Introduction

Within this analysis our focus will be on describing the second area of the organizational environment, the institutional environment, by specifying legal and institutional aspects that can influence an offshore access provider’s capability to live up to the expectations as imposed by society.

offshore transfer

Legal Matters

The legal environment turns out to be an important influence regarding safety requirements, environmental policies and regulation in the offshore oil & gas industry and offshore wind industry. An example may be the recent Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which resulted in additional requirements and regulation concerning safety. Events such as this show how politics can influence the offshore industry, which additionally impacts all operations from the offshore access providing firms. Safety precautions generally have a significant effect on employees of these companies and their customers. This really is primarily because of the fact their safety needs to be guaranteed through the service that's provided.

An accident on sea could cause casualties, which would not only considerably damage their reputation and reduce share of the market, but also most significantly increase the risk for loss of lives. Therefore, the companies should not forget that ultimately they are dealing with human lives which it is their responsibility to ensure the safety of the and customer’s workers.

The Threat of Environmentalists

Another institutional phenomenon that is closely associated with the nature from the oil & gas industry is increasing environmentalism. Organizations for example Greenpeace are increasingly emphasizing using alternative energy and also the cultural sector shows an inclination towards a sustainable lifestyle. This has an adverse effect on future growth potential in the offshore oil & gas industry.

offshore gangway

However, most offshore access companies also operate in the offshore wind industry, which would on the other hand, experience a positive effect on future growth potential. In addition to the stakeholders that were discussed earlier, customer’s employees, natural environment and governments, there are numerous other parties affecting or are affected by offshore access providers.

Importance of Qualified Personnel

Noteworthy would be the customers and employees. The firm’s employees have to deliver state-of-the-art technological offshore solutions, which require great skills and specialized knowledge. Without their motivation and dedication there'd be no realization of growth and finally profits whatsoever. Finally, the customers form another main axis from the companies’ business, their rely upon the systems has to be safeguarded in order to increase share of the market and be a big player within the offshore market.

When analyzing the organizational environment an essential distinction is created between an organization’s task environment and its institutional environment. Here, our attention will be focused on describing task environment from the offshore transport industry, including all factors that exert an affect on remarkable ability to complete their goals. This can be done by making use of the following three theoretical concepts: munificence, dynamism and complexity, as such introduced by Aldrich (1979).

heave compensated gangway

Munificence from the Environment

Firstly, munificence translates itself because the ability to that the environment permits continuous growth. In general, the product range of a business within this niche serves both offshore wind industry and offshore oil & gas industry. Both industries allow for a considerable development of the firm and, therefore, provide enough capacity and opportunities for continuous growth. Furthermore, on the product level the merchandise cannot be easily substituted by new techniques because of the very high costs involved with product and also the protection of techniques used, by patents. Thus, increasing the likelihood of possible and steady growth for the firm’s products later on.

Dynamism

However, the internal organization and structure from the companies seems to limit potential growth, as a result they appear to be not able to exploit the growth potential supplied by the industry’s munificence. In both industries there is considerable brand awareness amongst customers and an ineffective and unstructured marketing strategy could be a reason significantly reducing growth. Secondly, in terms of dynamism companies appears to act inside a relatively stable and predictable environment, thus implying a low rate of change. Although the market in which the offshore access providers operate keeps growing quickly, the character of the product demanded and the service provided continues to be same. Therefore, alterations in customer demand are unlikely and uncertainty arises for the most part out of changes occurring in the legal and physical sector. The second is undoubtedly important because more stormy seas, due to changing weather, increases potential accidents, which would severely harm the trustworthiness of the organization with all of its consequences.

offshore access system

Complexity

Finally, the complexness of the offshore access environment is called highly complex. This really is mainly brought on by the extensive amount of technical knowledge essential for producing the firm’s physical product (the heave compensated gangway). This counts for the engineers of those companies themselves but also for suppliers of parts used in the finish product. Besides, highly specialized employers are utilized in order to build and operate the offshore access systems, that also indicate a higher amount of complexity involved in the production process.

Overall, it's figured there's moderate uncertainty. This relates to the low rate of change which was identified and the high degree of complexity.