TRANS- ASIA SHIPPING LINES,INC.

COMPANY PROFILE

A. HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Inc. is uniquely positioned as a Cebu-based company

with unsurpassed experience in the Visayas-Mindanao area. Their operation, which

employs more than 300 people, is one of the leaders in the field of cargo handling,

passage and route development.

Their strategy is to build operations into market leaders in every route they ply,

each with the support of our extensive knowledge of the Visayas-Mindanao area and their

long-standing relationship with their customers. Through a balance of cash producing

activities, investment in fleet modernization and route development, they aim to produce

sustained growth.

The company was incorporated on March 25, 1974 as Solar Shipping Lines, Inc.

However, on October 16, 1974, the company decided to change its corporate name to

TRANS-ASIA SHIPPING LINES, INC. with Julian G. Sy Sr. as its President and

Chairman of the Board of Directors. The company was then a key in the development of

trade between Cebu and Cagayan and Cebu and Butuan. They haven't stopped since.

They have developed several ports in the Visayas and Mindanao, which are now centers

of economic activities. Hence, there synonymity with route development.

B. VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

Vision Statement

To be the Leading Domestic Shipping Company

Mission Statement

We will provide transport services for the best interests of our customers, employees,

shareholders and the community.

We shall endeavor to excel in customer service by continuously cultivating skills,

competencies, positive attitude and performance results. Our business relationships are

productive, customer focused and service-oriented.

We shall further enhance the value of our services by contributing efforts to the

protection of our environment.

Core Values

Growth and development

Hard work and productivity

Continuous improvement

Service to customers above all else

Work with passion and commitment

C. Recruitment and Selection

The company uses methods of recruitment and selection such as the (a) use of

media, specifically through the use of newspaper and the internet; (b) employee referrals/

recommendations ; (c) job centers; they also participate in (d) job fair; (e) University

relations/ educational institutions; and (f) recruitment agencies.

Most of the time the company prefers to use the media as a way of recruitment.

It’s the best way of recruiting people. Currently the company has an active website for

job seekers access. Second is the employee referral, in the company there is a 99%

chance of being hired to all the recommended person. But of course, a selection

procedure should be followed; it would also depend on the qualifications of the

recommended person. The company is also participating in job fairs, they are connected

to the so called Public Employment Service Office or PESO---a non-fee charging multi-

employment service facility or entity established or accredited pursuant to Republic Act

No. 8759 otherwise known as the PESO Act of 1999. There are also chances for OJT’s

and interns to be hired in the company depending on their performance during the

training period. Interns and OJT’s are endorsed by the college dean from college or

university with contract and agreement with the company. Lastly is with the use of

recruiting agencies, the company is currently with JobsDB.com a recruiting agency.

In the forecasting process, the company ensures that there should always be

reserve. And when there is a surplus on labor, then they end the contracts of some

employees. Mostly the contractual employees, most especially in the sales department are

the ones being eliminated in cases like this. The company ensures that there should be a
balance between the work force and the customer demand. With this they can fulfill the

goal of the company.

D. Training and Development

Training and development is one of the major task of the HR Department. It’s a

process wherein every employee is asks in a form questionnaire relating to their

respective training needs. On the other hand the employees are also measured by their

superiors thru the performance evaluation, wherein the employee are subjected to a

review in his/her performance.

The Human Resource Department is the one that conduct the trainings. They

conduct trainings based on the Training Needs Assessment result. Mostly they provide

trainings like the customer services training, team building and management trainings.

Customer service skills should be touched since the employees in the company is in

contact with the people most especially those assigned as crews in the vessels. Team

building is also necessary because most of the jobs entail group cooperation and unity.

And lastly, management trainings are also essential since some jobs demands managerial

skills. The company believes that productivity is the result of man power capability and

attitude to the job.

E. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The efforts of every employee for a job well done as well as the employees’ flaws

are recognized by the company. With this, the company provides a lot of compensation

and benefits.

For regular employees they have the so called Salary and Benefits, under this is

the so called Health Management Organization which ensures the health and security of

every employee. HMO provides benefits like maternity allowances, accident and death

insurance, health insurance, plus the 15 days sick leave with pay, retirement benefits,

cash advance, etc. When an employee is sanction by the company to a particular business

trip the employee can receive benefits like fare discount, travel allowances, rice

allowance, free uniform, privilege pass, etc.

On the other hand, contractual employees only receive basic pay or the 13th month

pay.

F. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

As of now, the company did not face issues like sexual harassment and other

violent issues. Employees who violated the company rules and regulations are put into

disciplinary procedures. First, the human resource manager would inform the employee

or give the first notice, then he/she is ask to depend himself/ herself. The employee is

given 48 hours to answer or clarify his/her violations. If the employee was not able to

clarify/ depend it within that period of time he/she will receive the second notice. The
employee could bring his/ her lawyer to depend his/ her stand. If there is no response,

tendency is, the employee will be terminated.

Before the termination, the case will be passing through first at the so called CBA

or Collective Bargaining Agreement---it’s where the case would be discussed and

analyzed. Sanctions will be based on the CBA decision. Employees with small violations

will only be sanction to suspension. The possible sanction depends as to how big an

employee has violated.

II. EVALUATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

A. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

In this area, using a media specifically the use of newspapers is one of the best

methods on recruiting people. There are several advantages and disadvantages when

using this particular method of recruiting people. On the advantage side, using media

allows the company to reach a huge number of people in a given geographic area, and

exposure to the company ad is not limited, readers can go back to the message again and

again if so desired. On the other hand, the disadvantages are, advertisement space can be

so expensive, the company ad has to compete against the clutter of other advertisers,

including the giants ads run by other companies as well as the ads of your competitors,

and with the increasing popularity of the Internet, newspapers face declining readership

and market penetration. A growing number of readers now skip the print version of the
newspaper and instead read the online version of the publication. To deal with these

disadvantages, the company also uses the internet. But again, this method has also

disadvantages and advantages. Advantages are, internet advertising is huge, with growth

of amount of information in the internet the people also spend more time with it. Another

advantage is the fact that internet advertising is less expensive than the traditional method

like the use of newspaper. And internet advertisement has a larger range compare to the

traditional advertising method. In the case of Trans- Asia Shipping Line Company, they

made their recruiting procedure more flexible because they both use the traditional way

of advertising and the internet which is more popular and accessible to a big number of

people.

Another method is the employee referral. One of its advantages when using this

kind of method is the fact that it saves money and time. The company no longer pays to

big agencies and advertising companies to look for people. But when I interviewed the

HR manager, he did mention about the 99 percent chance of being hired when an

applicant was recommended by an employee. I think this is something bias, and it is

unfair for the applicants who do not have any contact with any of the employee inside the

company. At that way, that is more advantageous to the applicants who do have a contact

inside the company like relatives and siblings. But the company also put every applicant

in the right process recruitment procedures.

Participating in job fairs is also an excellent method. It is easier to look for

applicants. The company could get a large pool of candidates in which to draw.

Connecting with job agencies could be less hassle but albeit expensive. Cooperating with
educational institutions is also a convenient way of recruiting people, plus it also ensures

the company for good quality applicants.

To sum up everything in the recruitment and selection process at the Trans- Asia

Shipping Lines is shows that the company has a flexible and versatile recruitment

process.

B. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

What is excellent about the Trans- Asia Shipping Lines is the way they treat their

employees. They treat everyone of them as the life of their company. They consider

manpower as vital to the success of the company.

But for me, the questionnaire method is not that so effective. Though using this

method of assessing the employees is not costly in terms of time and money, there are

tendencies that the employees cannot be assessed well. Employees can ‘false good’ in the

questionnaire. Thus, it shows that using a questionnaire cannot gain a valid result.

Trainings that are provided by the company, mostly, team building, management and

customer service training are all significant to the success of the company. But I think

they should add move training programs.

On the other hand, when supervisors and managers assessed the performance of

the employees could be more effective and valid. But the assessment result could be

subjective, tendency is, there could still bias.

C. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The company appraise twice a year, it could be more effective if they conduct the

performance appraisal more often than that. For me, conducting it ones every two months

is more effective, though it could be hassle.

The compensation and benefits in the company is very reinforcing to the

employees. With those benefits the employees would tend to improve their performance.

The company gives importance to the employees.

D. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

The company has a strong, fair or unbiased disciplinary procedure. The fact that

they have this CBA or Collective Bargaining Agreement they give chance to the

employees who did have a violation to depend himself/ herself, another one is they

analyze the case very well. The company makes decision as to what sanctions are they

going to give based on their analysis. Sanctions would depend as to how big violation an

employee committed.

Sanction like the termination could be threatening to every employee. Most likely,

the employees in this sense would be disciplined, they would tend to comply or follow to

all the company rules and regulations. Behavior towards the job is also vital to the

productivity of the employees.

 University of San Carlos
Department of Psychology

Human Resource Management

(Psychology 116)

Company Profile of TRANS-ASIA

SHIPPING LINE, INC.

Submitted by:
Mark Anthony D. Porcadilla
BS Psychology III

Submitted to:
Cholen Osorio, Ma
Class Instructor