TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL PAGE ii
CERTIFICATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 14
Significance of the Study 14
Research Questions 16
Hypotheses 16
Scope of the study 17
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework 18
Planning Competencies 24
Organizing Competencies 28
Directing Competencies 32
Controlling Competencies 37
Theoretical Framework 55
Theory of Skill of Competency by Cratty (1973) 55
Theory of Performance 56
Scientific Management Theory 56
Related Empirical Studies 57
Summary of Literature Reviewed 61
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Design of the Study 63
Area of the Study 63
Population for the Study 64
Sample and Sampling Techniques 64
Instrument for Data Collection 64
Validation of the Instrument 65
Reliability of the Instrument 66
Method of Data Collection 66
Method of Data Analysis 66
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
Research Question 1 67
Research Question 2 69
Research Question 3 71
Research Question 4 72
Hypotheses Testing 73
Findings of the Study 78
Discussion of Findings 80
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Re-Statement of the Problem 84
Summary of Procedures Used 85
Summary of Findings 86
Educational Implications of the Findings 87
Limitation of the Study 88
Conclusions 88
Recommendations 89
Suggestion for Further Studies 90
REFERENCES 91
APPENDIX A: Letter to the Validates 99
APPENDIX B: Research Questionnaire 101
APPENDIX
C:
Population Distributions of Oil and Gas Stations Managers at Onitsha in Anambra State and Asaba in Delta State 105
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table 1: Mean responses of Oil and Gas station Managers on the planning
competencies required 68
Table 2: Mean responses of Oil and Gas station Managers on the Organizing
Competencies required 70
Table 3: Mean responses of Oil and Gas Station Managers on the Directing
Competencies required 71
Table 4: Mean responses of Oil and Gas station Managers on the Controlling
Competencies required 73
Table 5: The t-test result of the mean responses of male and female oil
and gas station managers on the organizing competences required
for oil and gas stations management. 74
Table 6: The t-test result of the mean responses of oil and gas station
managers on the planning competences required for oil and gas
stations manager with respect to business location. 76
Table 7: ANOVA Analysis of the responses of experienced and less experienced managers on the directing competencies required by Oil and Gas station managers 77
Table 8: ANOVA Analysis of the responses of the managers, based on
educational qualification on the controlling competencies required
by them 78
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to determine the management competencies required by multinational oil and gas service station managers in Onitsha and Asaba metropolis for effective service delivery. Specifically the study sought to determine the: planning competencies required by oil and gas station manager; organizing competencies required by oil and gas station managers; directing competencies required by oil and gas station managers; controlling competencies required by oil and gas station managers. Four research questions and four null hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives to guide the study. Related literature and some empirical studies were reviewed. The study adopted survey research design and was conducted in fourteen oil and gas service station in Asaba and Onitsha metropolis, Nigeria. The population for the study comprised 69 respondents, made up of 60 males and nine female drawn from fourteen oil and gas service station in Asaba and Onitsha metropolis, Nigeria. The entire population was studied. A structured questionnaire made of 58-items was developed from the literature. The structured questionnaire was face validated by three experts. The instrument was trial tested on oil and gas service station manager from Akwa in Anambra state on 20 oil and gas managers. Cronbach Alpha method was used to determine the reliability of the items and a coefficient of 0.89 was obtained. The structured questionnaire was administered on 69 respondents by the researcher and five trained research assistants. All the copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using the mean and standard deviation, while real limit of Highly required (3.50 –4-00), Required (2.50 -3.49), Slightly not required (1.50 – 2.49), Not required (0.50 – 1.49) was used to interpret the result, T-test was used to test the null hypotheses 1 and 2, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test hypotheses 3 and 4. The findings of the study revealed that oil and gas service station managers required the management competencies for effective service delivery in oil and gas stations. One of the disclosures of the null hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of oil and gas station managers on the planning competences required for oil and gas stations manager with respect to business location. Therefore,management of oil and gas stations, the employees of oil and gas stations, should train their staff on the following management competencies: planning, organizing, directing and controlling in order to serve the motorists, who are the customers of the oil and gas station, and the general public effectively. It was recommended that oil and gas service stations should organize seminars, conferences and workshops to educate their staff on the need to adopt required management competencies for effective and efficiently oil and gas service delivery.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Every institution, organization, household and business needs proper management to ensure a smooth running of such organizational set up. An organization such as oil and gas stations, if not properly managed, planned, directed, organized and controlled cannot achieve success. In a nutshell, good management needs to be established. Human, material and financial resources must be present to achieve managerial goals and objectives. If proper manpower budget is not well planned, the organization would be faced with a high risk failure. Individual staffs control all the other resources of the organization. Cole (2002) posited that Human resources planning are not just a number game, even though labour statistics are an important element in it. Maxwell (2001) is of the opinion that people should work on people’s attitudes, skills and knowledge rather than trying to grow an organization. If they do that, the organization will experience 10 percent growth overnight. In an organization, people are the most difficult resources to be managed. With this reason, proper care has to be established in selecting personnel to handle sensitive positions within an organization.
Most organizations in Nigeria especially the oil and gas stations, to achieve managerial success need to set up an administrative department so as to have a proper coordination of the activities. According to Susan and Doug (2008), an administrative office needs to plan in order to source for its manpower. The idea of selecting staff to man and occupy positions in most Organizations like the oil gas stations is known as recruitment and appointment. Management functions also include discipline, promotion, training and the rest to achieve set targets.
Management in the context of this study involves the act of getting things done and evaluating performance which is known as controlling. Controlling is one important aspect of management that ensures that things are done orderly that is in a proper way. In a nutshell, management encompasses every spheres, every activity, be it in religion, sports, market and so on. Management is an art and science that encompasses all activities within an Organization. It is the life wire, root and core of every institution, Organization, firm, and business micro, macro, public or private. It involves the planning, coordinating, directing, controlling and organizing of all the activities that go on within an Organization (Saley, 2005). Management as defined by Kreitner (1995) is a process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objective in a changing environment. Central to this process is the effective and efficient use of limited resources. Everett and Ronald (2000) Posited that management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, work together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims. The key aspects of management are getting things done through people in an effective, efficient and economic manner in order to achieve the organization’s objectives. It is the effective and efficient use of related resources, human, material, capital for the actualization of a goal known as the overall Organization’s goal.
Management as explained by Osuala (2000) is the process of achieving an organization’s goals through the co-ordination performance of five specific functions namely, planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. The author further views organization as a group of people; and, goal as anything the organization seeks to do. Some goals are large, such as building a factory or installing an electric generator in business organization. Other goals are comparatively small in nature. Egbo (2007) conceptualized management as a process of directing the organization resources in a way that efficiently accomplishes the organization goals. It involves managing an organization workforce be it oil and gas business by a manager in a way that gives the organization a competitive advantages. Management according to Robbins and Coulter (1999), is a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning and regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. To them, it is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, and purchase. Osuala (2000) asserted that regardless of a goal’s size, the above management functions must be performed by any organization in order to attain that goal. Obi (2002), opines that management is the process by which those in authority plan, organize, and control a business in an effort to make it successful. In managing oil and gas stations, the goal of maximizing profits is still the most important objective. Other yardsticks for measuring the success and management efficiency of oil and gas station business apart from the ability to make profits, the author mentioned include its ability to satisfy its customers and workers as well as contributing to the social betterment of its community and the nation as a whole. Management as briefly noted by Cole (2002) is a collection of activities involving planning, organizing, motivating and controlling. Management is not an activity that exists on its own right. It is rather a description of a variety of activities carried out by those members of organizations whose role is that of a manager. The author buttresses that management is a social process. The process consists of planning, controlling, coordination and motivation. The author adds that managing is an operational process initially best dissected by analyzing the managerial functions. The five essential managerial functions are planning, organizing, staffing, directing, leading and controlling.
Planning is the first component of management and a managerial function where a managers’ level of competency is mostly required. For over time, business activities, individual activities cannot succeed without initial planning. According to Fassin (2009) Planning is a process of gathering and putting together all the activities that needs to take place to achieve an objective. Planning is a product of brain storming and intellectual initiation. The result is an after mart of comparing various variables. It is the evaluation and analyzing of ideas and choosing between option to come up with a valued and favourable opinion that is most suitable and best for a particular task or operation to be carried out by individual or staff of an Organization. A popular saying goes that ‘’if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’’ In other words, any business that does not have a plan is exposed to failure. Louis and David (2007) posited that Planning is a process by which managers set objectives, assess the future, and develop courses of action designed to accomplish these objectives. The author further stressed that plans are natural outgrowths of the planning process. They are detailed expressions of actions necessary to accomplish stated Organizational objectives. Once plans are formulated and implemented, they are periodically evaluated to determine their success in moving the Organization in the direction of its stated goals. Plan is an act of Planning.
Planning itself is a process of setting objectives suitable for an Organization that would meet to the goals of such Organization. Planning is futuristic in nature whereby causes of actions; are being developed to be accomplished by individuals towards achieving said objectives. Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done. It is a continuous process for management decisions which activates all other functions of management (Laurie, 2006). According to the author planning is detailed expressions of actions necessary to accomplish stated Organizational objectives. James, Freeman and Dawel (2000) defines planning as a particular kind of decision making that addresses the specific future that managers desire for their Organization. The authors further posited that Planning is not a single event, with a clear beginning and end. It is an on-going process that reflects and adapts to changes in the environment surrounding each or facing not only stiff competition and the rising expectations of customers, but also evolving technology. Govindaraja and Natarajan (2005) posit that planning is deciding in advance what to do, when to do and who is to do. Planning bridges the gap from where we want to go. It makes possible for things to occur which would not otherwise happen. A planned performance brings better result compared to an unplanned one (Katerina, 2011). Accordingly planning of organization is developed together with required personnel and method of organizing both people and resources.
Organizing is the second component of management. Organizing consists of grouping people and assigning activities so that tasks and the mission can be properly carried out. In the context of this study, organizing is the process of coordinating all the activities of an Organization by using human, material and other available resources towards achieving the overall objective of an Organization. Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson (1998) see Organization and the concept organizing as a social system. Found that the focus of the administrative/structural sub-system is on authority, structure, and responsibility within the organization: “who does what for whom” and “who tells whom to do what, how, when, where and why”. That “the informational/decision-making, sub-system emphasizes key decisions and their informational needs to keep the system operating’. James Freeman and Millward (2005) posited that organizing is the process of integrating the activities of separate departments in order to pursue Organizational goals effectively. Kreitner (1995) stated that Organization is a system of consciously coordinated activities of two or more people. Louis (2015) defined organizing as the second managerial function of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, delegating responsibility and authority, and establishing relationship for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing a set objectives. Egbo (2007) described organizing in business as the arrangement of tasks into departments, delegating responsibility and allocating resources. Doyle (2004) emphasized that organizing is the grouping of activities necessary to accomplish goals and plans, the assignment of activities to appropriate departments, and the provision of delegation of authority. The author further stated that organizing also involves team development, that managers cannot do everything alone. Therefore, need a team around them that can help to deliver results. In the context of this study, organizing is defined as the establishment of effective behavioral relationship among persons so that they may work together effectively.
Organizing involves providing personal satisfaction in doing selected tasks under a given environmental conditions for the purpose of achieving some goal or objectives. Organizing is important to managers, as it helps in deciding on division of various activities required to achieve the objectives of the organization Govindaraja and Natarajan (2005). Organizing also helps in assignment of duties, delegation of authority. It is difficult to perform the duties effectively, if there is no authority to do it. Furthermore, organizing defines relationship in clear terms when a group of person is working together for a common goal (Amage, Rinthasong and Songsong, 2014). Each person in the business should know who is responsible for what, have the authority to carry out his or her responsibilities, and not get conflicting instructions from different bosses. The absence of these things can have debilitating consequences for the employees in particular and the business in general (Weijrich. and Koontz (2003). The managers also need to be competent in directing for business efficiency.
Directing is part of the job for every small business owner or manager. Directing is the managerial function that initiates action: issuing directives, assignments, and instructions; building an effective group of subordinates who are motivated to do what must be done; explaining procedures; issuing orders; and making sure that mistakes are corrected (Cole, 2002). Directing involves the process of delegating tasks to staff of an Organization. It is also a process of passing instructions to staff on what to do. For directing to be effective, there must be proper communication. This is a process of distributing or delegating task by Heads of Department to staff or subordinates either in a Private or Public Sector. Directing is an act of assigning formal authority and responsibility for completion of specific activities to a subordinate.
Directing, as defined by John and Thomas (2007) is a basic management function that includes building an effective work climate and creating opportunity for motivation, supervising, scheduling and discipline. In the context of this study, directing means giving instructions, guiding, counseling, motivating and leading the staff in an organization to work in order to achieve organizational goals. Weijrich and Koontz (2003) emphasized that directing is a continuous process initiated at top level and flows to the bottom through organizational hierarchy. Osuala (2006) stated that directing involves guiding and supervising subordinates. The author affirms that subordinates must learn the office organization structure be it in the oil and gas stations as in the case of this study and the interdepartmental relationships of activities and personalities, their duties and authority. The author further suggested that once subordinates are oriented, the superior (manager) has a continuing responsibility for clarifying their assignments, guiding them toward improved performance and motivating them to work with zeal and confidence.The manager should direct his subordinate towards being good results focus. Successful managers know that at the end of the day that it is not what you do but what you deliver that matters. To managers, having a result focus is about knowing what outcomes are required and focusing yourself and those that you manage on delivering the results. These results keep the managers on track and reduce the scope for distractions. According to Frank, Les and Masoud (2007), directing helps in initiating actions to get the desired results in an organization. Direction is essential to keep the elements like supervision, motivation, leadership and communication effective and ensures that every employee work for organizational goals. The author further stated that directing also involves making changes that leaders regularly set out requirements for change, which might be in terms of process, people, service, and ways of doing things. While leaders will set out the overall direction, managers are the people who need to make the change happen on the ground. This requires them to overcome the obstacles that without doubt will appear as they try to make change. Directing is a key management function to be performed by the manager alongside with controlling.
Controlling is a process of ensuring that what has been done is in line with what was planned. Control guides management to monitor the effectiveness of their plan. What is most important in control is taking the most corrective actions that is suitable. Flamholtz (2006) opined that Organizational Control is a process which is designed to motivate people to achieve goals and to influence the probability that people will behave in the desired ways. It cannot guarantee, nor does it intend to, control 100% of people’s behaviour. Controlling process involves establishing standards to measure performance, measuring actual performance, comparing performance with the standard and taking corrective action (Alnasseri, Osborne, and Steel, 2013). The authors further stated that controlling process is simply a set of steps a manager uses to determine whether organizational goals have been met. In measuring standards or comparing performance, one must be knowledgeable enough to do that. Osuala (2006) describes controlling as developing, analyzing systems and procedures that will be followed in completing major phase of business work. With reference to this study control is the checking of current performance against predetermined standards contained in the plans, with the view to ensuring adequate progress and satisfactory performance. Controlling is determining what is being accomplished, evaluating the performance and if necessary applying corrective measures so that the performance takes place according to plans by managers.
A manager, as pointed out by John (2015), is a person responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work and taking connective action when necessary. To many people, a manager is the first step into a management career. Manager many direct workers directly or they may direct several supervisors who direct the workers. The managers must be familiar with the work of all the groups he/she supervises, but does not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. The managers must be familiar with the work of all the groups he/she supervises, but does not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. A manager according to the author may have the power to hire or fire employees or to promote them. It is more important for managers to know how to manage the workers than to know how to do the work. John further stated that a manager is any executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company’s income statement, known as profit and loss (P&L). According to Kramer (2010) the manager usually oversees most or all of the firm’s marketing and sales functions as well as the day-to-day operations of the business. The author affirms that frequently, the manager is responsible for effective planning, organizing, delegating, directing, controlling, staffing and decision marking to attain desirable profit, in an organization like Oil and Gas stations. It is on this management functions performed by the managers that their level of competency are being determined. With reference to this study, the managers are defined as the superiors in charge of the overall functioning of an organization. Some of the managers are of different gender. Gender, according to Keightley (2011) is behaviours and attributes expected of individuals on the bases of being born either male or female. Some of the managers have acquired long management experiences due to number of years they have served in different organization as a manager. Most of the mangers have chains of degrees including professional qualification while some had just SSCE certification as their highest qualification. These qualities and attributes go a long way in helping these managers in oil and gas stations to perform their duties efficiently and effectively.
Oil and gas station, according to Ehinome, and Adeleke (2012), is a facility which sells fuel, and usually lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold today by the stations are gasoline, diesel, kerosene and electric energy. A filling station that sells only electric energy is also known as a charging station. Amanze (2010) reported that some Oil and gas stations also combine small convenience stores, and some also sell propane or butane and have added shops to their primarily business. Ejiofor (2010) refers to oil and Gas station as a station where gasoline and oil are sold and facilities are available for repairing or maintaining automobiles. Chen (2006) affirmed that an Oil and Gas station is also called a filling station, fueling station, service station or petrol station. Genovese (2004) acknowledged that Oil and Gas Station are also called service stations, and that it is a place where Gasoline and Oil are sold and facilities are available for repairing or maintaining automobiles. Some of these oil and gas stations are multinational in nature involving in the drilling, refining, importing and exporting of crude oil and even selling of refined oil in service stations. In the context of this study, oil and gas stations are places where petroleum products including DPK (Dual Purpose Kerosene), PMS (Premium Motor Spirit or Petrol), AGO (Automated Gasoline or Diesel) and lubricants are retailed and sold to the end users. The oil and gas industry in general is one of the biggest and most lucrative industries in Nigeria and in fact all over the world. Nigeria is one of the biggest oil producing nations in the world with a large crude oil deposits around the entire south-south, south East and south west region of the country. Nigeria required about 40 million liters of oil to serve the daily demand of her 170 million populations (Omeh, 2015). The high demand of petroleum product necessitates the opening of oil and gas station all over the country and this called for competent oil and gas managers.
Oil and Gas station managers are persons whose job or responsibilities are to plan, organize, direct and control all the activities going on in an oil and gas station. He/she can also oversee one or more employees, divisions or volunteers to ensure that they carry out certain duties or meet specific group goals. The Oil and Gas managers has the responsibility of supervising, mentoring, monitoring and motivating lower level workers under them to make sure that the goals of the Oil and Gas stations are achieved. This aforementioned attributes demand that an oil and gas manager must be competent enough to handle the ever challenging business world.
Competency, according to Godbout (2001) is behaviours that individuals must have or must acquire, to perform effectively at work. The author stated that competency is focused on the personal attributes or inputs of the individual. Michellone and Zollo, (2000) defined competency as measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviours (KSABS) critical to successful job performance. Begeer and Banerjee (2002) also defined competency as a quality or state of being functionally adequate or having knowledge, skill or strength (as for a particular duty or respect). Michellone and Zollo, further assert that choosing the right competencies allows employers to: determine which job classes best fit their business need; recruit and select the best employees; manage and train employees effectively and to develop staff to fill future vacancies. In the context of this study, competency is the ability of managers of Oil and Gas stations to possess sufficient knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgment required for successful management of their oil and gas stations.
Competency as described by Olaitan and Ali (1997) is a successful performance of a task through the use of knowledge, skills, attitude and judgment. Competencies are essential in the definition of expected performance, which should as a whole provide a complete picture of the most valuable behaviour, values and roles required for the success of the organization. According to Olaitan (2003), to be competent implies that an individual has acquired the knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgment which he requires in order to perform successfully at a specified proficiency level in a given work. Any given work such as management of oil and gas station requires some level of competency. Oil and Gas station requires that one should be competent in the area of planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the activities of oil and gas station especially in Onitsha and Asaba metropolis
However, it has been worrisome that despite the fact that Onitsha and Asaba are among the Oil and Gas producing area in Nigeria, with heavy presence of Oil and Gas stations there are still oil and gas scarcity, long queues in Oil and Gas stations, abuse of motorist by Oil and Gas dealers, hoarding of oil among other problems. These scenarios in the service stations have brought untold hardship to the consumers/users of the products in Onitsha and Asaba as well as the motorist in western Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that the researcher decided to determine the competencies required by Oil and Gas station managers in Onitsha and Asaba metropolis in Nigeria with a view to address the lingering challenges faced by motorist or automobile users in Onitsha and Asaba metropolis. .
Statement of the Problem
