Management Theories in British Petroleum

Question: Write an investigative summary that discusses the involvement of two theories/concepts of management that affect the functionality of your organization. Answer: Application of Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory at the British petroleum Herzbergs two-factor theory seeks to provide a solution pertaining to what people want from their jobs, whether in terms of a higher salary, security, good relations with their colleagues, or seek opportunities for advancement and growth. This forms the root of motivation amongst the workers and staff at the British Petroleum in U.S. It is not a wonder that this theory had been appraised by writers such as Butler (2007) for enabling British Petroleum (BP) to strengthen its exploration and discovery, oil and gas supply chains and have a seamless flow of downstream business. A two-factor theory according to Matsumoto, states that there are various factors found in the workstation that lead to job fulfilment, while a distinct factors that trigger job frustration. Frederick Herzberg posited that job fulfilment and job frustration tend to act individualistically and do not rely on each other (2007). The British Petroleum in the U.S. management at first thought that the easiest way of improving motivation was by decreasing things that cause dissatisfaction while increasing things that fuel satisfaction. The management soon realized that remedying the causes of dissatisfaction does not necessarily trigger satisfaction. Neither addition of satisfiers was found to eliminate dissatisfaction. The question of what motivates staff and workers at the British Petroleum to perform effectively as expected was not an easy one to answer. The managers at the BP were compelled to seek avenues of motivating their employees as a means of getting the best of out of them and thus remain competitive. The first responses during the early 2000s from this organization provide employees with incentives such as salary increment; provide good working relationships, security, and opportunities for advancement. The BP management was sad to note that there were sudden factors that were causing employees to be dissatisfied. The factors that caused employees to be dissatisfied included harsh extreme work conditions for those employees in extraction department, some of whom were in constant danger and fear of being injured (Butler, 2007). However much the management tried to motivate this category of employees, it still could not bear much fruits except to remove those factors that were causing dissatisfaction. Hope came through when the organization finally invented the new system of substituting the work that was initially being done by employees and now the machines had to do them. All the employees were now placed in safer working conditions. At the present, the British Petroleum is appreciated as an oil and gas exploration company with the best managed employees in the world, as a result of employing the two-factor theory. Application of Equity Theory at the British petroleum According to Schoonhoven (2010), Adams equity theory stipulates that there should be a fair balance between the inputs of employees (such as enthusiasm, acceptance, skill level, and hard work) and outputs of the employees (such as recognition, benefits, and salary). The capability to find this fair balance ensures that there is a productive and strong relationship with the employees, whereby the ultimate result would be motivated and contented employees (Schoonhoven, 2010). As informed by Soulsby Clark (2007), equity theory has been applied in the context of British Petroleum to indicate the relationship between BP employees motivation and their perception of equitable treatment. In the BP context, the pertinent relationship has always been between the management and an employee. Employees of BP have been observed to preserve a reasonable ratio between the inputs they put into the organization as well as the outcomes they always receive from it. Through equity theory, BP has seen th e emergence of social comparison whereby staff members (consciously or unconsciously) do an evaluation of their own input and output ratios basing on the comparisons of the management. Inputs made by employees in this context comprise of employees time, experiences, qualifications, expertise and intangible individual qualifications such as ambition and drive. Outcomes would include flexible work arrangements, benefits, and monetary compensation. The management at the BP America has realized over the years that what the employees put into their various jobs is what they desire to get as an outcome. For example, in 2013, employees working in the manufacturing plants sought for a higher pay that was almost equivalent to that of middle managers. Upon investigation, they admitted that their job responsibilities and obligations superseded that of others and what is why they insisted for a higher pay. The management at BP had no option except to negotiate with them and settle at an optimum pay. Summary This paper is a classic example of a theoretical management discussion that discusses the application of two theories in the context of the British Petroleum U.S. The paper has sought to shed light on these two theories by specifically analyzing how these two can be used. References Butler, C. (January 01, 2007). Prospect Theory and Coercive Bargaining.Journal of Conflic Resolution,51,2, 227-250. Matsumoto, D. (December 01, 2007). Culture, Context, and Behavior.Journal of Personality,75,6, 1285-1320. Schoonhoven, C. B. (January 01, 2010). Stanford's organization theory renaissance, 1970- 2000.Research in the Sociology of Organizations,28. Soulsby, A., Clark, E. (October 01, 2007). Organization theory and the post-socialist transformation: Contributions to organizational knowledge.Human Relations,60,10, 1419-1442.