms economic engines of the endowed state. The extent to which a port would influence a populace economic wise may have basis on three rationales of interest (Alderton, 2008, p.84). First rationale is the level of support from top leadership quarters for port policies (Penton Media Inc., 2010, ¶14). In this sense, the leadership should seem to support sound policies. Such support may be in form of funds or favor. Labor wise, the port policies formulated should come in handy in recognizing the needs of the employees. This crosscuts mainly the occupational health and safety requirements, commensurate pay and rights.
The second rationale is establishing a reputation for the port such that in times of fundraising financial lenders have the will to support initiatives by the port. During harsh economic times, the port may be unable to meet its needs hence there is need to borrow to sustain its operations. This has direct implication on the job security of staff. The third rationale is the measure of ports efficiency. High economic performance translates to improved efficiency within the port operations. Improved performance will further imply that more personnel are employed to cater for the increased demand for the human resource (Penton Media Inc., 2010, ¶8).
When the port is working towards optimizing its potential then fewer resources go to waste. Efficiency in operations leads to economic growth thus staff are motivated with improved salary allocation. Actually, an Employment Impact Study (EIS) for a port will feature somehow the three rationales. According to Alderton, (2008, p.84) three main challenges face the undertaking an EIS. Conducting a comprehensive study may take longer time and require expanded financial budget. Some of the port operations are complex or sophisticated thus, clear accounts for such are uncertain. For instance, EIS done shortly after the Second World War attest this. Actually, study data were provided from different economic organs of the country (Alderton, 2008, p.85). The employment impact can be derived through three approaches as proposed by Mr Vleugels (Alderton, 2008, p.85). These are the benefit, input-output analysis as well as statistical data collation. In the benefit calculation, the impact figure is achieved by summing value additions of allied industries. The strength of net benefit is a function of gross profit and employee remuneration (Alderton, 2008, p.85).
Deriving the input-output analysis results will constitute extensive data generation and analysis. Lack of versed statistician to perform required operations may hinder the application of this approach. The collation of statistical data approach may involves mobilizing data that will indicate level of relation between activities of allied sectors as well as those that indicate social wellbeing of the populace. Alderton, gives case studies of Ports of Le Havre, Hong Kong and Callao (2008, p.85). Estimates in 1990s for the French Port of Le Havre value additions to the region in terms of industries, transport and commerce sectors were 7.2billion, 3.8billion and 2.3billion Francs, respectively. The Chinese Port of Hong Kong contributes one-fifth of the GDP. In 1994, it sustained one-fifth of the combined local populace commerce and work force. The Port of Callao in Peru constitutes more than half of the GDP.
Other issues that port managers may advance are security and corruption. Maritime piracy occurrences are prevalent as well as infiltration of contraband via port facility. All these have safety implications during shipping missions. Malpractices undermine performance of the port. With the increasing desire for maritime certification, port owners are laying emphases on discipline workforce.
References
Alderton, P. (2008). Port management and operation, (3rd ed.). London: Informa.
Penton Media Inc. (2010). 7 Steps to Transportation Management Excellence Part 2. Web.