The need for a new philosophy of port management and organisation : effective responses to contemporary challenges

Abstract

The application of new technologies and the emergence of ‘new’ transport systems prompt significant and irreversible changes on the structure of the port industry. Analysing the characteristics of this transformation, the paper suggests that new forms of port organisation and management are essential. In this vein, the paper emphasises the increasing importance of flexible specialisation of port services production, and argues that the development of intra-port competition, the presence of employment patterns advancing the utilisation of specialised labour, and the application of total quality management, evolve as integral and complementary characteristics of a contemporary competitive port.