CO-OPERATION BETWEEN EMPLOYEE AND MANAGEMENT TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this thesis is to carry out research on the effect of the management and employee relationship on productivity in an organization. This thesis project uses Mobil producing Nigeria Unlimited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil as a case study. The primary focus of this work is on the factors that can improve the relationship in the work place to enhance productivity.
The research was completed by reviewing theories on human resource management. Interviews were conducted by phone and email to obtain direct information for the purpose of this study. The researcher has also made use of EBooks forms to further shed light to the topic of this study. Data were collected and analyzed using a quantitative research method. Open-ended questions were provided in a questionnaire and responses analyzed in order to facilitate evaluation of the effect of management and employee relations in the organization.Suggestions and recommendations were made based on the results of the research on the issues identified by the study which affect the organization’s work-force and management. As a result of the research findings the need for a healthy relationship between management and employees was affirmed, and methods of utilizing this to enhance productivity in any organization and reasons for why this is important were disclosed. The study highlights the importance of effective human resource management as an essential aspect of any organization.
Introduction
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 manage-ment relationship in the oil producing industries. It is based on this background that I am mo-tivated 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 stud-ies, 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, organiza-tions earn higher incomes with very good profit which leaves the organization in a better po-sition 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 compatibil-ity between employee and management. An employee will be highly dedicated, productive and also co-operative if heshe believes that by such co-operation hisher 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 un-likely 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 organi-zation, 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).
1.1 Background 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 Incorpo-rated 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 NNPCMPN joint venture plans to carry out Hydro cyclone Sand Checks on flowing wells locat-ed 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 chemi-cal product. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Mobil operates worldwide oil and gas ex-ploration 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 Ni-geria 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, Telecommuni-cations, 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.