Human head with question mark

General managers should be involved up to their eyeballs in setting human resources strategy and policies, adapting the strategy and policies on a divisional or regional basis (and then on a plant or facility basis), and implementing the policies by adapting them suitably to particular employees and groups. In fact, general managers should take the lead on these tasks. Why? Given the interdependencies with other aspects of the organization, it takes general management perspective or, if you prefer, general management gut feel to integrate a strategy with other aspects of strategy. And, moving onto the line, because of her day-to-day contact with her subordinates, it is the line manager who is best situated to provide evaluation, meaningful feedback, and useful advice up the line about what a specific employee requires. Moreover, we are keen in most cases on maintaining a “personal touch” when it comes to work force administration, because employees tend to appreciate it. Who better to give this personal touch than one’s immediate supervisor?

It is worth observing here that if general managers are going to be given primary responsibility for implementing nontrivial human resources policy on the line, then there is another good reason to have general managers be responsible for formulating those policies in the first place: When the people who make policy don’t have to implement it, the discipline imposed by having to bear the costs of implementation is lost. And, to reverse the argument, when those who must implement a policy did not help formulate it, we can anticipate less commitment to that policy in the first place. Having policy set by top management back at headquarters and then implemented by line managers in the field doesn’t conform precisely to the rule that “those who implement should decide,” which will lead us later in this chapter to some thoughts about which general managers should set human resources policies. But there is likely to be a tighter connection between those who set policy and those who implement when both groups are drawn from the ranks of general management than if human resources specialists are primarily responsible for either policy formulation or policy implementation.

Those who are responsible for formulating a strategy and handling the implementation of policies confront a set of tasks that are ambiguous and uncertain, involving outcomes that are noisy and that can take a very long time to be realized. This makes it very difficult to rely on direct, explicit tools to motivate and reward those who are responsible for these tasks. Handing these human resources tasks over to general managers doesn’t solve this problem, by a long shot. Indeed, to the extent that general managers (more than human resources specialists) must attend to many different agendas, some of which may be more easily monitored, measured, and motivated, this may lead to the bad outcome whereby human resources management is put on a far-toward-the-back burner. But if a culture and performance management system can be put in place for general managers that emphasize the critical importance of human resources-if there is a sense that this is an important prerequisite to rise within the organization – then the motivational problems may not be insoluble.

Young managers “produce”- they design, manufacture, sell, and so on. Mid-career executives manage the young managers – they spend the bulk of their time developing the human resources in their care and are evaluated in large measure according to how well they do so. And senior managers manage big – picture issues and external affairs. The point is twofold. First, the (historical) lack of labor mobility means that mid-career managers develop a fairly long and detailed track record as managers of human resources. For performance data that are both noisy and delayed in coming, this is a great advantage. (Unhappily, it is not an advantage that can be replicated in all environments.) And second, the culture of management in these firms attach primacy to human resources. This is a lever that many organizations can pull.

The Indonesian government approved plans to invest $3.652 billion (INR 51 trillion) to develop of 18 oil and gas fields in the year to Sept. 2, the country’s upstream regulator SKK Migas announced Sunday.

These investments – proposed by local and foreign oil and gas companies since the beginning of this year – are expected to generate $10.552 billion (INR 148 trillion) in state revenue, SKK Migas Spokesman Elan Biantoro said.

Among the approved projects include Chevron Corp.’s unit Chevron Pacific Indonesia’s Sumur Gulamo North-01 well in Riau province’s Rokan Block at a cost of $1.2 million.

Pacific Oil and Gas Ltd. will proceed with its $53.5 million development of the Parit Minyak field in the Kisaran Block in North Sumatra, while PT Pertamina Hulu Energi – a subsidiary of Indonesia’s national oil company PT Pertamina – will carry out similar work at the Foxtrot field in the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) Block for $425.5 million.

SKKMigas also granted approval for the revised plan of development for the Tiung Biru-Jambaran field in the Cepu Block, Central Java, where the investment is estimated at $2.06 billion.

“We hope for support from all parties so that the planned oil and gas field developments can work in accordance with the schedule,” Elan said, as reported by local daily Jakarta Globe.

The SKK Migas spokesman added that the upstream regulator has received Inpex Corp.’s revised plan of development for the Abadi field in the Masela Block, Arafura Sea, Indonesia last week. Inpex has indicated in the revised field development plan that it intends to build a floating facility for liquefied natural gas with processing capacity of up to 7.5 million tons per year.

“We will have intensive discussions so that the approval recommendations can be given as soon as possible to the energy minister,” Elan said.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asia’s largest country will rejoin the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and become a full member of OPEC in December, Indonesia’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said said Tuesday, as reported by the Jakarta Globe.

“We have received official confirmation from the Secretary General of OPEC that the all existing members welcome the reactivation of Indonesia as a full member,” Sudirman Said said ahead of OPEC’s next meeting scheduled for Dec. 4 in Vienna.

Indonesia, Asia’s only OPEC member state, suspended its participation in the oil cartel in 2009 after it became a next exporter as rising domestic consumption outstripped local production. The country aims to produce 825,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) this year although it could miss this target as only 812,000 bopd are expected to be produced due to project delays, SKK Migas said recently.

Sept 8 (Reuters) – EOG Resources Inc Chief Executive Bill Thomas expects oil prices to rise next year, telling a group of analysts on Tuesday that he is “excited about 2016.”

A jump in prices would only help EOG, one of the largest shale oil producers in the United States, as it looks to weather a more-than 50 percent drop in oil since last summer – a drop that has led to a rash of layoffs and budget cuts around the industry.

Indeed, EOG itself has slashed spending, curbing the number of drilling rigs it has used this year from 50 in January to 15.

“We think the market is rebalancing as we speak,” Thomas said at the Barclay’s Energy-Power Conference. “We think prices could be a little better next year than they are now.”

Thomas has repeatedly sought to assuage Wall Street’s worries about the health of the oil industry amidst low prices. Last month he bragged to analysts that he was “excited about the company’s continued improvement.”

The breakeven price for oil producers varies by geography, but EOG said it has lowered its own breakeven by becoming more efficient and using new technology.

In 2012, the company generated a 35 percent rate of return with oil prices at $95 per barrel. Today, it generated a 50 percent rate of return with oil prices at $55 per barrel, Thomas said.

The Houston-based company, which has seen its stock price drop about 16 percent so far this year – less than peers – is considering “tactical acquisitions” in the Delaware Basin of west Texas, Thomas said.

EOG shares rose 0.6 percent to $77.55 in early afternoon trading on Tuesday.