Career Path in the Chemical Industry - Book Report/Review Example

Career Path in the Chemical Industry Introduction An industry is a term used to refer to the production of services and goods within an economy. During the industrial revolution in the United States of America and Europe, manufacturing industries became the key sectors of production and this saw the crumble of both the feudal and mercantile economy. The industrial revolution was propagated by a successive number of advances in technology, particularly in coal and steel production. Coal was used for the provision of energy, was one of the most widely used forms of energy for steam engines. Steel on the other hand was being used for various technological inventions, for example, the manufacture engine blocks, manufacture of weapons, and the rail road which was the basic and most reliable form of transport during that time (Adams Media Inc, 2009). It is estimated that about a half of the world’s economic output or productivity is directly derived from the processes of manufacturing, hence, are full products of manufacturing industries. Many developed countries, for example, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Peoples Republic of China, and Germany as well as developing countries, for example, most of the countries in Africa, and some parts of Asia, significantly rely and depend on the manufacturing industry (Adams Media Inc, 2009). This is because there is a complicated web of interdependence between industries, the countries these are based in, and the economies of those particular countries. Classification There are various ways of classifying industries. The most commonly used is made up of 3 types of industries but due to advancement in knowledge scholars have deduced two more classifications of industries making them five in number. The first classification of industry is the primary industry also referred to as the extractive industry. It is usually fully involved with the extraction of natural resources from the earth’s environment. This industry includes activities such logging, agriculture, and mining (Plunkett, 2008). These industries are not involved in any processing activities this means that they sell the resources to other industries as they are directly retrieved from the earth’s atmosphere. The second classification of industry is the secondary industry. It is also referred to as the manufacturing industry. It is mainly involved in the activities that relate to the processing of raw materials they have gotten from primary industries (Adams Media Inc, 2009). They include a whole range of factories, for example, those that process meat, milk, and animal skin, those that refine metals, and even those involved in the manufacture of furniture. Some scholars add two more classifications of industry. These include the Quaternary and the Quinary Sector industries. The Quaternary industry is mainly involved in technology, research of science, and other high level duties or tasks (Cheney & De, 2002). They mainly include lawyers, social scientists, doctors, physical scientists. On the other hand, Quinary Sector industries are simply a collection of high level decision makers in an economy or society at large (Taylor & Parish, 2008). It is mainly composed of officials and executives in high risk fields such as the government, the media, institutions of higher education like universities, nonprofit organizations such as non-governmental organizations, and research institutions such as the CDCs. There are other classifications of industries and usually organized or classified using the various industrial classifications that exist. Some of these industrial classification criteria include the following; the global industrial classification standard which is a market based classification system of industries, and the Industry classification Benchmark that is wholly based on market research and is mainly used to classify finance based industries (Adams Media Inc, 2009). Both of these classification systems divide and categorize industries according to the market they target, similarity in their functions or activities, and the relations between the products produced. Industries can also be identified by the products they make. Here there exist various categories of industries, for example, the electronic industry, the chemical industry, the automotive industry, the petroleum industry, the software industry, the hospitality industry, the fish industry, the entertainment industry, the paper industry, cultural industry and many more. The Chemical Industry The chemical industry is an industry comprising of companies or factories that produce industrial chemicals. The chemical industry is mainly endowed with activities that relate to of raw materials, for example, air, metals, oil, water, and natural gas into more than 69,000 industrial chemicals. It is true to say that chemicals were being used throughout history however; the mass production of chemicals in industries was initiated with the industrial revolution (Adams Media Inc, 2009). One of the first chemicals to get produced from the onset of industrial revolution was sulfuric acid. This was mainly due to the scientific works of Joshua Ward, who discovered a way to make it that involved the manufacture of sulfur by heating saltpeter and allowing the sulfur to oxidize and combine with water to for the acid. This was followed with the production of other chemicals, for example, bleaching powder by Tenant Charles and this catalyzed the creation of the first chemical industrial enterprise. This chemical was produced though the process of reacting slaked lime and chlorine. There was the establishment of a factory afterwards in St. Rollox and more than 10,000 tons of the chemical had been produced by 1799. In the year 1791, Nicholas Lebcan came up with the Lebcan process which aided in the production of soda ash, a chemical that was used in the manufacture of glass, paper, soap, and textile. The 19th century saw an expansion in the manufacture of industrial chemicals and this was marked with the establishment of large chemical industries in the United States of America and Germany. Career path in the Chemical Industry Industrial chemists An industrial chemist works in various industries and these include polymers, plastics, food, and the chemical industry. With this, they wear a number of career titles; these may include plant manager, production process manager, research scientists, operations manager or development chemist. Industrial chemists are generally involved in the following activities; Innovation and product development here the industrial chemists make new chemicals meant to meet various specified needs (Adams Media Inc, 2009). They make keen observances o chemical reactions of their new chemical recipes in various conditions in order to determine if it’s fit for use in various applications. They are also involved in production plant design where there knowledge comes in handy in the construction of new plants. They work in teams with chemical engineers and guide architects on ways of properly designing chemical plants (Myers, 2003). Industrial chemists are also involved in process optimization. Here, the industrial chemists optimize processes to make sure they get large amounts of output from minimal resources as effectively and efficiently as possible. They are also involved in environmental monitoring and control, here they make sure that their work does not negatively affect the environment. They make sure that all chemical industrial works are aimed at ensuring there is minimal destruction of the atmosphere so as to sustain a safe and clean future (Adams Media Inc, 2009). Lastly, industrial chemists strive to make sure that they improve the efficiency as well as safety of their work here they come up with elaborate ways on making chemicals that are more efficient and safe to them. Lyondell Basell Lyondell Basell Company is a company is a multinational chemical company with both European and American roots. Its operating headquarters are based in Huston, London, and Texas. The company was born in the year 2007 after Basell Polyolefins bought and acquired Lyondell Chemical Company. In the year 2013, this company was one of the largest independent chemical companies in the United States of America (USA). In its establishment, it basically used facilities that belonged to the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). However, over the years the company has grown, this was highly facilitated by the stock swaps of 1997. Here, the company swapped its stocks with Millennium Chemicals and Occidental Chemicals. This led to the formation of Equistar Chemicals of which the above named companies were partners (Cheney & De, 2002). The company further moved to buy most of the shares owned by other companies on Equistar Chemicals and finally it had fully acquired Equistar Chemicals, making its subsidiary. The company went ahead and purchased Millennium Chemicals in the year 2004 for 2.3 billion dollars (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2001). The company has operations in over 5 continents and is said to have employed over 10,000 people across the globe. It is tops in the production of propylene Oxide all over the world and is the largest supplier of styrene monomer in North America. Other chemicals it produces include polythene, polypropylene, ethylene, and ETBE. As a potential employee, Lyondell Basell chemical company has a number of careers one can venture in. As a company it offers great opportunities to pursue ones career in very challenging and different environments. In each of the companies businesses which includes, chemicals, olephins, and plyolephins, which are highly competitive it’s a force to reckon with due to the value, determination, and integrity of its employees (Cheney & De, 2002). To aid in career decision making, the company has a career guidance portal, here, one has the opportunity to search for a job in the company. Features of the portal include the date when the job was posted, the job language, the job division, department and country, state, or location of the job. An example of a career available in the company is the position of operations supervisor located in Fairport Harbor. The supervisor shall be tasked with responsibility of leading and coordinating a team on the work shifts of the harbor. The potential candidate to this career opportunity should demonstrate a set of skills; these include the ability to make decisions in the absence of written guidelines or clear directions, manage and encourage personnel performance, influence, and guide and be a key advocate for the company (Adams Media Inc, 2009). Qualifications for this career position include a high school diploma, 5 or more years in experience in manufacturing processes, a good set of interpersonal skills as well as leadership potential, good communication skills, and good safety as well as environmental knowledge. The organizational culture in the company encourages participation of members of societies effectively. All the employees are subjected to favorable working conditions as well as opportunities. By looking at its career portal, the fact that it gives on the opportunity to look for a job based on the job language, shows the companies embrace to cultural diversity which has been incorporated in its organizational culture and has been partly catalyzed by its broadness in terms of branches across the globe (Adams Media Inc, 2009). Petroleum industry This is an industry associated with the processes of exploration, mining or extracting, refining, and transportation either in pipelines or tankers, and the marketing or publicizing of petroleum products. The largest products of the petroleum industry are gasoline, also referred to as petrol and fuel oil. Petroleum is a byproduct of a lot of chemical products, for example, pesticides, plastics, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers (Adams Media Inc, 2009). The petroleum industry is usually divided into 3 categories, these include; the downstream, the upstream, and the midstream. The products of the petroleum industry are very essential for the smooth running of other industries. Oil contributes to a very large percentage of the energy consumption on earth ranging from a low 32% in Asia and Europe and a staggering 53% in the Middle Eastern countries (Arthur, 2001). It is the world’s largest industry in value and as mentioned above, majority of the industries that exist depend on its products for operations. Petroleum is a liquid found in deposits among rocks. It comprises of a combination of hydrocarbons and other organic substances (McDowell, 2011). It is usually argued that oil was formed from the carbon rich organic matter, for example earlier vegetation, after they were exposed to a lot of pressure and heat all at the same time and for millions of years. Upstream operations in the petroleum industry includes activities such as exploration and drilling, the middle stream operations in the industry include operations such as processing and refinery of petroleum, transportation of petroleum products, its storage and technological applications that is meant to provide solutions on how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all the above operations. Career in the Petroleum Industry Petroleum Geologist Petroleum geologists are the people involved with exploration of rock formations for the discovery of crude oil or natural gases which constitute a very crucial part of earth’s energy consumption. This specialist work hand in hand with other potential geologist in oil exploration, they also consult with social scientists to gent insight of what a particular society, would want or need as compensation incase this valuable resource is found in their land (Adams Media Inc, 2009). They are also referred to as earth scientists, and are usually directly linked with the discovery of oil or possible oil deposits. It is usually a labor intensive career that involves a variety of scientific fields as well as the use of elaborate scientific equipment (Cheney & De, 2002). Ideally, they are usually involved with critical analysis and study of the earth’s strata in order to discover possible oil traps. Petroleum geologist’s findings influence the decisions of other involved bodies on where to mine or drill for oil. They do this using by critically observing seven aspects. These aspects include source, reservoir, seal, trap, timing, maturation and migration. Source is the process of searching of an organic rich substance in rocks. These substances must contain hydro-carbons. Reservoirs on the other hand, are porous rocks that contain gas and oil. Seal on the other hand, stops the gas or oil substances from leaving the atmosphere. Trap on the other hand refers to the stratigraphic feature of the strata of the earth. It helps in capturing the migrating hydrocarbons that can be used for purposes of commerce. When it comes to timing, Geologists believe that events occur in a manner that is specific. Maturation is the process of alliterating the reservoir under pressure and heat leading to the formation of oil and gas, migration, this is the movement gas and oil from the rock of source into the reservoir (Adams Media Inc, 2009). ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corp, also referred to as ExxonMobil, is an American based multinational oil and gas company. Its headquarters are located in Irvin Texas in the United States of America (USA). It was fathered by the standard oil company in the year 1999, and merged with Mobil oil later that year. The company’s functions are facilitated by imperial oil which is mainly based in Canada (Arthur, 2001). It is amongst the largest companies in the world by revenue and comes at position 5.It is also the 2nd largest public traded company. It is the largest refining company in the world. It assumed this title after it merged with standard oil (Adams Media Inc, 2009). The company however has faced a lot of critics. In the year 1989, oil spills in Alaska were given little effort and the cleanup process was delayed, this in turn resulted in a lot of pollution and the death of a lot living organisms in the ecosystem (Carland & Faber, 2008). The company markets its products all over the world using the brand name Mobil, Exxon, and Esso. Mobil is the company’s major brand in Florida, California, and England. Exxon is the brand that operates in the rest of the United States of America (USA). Esso on the other hand is the company’s brand that sells its entire products worldwide. The company offers a whole range of career opportunities. To facilitate this, the company has a website that provides relevant information on how to apply for jobs in the company and be aware of potential employment scams that over the years have been associated with the company’s name. Employment in the company has been divided into 4 broad categories. These include the campus recruiting, mechanical or operations employment, professional experienced recruiting, and support staff employment opportunities. Campus recruiting offers employment opportunities for recent graduates (Arthur, 2001). The portal operates by searching. Recent graduates can click on this selection and will have opportunity to search for career opportunities in the company. However, enlistment for interview is highly competitive and only candidates that express potential and meet the required skills for the jobs available get the jobs (Adams Media Inc, 2009). Additionally, through this option, students in their final years of study can apply as interns or for industrial attachment. This builds the students experience in the relevance in the expert field of choice. The operations and mechanical employment creates an opportunity for experts in various technical fields to pursue their careers in the company (McDowell, 2011). These experts include electricians, laboratory technicians, multi skilled technicians, heavy machinery operators, and instrumental technicians. However, the same qualification analysis criteria applies, and only candidates that suite the ideal qualifications get in, however, the company usually facilitate and finance employee training in the various fields of expertise relating to the company’s activities (Adams Media Inc, 2009). The experienced professional recruiting option gives opportunities for individuals with more than a year’s experience to try and look for career opportunities in the company. The option also gives opportunity to people with managerial skills, as well as other professional experiences to take up the various professional positions available in the company (Arthur, 2001). The office support staff application option gives opportunities to individuals who would like to pursue careers in accounting, administration, and, secretarial, and office management careers. Organizational culture is a key element of consideration in the company (McDowell, 2011). The company tries its level best to ensure that there is good culture within the organizations and its various branches, this is because poor organizational culture leads to poor relations among the workers and this eventually gets reflected to the larger society and could lead to great loses for the cooperation. The electronic industry The electronic industry is an industry that is focused in the manufacture of electronics used in everyday life of individuals. These electronics are also referred to as consumer electronics. They are also referred to with other names in different languages, for example, brown goods in British English. Radio broadcast facilitated the invention of consumer electronics. People had to have radios so that they may be able to receive broadcasts from radio stations, listen to their favorite programs, and music. However, over the years, electronic device manufacturing has diversified and consumer electronics now include computers, for example, laptops, desktops, calculators and digital watches, televisions, GPS devices, audio players, and digital cameras (Carland & Faber, 2008). Increasingly, the use of these electronic devices has increased over the years, and has been merger with computer technology in what is referred to as consumerization (Adams Media Inc, 2009). One major characteristic of consumer electronics is their fluctuation in prizes that mostly tend to be ever falling. The fall in the prices of consumer electronics can greatly be attributed to automation and the improvement in the efficiency of manufacturing. There are notable improvements in design as well as the design of semi-conductors. Manufacturing and assembly of most of the consumer electronics has been moved to low wage countries, further contributing to the decline in prizes of these electronics. Many of the consumer electronics are manufacture and assembled in the People’s Republic of China as opposed to other countries, for example, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States of America (Arthur, 2001). This is mainly because of a combination of factors that include the availability of raw materials, affordable maintenance costs, speed and quality of production. Chinese cities such as Shenzhen have become important manufacturing sites and many consumer companies have based their branches there, for example, Apple. Consumers usually face a lot of challenges when it comes to making decisions when it’s time to purchase consumer electronics (Adams Media Inc, 2009). This can be caused by the mere fact that many of the companies in the industry do not update information about their new designs, or simply the consumers do not bother looking for this information and this results in a majority of consumers purchasing consumer electronic devices that end up not serving their needs as anticipated or expected at the time of purchase. Style, specifications, price and performance are essential details that customers look at, when making a decision on the kind of electronic product that they are purchasing. Additionally, many of the consumer commodities in the market nowadays include internet access capability, for example, wife, edge, and Ethernet support. Good examples of such consumer electronics are the modern printers specifically from Helwet Packard (HP) and Epson that have Wi-Fi capability. Career in the Electronic Industry Computer hardware engineer These are individuals that research, design, develop, and test various computer elements to make sure that they unction and operate effectively. They make a range of equipment, for example, circuit boards, routers, and microprocessors (Brown, 2009). Some of them are even trained to update older computers to incorporate and run the latest brand of software. Majority of them work in research laboratories, and very advanced manufacturing firms or companies. It is important to note that some even work in the federal and state governments. Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is a multinational company that is based with the production of consumer electronics. It has its headquarters situated in California and Cupertino. It is also manufactures other commodities, for example, computer programs and online services. The company’s best line of product, one that has received recognition all over the world is the Mac computer (Adams Media Inc, 2009). The company has also gained popularity through the sale of the famous IPhone, and IPod media players. Their consumer software includes the operating systems, for example, the iOS, the safari web browser, OS X, iLife and iWork. Amongst the founders of the company are, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It is the world’s second largest information technology company by revenue coming second only to Samsung. It is important to also note that its phone making company and the largest public trade cooperation in the world by market control (Brown, 2009). The company has various employment opportunities available, like the above discussed companies in other industries, the company also has a website that provides opportunities for interns to apply for positions that will helps and enable them gain experience in various fields. Additionally, the website has a search options that allows individuals to look up vacant positions in the company on the basis of the job title (Adams Media Inc, 2009). As one of the largest companies in this industry, it has branches across the globe to China, hence, a good and stable internal environment is mandatory and this is easily facilitated by an accommodating organizational culture. Conclusion An industry is a term used to refer to the production of services and goods within an economy. There are various classifications of industries and this is usually determined by many factors but the most common is by the products they produce. In this category they include, petroleum industry, the electronic industry, the chemical industry and many more. Above are the three industries of interest in this research. In them are some of the leading companies in each industry and how they provide career opportunities to individuals equipped with various skills. It has also been noted that for these multinational companies to maintain steady growth and development, they must make sure the incorporate a good organizational culture. This will guide the employees as well as the executive on the appropriate way to behave with each other, the environment, and the clients. References: Top of Form Adams Media Inc. (2009). The National jobbank 2010. Avon, MA: Adams Media. Bottom of Form Top of Form Arthur, M. B. (2001). The boundaryless career: A new employment principle for a new organizational era. Oxford [etc.: Oxford University Press. Top of Form Brown, M. (2009). The cultural work of corporations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 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