Shell's Upstream Internationals Organizational Structure - Case Study Example

Name Course Instructor Date Q1. Upstream International’s Organizational Structure Shell’s Upstream International is headed by an Executive Director who is the head of operations, and this is currently Malcolm Brinded. It has a management structure whose top leaders are the executive director and eight Executive Vice Presidents, who are in charge of different regional units that are distributed all over the world, excluding the Americas where there is already another complete working structure. There are also two Executive Vice Presidents who have overall responsibilities in the entire company. The management structure is made in a way that it is possible to coordinate the business areas of the company, namely production and exploration of petroleum and gas. The eight regional units include one that covers Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Algeria. This is a group of countries where only exploration activities are presently taking place. The head of this region also automatically holds the post of Executive Vice President of Upstream International in charge of exploration. There is also an Executive Vice President in charge of Europe whose office oversees all of the company’s business operations and joint ventures in Europe. These include production, asset management, new projects, wells and capacity expansion where necessary. It also covers stakeholder management issues across the region. There is an Executive Vice President in charge of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region. This is in charge of all operations in Africa, excluding those in North Africa, both for petrol and gas. The areas of concern include business development, management of oil wells, running of small local projects, production, asset and stakeholder issues. The company has an Executive Vice President in charge of the Middle East and North Africa. This is in charge of existing and future assets in the two areas, including handling stakeholder management matters. In addition to this, there is the Executive Vice President for Russia and the Caspian Region. This is in charge of existing business operations, and the area of focus is outlined as being value delivery, joint ventures and stakeholder management. Yet another Executive Vice President is stationed in Qatar, and manages all existing joint ventures, stakeholder relations and business in general in that country. The Executive Vice President for Asia has the same responsibilities as the others, with the scope of operation being inclusive of Indian and New Zealand joint ventures and excluding Australia. The Executive Vice President upstream in charge of Australia handles all the business and stakeholder management matters in Australia. In addition to the regional division heads, there is a top manager in charge of safety, environment and sustainable development. This is also the joint head of sustainable development for the entire company. There is also an Executive Vice President in charge of LNG, Commercial activities and new business. This office is responsible for supervising the development of new business and the LNG business at the global level. He therefore ensures the maintenance of customer relationships; oversee the extraction, packaging and sale of gas and conducting any analysis required in the process. It is the office charged with handling all major business negotiations on behalf of the whole company. The head of this unit is also the company’s overall head of the commercial section. Upstream’s Type of Management Structure Upstream International has a divisional management structure. According to Magloff, a divisional structure is one in which units are organized either depending on the marketing area, line of product or geographical location. Every division has its own whole teams of officers who are answerable to the head of the division. In the case of Upstream international, there are geographical units in different parts of the world, each under a leader who reports to the headquarters (par. 4). Only a few functions are handled at a group level. The company has this form of structure possibly because of the nature of its business. There is an emphasis on stakeholder relationships, and a divisional structure is, according to Magloff indicates that it is the best for quick response to customer needs. Petroleum extraction and processing is also a full process in each of the units, meaning that it cannot be jointly managed from one place. Q3. Human Resources and Corporate The HR Strategy and Internal Communications department will be in charge of ensuring workplace safety. This is an important strategic role. There is need to minimize workplace hazards and their effects, for instance through insurance and reduction of accidents through training on the best, safe use of equipment (Mayhew par. 3). It will also be in charge of employee compensation and benefits, recruitment and selection, general welfare, training and development and facilitation of internal communications. The human resource function will have a strong strategic aspect to it. According to Kiger, this is because it is no longer about advising employees about the available benefits or advertising vacancies. It is a strategic function in which all activities start with the people thinking about the goal (par. 2, 7). The internal communications section of the department will be responsible for transforming, modernizing and sharpening the nature of information transfer within the organization, especially in relation to human resource issues and feedback. It will be in charge of creating the communication plan for the company. The main function of the office is to link the company’s employees to its objectives and strategy. This may be done through implementing a working communication program by offering employees timely and applicable information at all times. The responsible manager will work with other leaders within the department in planning, designing and implementing the company’s communication initiatives. The department will be under three officers; the head of Strategy and Training, the head of Employee Affairs and the head of Internal Communications. The Head, Strategy and Training This officer will be responsible for identifying the skills needed by the company at any given time, and if possible, suggest either recruitment or further training of employees within the organization. He or she will prepare the employees for future challenges and through. The role will also involve designing the training and development plan for all employees in a way that will prepare everyone for future positions which may come up. The head of strategy and training will be responsible for employee evaluation of performance and succession planning. The Head, Employee Affairs The head of employee affairs will be in charge of remuneration and benefits. According to Mayhew, the pay and benefits structure of the organization has a big role in determining the image and reputation elsewhere. The officer will therefore give advice to the top management about the competitiveness of the pay scales, recommend changes in such scales, oversee the recruitment of new staff, advertise for vacant positions, manage benefit schemes including leave and off-duty days and employee health and wellness. The head of employee affairs will also be in charge of implementing workplace investigation and ensuring that employment practices are fair and acceptable. He or she will also advise on ways through which all human resource-related planning and implementation issues can be resolved (par. 4). The Head, Internal Communications The head of internal communications will recommend what is required to ensure that the company has proper information structures and fully adopts Information technology. He or she will advise management on how to develop an internal communication plan, how to implement communication initiatives and assist in selecting designers who will work with the media. According to the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, communication is useful in HR function. An ideal organization needs to be able to use information to direct its strategy and plans. It should also have a clear strategy for talent management, in addition to using technology as a means of maximizing the sharing of information therefore it should be able to engage the employees fully in the business and establish a clear link between what employees do and its result in terms of company performance (63). The head of internal communications will continuously evaluate the drafts of different communications plans that are used by different departments, functions or project teams. He will also be responsible for preparing a monthly or any other regular communication reports for use by management. He will also be in charge of training activities that will be aimed at encouraging proper communication and will coordinate any reports relating to communication and afterwards report to project team or departmental team leaders who will then see what to do. The internal communications officer will be responsible for drafting and distributing any communications that will need to be communicated to the members of staff of the company, while also receiving complaints or comments that are brought into the human resource office. Works Cited Kiger, Patrick. (2006). HR’s New Strategic Role. Retrieved 1 October 2013 from Magloff, Lisa. (2013). Advantages & Disadvantages of the Structure of an Organization. Retrieved on 30 September 2013 from Mayhew, Ruth. 2013. The Strategic Role of Human Resource Managers. Retrieved on 30 September 2013 from The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada. (2004). Strategic Human resources study of the Upstream Petroleum Industry: The Decade Ahead. Retrieved 1 October 2013 from Read More