The concept of understanding one’s origin or existence spans across almost every sphere of social science; despite its popularity, there is still a lack of research exploring identity in the work setting of developing countries. This thesis aims to contribute to understanding identity processes of workers in developing countries through the lenses of social identity and post-colonialism. The rationale for using these areas lies in the perceived nature of identity processes for people in developing countries by taking into account historical and cultural influences; for social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the “prototype” and “cohesion, solidarity and harmony” and for post-colonialism (Sen, 2006; Ekeh, 1975; Ekanola, 2006; Mizuno & Okazawa, 2009), “power”, the “dialectics of the colonized mind” and “social formations”. This thesis takes a socio-psychological approach, which is based on a qualitative research method; in particular, 47 in-depth interviews with professionals from the oil and gas sector of Nigeria form a key aspect of the research method. Findings reveal that social identity theory can be used to interpret the propensity of Nigerians to identify with groups. The thesis finds that social identity captures the importance attached to group identification through an understanding of the drivers and benefits of harmony to the self-concept in the chosen context. However the thesis also finds that social identity but does not cater for other integral aspects of identity processes, such as power and identity struggle. The thesis finds that by addressing the perception of perpetuated colonialism produced by the persistent domination of foreign workers in senior roles and their interaction with indigenous workers, post-colonial theory adequately covers issues of power and struggle. In summary, the thesis finds that the integration of social identity theory and post-colonial theory facilitates a more holistic interpretation of identity processes in regions like Nigeria. Hence this thesis contributes to the literature on identity processes in the work setting of a developing country.

It has become the norm for organisations in many industrial sectors to constantly operate in dynamic, uncertain and challenging business environments. Technology, regulations, global economy, changing political actions and international conditions are all changing rapidly, creating dynamic business conditions for organisations to understand, react to and thus survive. The Oil and Gas (O&G) sector which is the backbone of the economic growth for many countries in the Middle East region is not an exception to the real world of business filled with uncertainties. The construction of meaning or sensemaking is a prerequisite management skill for complex problem solving and decision-making for survival in today’s increasingly dynamic business environments. Current literature on sensemaking tends to focus on senior management’s role in the process, overlooking the critical role middle management teams play in the construction of meaning. Further, although sensemaking literature illustrates the influence of sensegiving and sensebreaking on sensemaking, there is limited empirical research in existing literature on how middle management teams apply sensegiving and sensebreaking to influence the process. Finally, this research fills a gap in sensemaking research in developing countries to decolonise Western-based research and ensure that local culture and ideologies are taken into account. In particular, it provides important data for the O&G sector in Bahrain, which is important for the Middle East region. Therefore, this research investigates how middle management teams use sensemaking to understand complex problems and how they apply sensegiving and sensebreaking to influence the sensemaking process in Bahrain’s O&G sector. The data was gathered using a qualitative approach using in-depth semi-structured interviews, middle management team meeting observations and operational documents review. The findings include seven themes and 26 sub-themes are visualised in a four-step sensemaking process framework. This framework also illustrates the sensemaking triggers and properties, as well as the influences and sources of information middle management teams adopt to construct meaning in dynamic O&G environments. Further, the four-step sensemaking process framework incorporates the different sensegiving and sensebreaking techniques embraced. This research extends the existing sensemaking literature by providing a descriptive empirical framework to better understand middle management team sensemaking, sensegiving and sensebreaking in dynamic O&G environments. This four-step sensemaking process framework gives middle management teams a way to organise information related to events in an objective manner, enabling them to develop effective reactions to a fast-changing environment. The framework also offers human resource practitioners a platform to assess and develop middle management sensemaking skills.

This empirical research explored the capacity building of human resources in the emerging oil and gas sector in Ghana. Ghana’s oil and gas were discovered in commercial quantities in 2007 by GNPC and its partners in Jubilee field in the Cape Three Point in the western region, which signified a turning point in the development effort of the state. Local skills shortage perceived as a significant challenge. Thus the government envisaged the need to build local skill capacity which attracted an initial grant of US$38 million from World Bank to facilitate the implementation of oil and gas capacity building project in 2010. The study adopted a mixed method approach for primary data collection. Matched samples of employees (226) working in four public sector organisations in the oil and gas sector were surveyed using the simple random technique, while human resource/training and development directors (9) were purposively sampled and interviewed on the human resources capacity building to assess and corroborates the survey data. The study findings confirmed shortcomings in local skills in the public organisations in the petroleum industry. Comparatively, the results suggested that the performance appraisal tools could be further improved. The study also found local skills mismatch. It revealed that inadequate funding and delays in the release of funds affected local skill capacity building in the public-sector organisations in the industry. Originality, this is one of the very few studies to explore the shortcomings of local skill capacity in the selected organisation including the strategies used in addressing the skill gap. Research implications, more matched-sample studies are necessary to understand further how private companies (IOC’s) contributing to local skill capacity building. Practically, the study is of significance to the policymakers to address the skill gap in the energy sector. The main contribution of the research is to conceptualise the concept of HRM in Ghana’s context. The thesis, therefore, is an essential contribution to our understanding of the skill gap in the oil and gas industry in Ghana and the role of HR in this field.

[pt] Project finance é uma modalidade de financiamento que vem sendo apontada como alternativa para suprir as elevadas necessidades de investimento existentes nos países em desenvolvimento.O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a utilização de project finance nos setores de óleo/gás e energia elétrica no Brasil, estabelecendo um paralelo com sua aplicação nos países emergentes da Ásia, que se destacaram pelo grande número de projetos implementados antes da crise de 1997.Apesar das aparentes diferenças culturais, Brasil e Ásia apresentam muitas similaridades em relação às dificuldades encontradas na estruturação de project finance, associadas principalmente à escassez de recursos e aos riscos regulatório, político e cambial. As soluções que governos e investidores estão buscando para esses problemas na Ásia, podem auxiliar em uma melhor implementação dessa modalidade de financiamento no Brasil. / [en] Project finance is a financing modality that comes being pointed as alternative to supply the high existing necessities of investment in the developing countries. The present work has as objective to analyze the use of project finance in the sectors of óleo/gás and electric energy in Brazil, establishing a parallel with its application in the emergent countries of Asia, that if had detached for the great number of projects implemented before the 1997 crisis. Despite the apparent Cultural differences, Brazil and Asia they present many similarities in relation to the difficulties found in the estruturação of project finance, associates mainly to the scarcity of resources and the risks regulatório,cambial politician and. The solutions that governments and investors are searching for these problems in Asia, can assist in one better implementation of this modality of financing in Brazil.

Whilst the topic of leadership has been widely studied it remains little understood, particularly at the first-level line of leadership, especially as it relates to developing countries such as Kuwait. This study critically analyses and presents the needs, skills and capabilities of frontline leaders working in the Kuwait’s Oil and Gas Sector companies. It also examines how such needs and competencies can be developed so as to make these leaders more effective in leading functional units (teams) and to improve organisational performance overall. The study produces a frontline leadership needs and skills development framework that contributes to a better understanding of leadership in a Middle Eastern country (Kuwait), taking into account important contextual factors that influence leadership. Influenced by a social constructivist philosophy and based on qualitative evidence gathered from 42 Team Leaders, the essential leadership needs neglected by previous literature (and possibly lacking in Kuwait) were: business knowledge, technical skills, leadership and managerial skills, communication skills, decision-making skills and change management skills. These leadership needs reflected what the third line leaders understood and personally believed to be essential leadership dimensions for them to be effective and to competently undertake their work. These leadership needs constituted the foundation for their present and future leadership development in order to enhance their leadership capabilities. However, no single methodology was identified as a ‘one size fits all’ solution to meeting the development needs of the Team Leaders. Nevertheless, on the job-training was considered to be the most effective approach to develop these skills and capabilities. It is recommended that top management, and in particular human resources departments within the Oil and Gas Sector companies should continuously identify the needs of third-line leaders and focus on developing skills and competencies considered to be lacking and the most important by these frontline leaders, rather than offering a raft of seemingly unconnected development activities.

Submitted by Amelie Pedersen (ameliepedersen22@hotmail.com) on 2016-05-09T20:36:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Amelie Pedersen - The Impact of Corruption on the Performance of State-owned Companies - Case of Petrobras Brasil 14-04-2016 VF.pdf: 1430141 bytes, checksum: 82b174df20d7a214894eb1544bfc9f55 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Luiza Holme (ana.holme@fgv.br) on 2016-05-10T12:25:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Amelie Pedersen - The Impact of Corruption on the Performance of State-owned Companies - Case of Petrobras Brasil 14-04-2016 VF.pdf: 1430141 bytes, checksum: 82b174df20d7a214894eb1544bfc9f55 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-10T12:29:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Amelie Pedersen - The Impact of Corruption on the Performance of State-owned Companies - Case of Petrobras Brasil 14-04-2016 VF.pdf: 1430141 bytes, checksum: 82b174df20d7a214894eb1544bfc9f55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-14 / State-owned companies are often considered as crucial components of a country’s economy. They are responsible for the creation of numerous jobs and are often providing essential services that require heavy capital investment. However, in countries with weak institutions where the accountability of politicians is poor and the management of SOEs’ financial resources undergo little control, officials are often inclined towards corruption. Huge amounts of public funds are easily diverted, and money which should have been invested in capital expenditure, in paying back company debt or in increasing shareholder return, are used to increase private patrimony or illegally fund political parties. Company performance suffers from such divestments as parts of the company’s profits are not reinvested in the company and as managers’ incentives are unaligned with shareholder interests. Petrobras, Latin America’s biggest company in terms of assets and annual revenues, suffered in 2014 and 2015 from an immense corruption scandal the economic impact of which is considerable, as investor confidence in Brazil weakened following the event. The scandal exposed an extensive corruption scheme through which contractors were colluding to increase prices of construction contracts, with the approval of Petrobras’ management who required in return either personal gains or funds for the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT). The exposure of the scandal in the Brazilian press has had a great impact on Petrobras’ credibility as a firm: the company’s accounts were hiding immense irregularities as it had been paying too much for construction contracts which weren’t priced at market value. Throughout this paper, we will use the example of Petrobras to illustrate how corruption within State-Owned companies undermines company’s performance and how it impacts the company’s various stakeholders. / As empresas estatais são freqüentemente consideradas como componentes cruciais da economia de um país. Eles são responsáveis pela criação de vários postos de trabalho e proveem serviços essenciais que exigem um grande investimento de capital. Porém, em países com instituições fracas, onde a responsabilidade dos políticos é limitada e a gestão dos recursos financeiros das empresas estatais sofre pouco controle, os funcionários são muitas vezes tentados pela corrupção. Enormes quantidades de fundos públicos são facilmente desviados, e dinheiro que deveria ter sido investido nas despesas de capital, no pagamento de dívida da empresa ou no aumento do retorno para os acionistas, é usado para aumentar a riqueza privada de indivíduos ou para financiar ilegalmente partidos políticos. O desempenho da empresa sofre com essas alienações visto que parte dos lucros da empresa não são reinvestidos na empresa e dado que incentivos dos gestores estão desalinhados com os interesses dos acionistas. Petrobras, a maior empresa da América Latina em termos de ativos e receitas anuais, sofreu em 2014 e 2015 um escândalo de corrupção imenso, cujo impacto económico foi considerável, levando ao enfraquecimento da confiança de muitos investidores no Brasil após o evento. O escândalo expôs um extenso esquema de corrupção através do qual os contratantes foram conspirando para aumentar os preços de contratos de construção, com a aprovação da administração da Petrobras que pediu em troca ganhos pessoais ou fundos para o Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT). A exposição do escândalo na imprensa brasileira teve um grande impacto sobre a credibilidade da Petrobras: as contas da empresa estavam escondendo imensas irregularidades dado que a empresa tinha pago demais para os contratos de construção que não foram precificados no valor do mercado. Ao longo deste estudo, usamos o exemplo da Petrobras para ilustrar como a corrupção dentro empresas estatais prejudica o desempenho da empresa e como ela afeta as várias partes interessadas da empresa.

[pt] Embora o tema Sistema de Medição de desempenho – SMD venha sendo objeto de muitos estudos por acadêmicos e práticos, a literatura acadêmica ainda carece de estudos que abordem, de forma específica, cada fase do ciclo de vida do SMD. O mesmo se reflete na indústria, onde são feitos grandes esforços nas fases de desenho e implantação e verifica-se menos atenção na fase de revisão. Nesse contexto, esta dissertação tem a proposta de apresentar um framework hábil para ser aplicado em revisões de SMD. Posteriormente, este estudo também se propôs a relatar um estudo de caso de revisão de SMD numa cadeia de suprimentos no setor de óleo e gás. Como produto final, apresenta-se o framework e uma nova lista de indicadores que está em fase de estudo para implantação na empresa estudada. / [en] Although the subject Performance Measurement System (PMS) has been the subject of many academic and practical studies, the academic literature still lacks studies that specifically address each phase of the PMS life cycle. The same is reflected in the industry, where there are major efforts in the design and deployment phases and less attention in the review phase. In this context, this dissertation proposes to present a framework that can be applied to PMS reviews. Subsequently, this paper also proposed to report a case study of PMS revision in an oil and gas supply chain. As final product, the framework is presented and a new list of indicators is being studied for implementation in the company studied.

[pt] O sistema de medição de desempenho (SMD) é tido como uma ferramenta fundamental que colabora diretamente na avaliação e alcance dos objetivos estratégicos e excelência da gestão da cadeia de suprimentos. No cenário de constantes mudanças nos ambientes de negócios, muitas empresas vêm direcionando esforços no desenvolvimento de novos projetos, revisões e adequações dos seus SMD, assim como no uso eficiente dessa ferramenta de gestão. No entanto, muitas organizações se deparam com dificuldades inesperadas durante esta tarefa. Aprimorar o entendimento dos fatores que afetam o sucesso do SMD pode permitir que os profissionais estejam melhor preparados e mais responsivos durante a aplicação do SMD, obtendo estratégias mais eficazes e melhor direcionamento de recursos. Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo de caso múltiplo, a partir da análise de três iniciativas de medição de desempenho aplicadas à cadeia de suprimentos de petróleo e derivados de uma única empresa. É adotada uma abordagem do ciclo de vida completo – projeto, implementação e uso/revisão – na identificação dos fatores críticos que afetaram o sucesso desses SMD. Como resultado da pesquisa, uma lista de fatores críticos de sucesso e barreiras para a aplicação de um SMD foi obtida empiricamente e confrontada com achados anteriores da literatura. Desta lista, foi proposto um guia prático para avaliação dos SMD que se recomenda que seja utilizado pelas organizações a cada desenvolvimento ou revisão de um SMD, a fim de obter um melhor conhecimento dos desafios a serem superados em todo o ciclo de vida dos SMD das cadeias de suprimentos. O resultado do estudo de caso sugere que houve um aprendizado organizacional na maneira de lidar com os fatores críticos que afetam os SMD a cada iniciativa aplicada. / [en] The performance measurement system (PMS) is considered as a fundamental tool that collaborates directly in the evaluation and achievement of the strategic objectives and excellence of the supply chain management. In the scenario of constant changes in business environment, many companies has been directing efforts to develop new projects, reviews and adjustments of their PMSs, as well as in the efficient use of this management tool. However, many organizations are faced with unexpected difficulties during this task. Improving understanding of the factors that affect the success of PMS can enable practitioners to be better prepared and more responsive during their application, achieving more effective strategies and better resource allocation. This dissertation presents a multiple case study, from the analysis of three performance measurement initiatives applied to the petroleum and oil derivates supply chain of a single company. A complete lifecycle approach – design, implementation and use / review – is adopted to identify the critical factors that have affected the success of these PMS. As a result of the research, a list of critical success factors and barriers to the application of a PMS was obtained empirically and compared with previous findings from the literature. From this list, a practical guideline for evaluation of PMS has been proposed, which is recommended to be used by organizations for each PMS development or review, in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges to be overcome throughout the supply chain PMS life cycle. The outcome of the case study suggests that there has been organizational learning in dealing with the critical factors affecting the PMSs from each applied initiative.

[pt] Sistemas de Medição de Desempenho (SMD) são amplamente estudados por meio de trabalhos teóricos e práticos. No âmbito de trabalhos práticos, é identificado na literatura uma carência de estudos empíricos que englobem a etapa de implementação. Já os estudos que abordam tal etapa relatam diversas barreiras, o que corrobora com a necessidade de considerar a etapa piloto antes da implementação completa. Essa dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo: propor um framework conceitual com diretrizes para o redesenho de SMD já existentes comtemplando formalmente uma etapa piloto e realizar o redesenho de um SMD através da utilização de um estudo empírico utilizando o framework conceitual proposto. Além redesenhar o processo e avaliar as barreiras enfrentadas em sua implantação, a dissertação fornece uma avaliação da forma com que a etapa piloto introduzida conseguiu mitigar os riscos mapeados na literatura. / [en] Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) are extensively studied through theoretical and practical work. In the scope of practical work, a lack of empirical studies concerning the implementation stage is identified in the literature. The studies that approach this stage report several barriers, which corroborates with the need to consider the pilot stage before full implementation. This dissertation aims to: propose a conceptual framework with guidelines for the redesign of existing PMS by formally contemplating a pilot phase and carry out the redesign of an PMS through the use of an empirical study using the proposed conceptual framework. In addition to redesigning the process and evaluating the barriers faced in its implementation, the dissertation provides an evaluation of the way in which the pilot stage introduced managed to mitigate the risks mapped in the literature.

Bakgrund: Den 20:e april 2010 inträffade en explosion på BP:s oljeplattform Deepwater Horizon i Mexikanska Golfen. Explosionen uppstod på grund av metangas som under högt tryck expanderade på plattformen och sedan antändes. Detta ledde senare till att oljeplattformen sjönk och ett stort okontrollerat oljeläckage uppstod på cirka 1500 meters djup.          Att explosionen i den mexikanska golfen har påverkat BP negativt och varit mycket kostsamt för företaget är uppenbart, börskursen hade som mest sjunkit med cirka 60 procent. Det kan vara intressant att undersöka huruvida denna katastrof, utlöst av en enskild aktör, också har spridit sig över till andra aktörer i Olja & Gas sektorn. Syfte: Syftet med denna C-uppsats är att undersöka huruvida BP:s katastrof i den Mexikanska golfen har påverkat andra aktörer i samma sektor (Olja & Gas sektorn). Metod: Sekundärdata presenteras som en kvantitativ ansats i form av siffror och för att kunna dra slutsatserna använder vi oss av en deduktiv ansats.I denna studie tillämpas en metodikteknik i form av en eventstudie, där beräkningar av den abnorma och förväntade avkastningen baseras på marknadsmodellen. Vidare har två hypoteser testats, där syftet med Hypotes I är att pröva huruvida information om händelsen i den Mexikanska Golfen påverkar andra företag i samma sektor som BP. Syftet med Hypotes II är att testa samma företag under samma period som Hypotes I, men undersöker förändring i tradingvolymerna istället för i aktiekurserna. Teori: Effektiva Marknadshypotesen, Random Walk och Flockbeteende Slutsatser: Dessa båda undersökningar d.v.s. Hypotes I och Hypotes II pekar starkt på slutsatsen att eventet har haft inverkat på övriga bolag i sektorn. Vi kunde vid en jämförelse med tidigare studier som genomförts på andra katastrofer, konstatera att skeendet har både likheter och skillnader. / Background: On the 20th April 2010, the BP oil platform Deepwater Horizon, situated in the Mexican Gulf, exploded. The explosion was caused by methanol gas that, under high pressure expanded and thereafter ignited. The platform submerged and caused a severe and uncontrollable oil leakage at 1500 meters depth.It is obvious that the explosion in the Mexican Gulf has impacted BP in a negative manner and cause BP large financial loss, the company shares had at its worst point depreciated by 60 percent. It may be of interest to investigate whether this catastrophe, caused by one independent party, also have affected other companies within the Oil and Gas industry. Purpose: The aim of this assignment is to investigate whether BP’s catastrophe in the Mexican Gulf has affected other companies within the same industry. (Oil and Gas) Methodology: Secondary data is presented as a quantitative approach in the shape of values and we use a deductive approach in order to draw the conclusions.The methodology used in this study is event study, in which calculation of the abnormal and expected revenue are based on the market model. We will test two types of hypothesis, where the aim of Hypothesis I is to test in which way information about the event in the Mexican Gulf affects other companies in the same industry as BP. The aim of Hypothesis II is to test the same companies during the same period as Hypothesis I, but with a focus on analyzing trading volume instead of the stock market value. Theory: Efficient Market Hypothesis, Random Walk and Herd Behavior Conclusion: Both investigations, i.e. Hypothesis I and Hypothesis II indicate that the event has had an impact on other companies in the same industry. We could, in a comparative analysis with earlier studies, based on other catastrophes, conclude that the event demonstrates similarities as well as differences.