ABSTRACT
The economic transformation, changes the economic management system by creating a totally different legal, economic, organisational and social basis supporting the launch of market mechanisms which might help to induce innovation and an improved level of economic effectiveness. The market economy forces companies to adjust to market conditions and ideally, requires them to be as completely self–sufficient and self–financing economic bodies as possible. The gradual introduction of the transformational processes has led to the creation in Polish maritime shipping firms of so–called state–owned ‘quasi–holdings’ of a capital group character. The main goals of changes in an organisational structure should be to makes the management system more efficient which means providing for not only the efficient functioning of the company but also the development of a communications system within the group as a whole. Strategic management is particularly important for maritime ship operating companies which function in direct contact with the world market and thus within an international framework.
