CO-OPERATION BETWEEN EMPLOYEE AND MANAGEMENT TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

CHAPTER ONE

1Introduction

From one standpoint, human resources are the most important asset in the organization. From another point of view, management is responsible for organizing, coordinating, planning labor and other organizational resources in order to achieve the stated goals and objectives; Bratton & Gold (2003, 357). This situation creates a necessity of employer-employee relation-ship, which is good for the growth of any organization. Many researchers have carried out extensive research on productivity in organizations, but only relatively few studies have been conducted in the context examined in this thesis report which is the employee and management relationship in the oil producing industries. It is based on this background that I am motivated to fill the gap, by carrying out a practical study on evaluating and analyzing employee and management as it affects an oil producing company in Nigeria.

For a better and clearer perception of this research work, there would be an understanding about what the topic entails and its benefits in an organization. The researcher would also like to state that relationships between employees and management differ from one company to another, as well as one country to another. How to create a good relationship between employee and management so as to increase productivity has been the subject of many studies, examples of such relationship creation could be seminars, conferences, and workshops. It is well known that productivity is a critical factor in economics and social development, for it determines the standard of living of people of a country. When productivity is high, organizations earn higher incomes with very good profit which leaves the organization in a better position to stay in business and there will be job security for employees. But when productivity is low, there will be unemployment and employee lay-offs.

To improve employee-management relations, there has to be a certain degree of compatibility between employee and management. An employee will be highly dedicated, productive and also co-operative if he\she believes that by such co-operation his\her interest would be protected. This topic cannot be over emphasized because employee-management relationship is vital to the success of any company or business. If employees are not happy, then it is unlikely that they will make the customers happy. The organization is therefore throwing its profits and its business away. To be more precise, management should have the interest of employees at heart so as to know their needs and methods of satisfying those needs. There is a general belief that if the employee is recognized in the scheme of things within the organization, the positives are expected such as readiness to put in their best in terms of promoting efficiency, and reducing or eliminating waste.

This study will concentrate on the effect of employee-management relation as one of the measures to increase productivity in Mobil producing Nigeria Unlimited, Nigeria (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation).

1.1Background to the Company

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) was chosen by the researcher as a case study in which research study will be conducted for the thesis. Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, an oil company, engages in the offshore production of crude, condensate, and natural gas liquid. Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited was formerly known as Mobil Exploration Nigeria Incorporated and changed its name to Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited in 1969. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited operates as a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited is also an operator of the NNPC\MPN joint venture plans to carry out Hydro cyclone Sand Checks on flowing wells located in their joint venture (JV) acreage. All of its operations are offshore. MPN is the second largest producer of crude oil in Nigeria after Shell. The company operates in the integrated oil and gas industry; they are also engaged in the production and marketing petrochemicals (gasoline, motor oils, lubricants, marine and jet fuels, etc.) packaging films and other chemical product. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Mobil operates worldwide oil and gas exploration and producing business, a global marketing and refining complex, a network of pipe-lines. MOP has 300 employees to its credit.

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited has its administrative headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria and the operative base is located at the eastern part of Nigeria named Qua iboe terminal (Q.I.T) Eket in Akwa ibom state. The company is one of American multinational oil companies in Nigeria and it specializes in engineering and off-shore drilling.

MPN has offices in different parts of Nigeria where different operations are been carried out and also has six functional departments such as Accounting, Security, Drilling, Telecommunications, Purchasing and Transportation, all headed by a departmental manager. The researcher chose one of its bases in the eastern part named Port Harcourt. In this base their duty is to shift materials from the various oil servicing companies through one port to various rigs. Basically this base is called the supply base.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Every organization exists to achieve some objectives. However, organizational goals may not be achieved unless all the employees put in their best to achieve these set goals and objectives. Therefore, it can be said that in every organization, it is quite obvious that the prevailing socio-economic problems in Nigeria, such as, constant labor strike, unrest, rising unemployment etc., can be traceable to lack of co-operation between employee/management in most business organizations. Poor employee-management relation has been identified by Balogun (2002) as one of the contributing factors of low standard of living and economic development in Nigeria. How employee-management relation can be achieved have been a thing of concern in business organizations and its effect on productivity. This research is aimed at identifying the problems and to help suggest methods of solution to organizations using Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Port Harcourt as a case study.

1.3 Purpose/objective of the study

The purpose of this study is to access more possible ways through employee-management relation to increase productivity in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Port-Harcourt Nigeria. The study will also examine the strategies adopted by the management to improve the employee-management relation as to attain higher productivity level. It will also enable managers to adopt effective motivational strategies where necessary that would enhance positive attitude at work and to find out how the various management actions affect the behavior of employees at work. Moreover the study is expected to shed some light on employers and employees conflicts concerning productivity and reward. Finally the result of the study will highlight some issues on employee-management policies used in business organization.

1.4 Research hypothesis

As a guide to finding a probable solution a hypothesis was set to guide the thesis to arrive at necessary recommendation that will help the organisation. A hypothesis can be defined as a proposal set forth as an explanation for the outcome of some specified group in an event, either maintained as a provisional assumption to aid in research or received as highly probable in the event of facts discovered.

The following null hypotheses are tested in this study:

H01: Management does not engage in performance appraisal as a form of motivation.

H02: Financial incentive does not motivate staffs more than non-financial incentive.

1.5 Scope/limitation of the Study

This research will be limited to the facts collected from questionnaire as well as any other information gathered from interview by phone with staffs of the company, emails and information released on the company’s website. The objective and validity of any conclusion drawn from the research study will be limited by the accuracy of information given by respondents as well as phone interviews and material used. Therefore the research is specifically limited to Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Nigeria.

1.6     Assumptions

It is assumed that the subject of the study would give maximum and needed cooperation to the researcher through completing and returning the questionnaire. It is also assumed that the questionnaire returned will get to the researcher within a stipulated period, to aid the prompt completion of the research. The researcher has an expectation that at least 48% of the questionnaires that was sent to the company will be returned.