Decision Making of Maritime Junior Watch Officers A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

The tanker Exxon Valdez and cruise ship Empress of the North were each involved in a major incident involving poor decision making by junior officers on watch, resulting in the grounding of their vessels.  The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the decision-making process of 15 maritime junior watch officers in a high-resolution simulation in adverse-condition scenarios.  Data collection utilized observations, interviews and a self-efficacy assessment.  For data analysis I used the constant comparative method, developing codes, which were analyzed and reduced to 3 key themes: (a) the Decision-Making Process, (b) Factors in Decision Making, and (c) Motivations and Solutions to Decision Making.  The findings suggested working or short-term memory; emotional intelligence; self-efficacy; and skills, rules and knowledge were major factors of how successfully novice decision makers made their choices.  At least 2 of these factors are within the affective domain.  The results indicated maritime educators should utilize teaching aids and methods that stimulate the affective domain, as early as possible in the education process, to promote growth in student decision-making skills.  The results also indicated that implementation of a mentoring program within the maritime industry and making it a part of normal practice for new officers will foster strong decision-making skills.  To that end, curriculum for leadership and managerial skills courses required in maritime education should include benefits of a mentoring program and how such a program should be implemented