The implementation of quality culture in Iran’s oil and gas industry

Sadabad, MNM

Abstract

Iran is an energy superpower and the Petroleum industry in Iran plays an important part in it. Iran holds world’s 4th largest crude oil and 1st gas reserves and is ranked as the second largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of GDP of about US$463 billion. Quality plays a crucial role in this industry. Quality is an approved management concept in the twentieth first century and an intense catalyst for driving organisational competitiveness and effectiveness. The cornerstone of any type of quality enhancement includes cultivating a ‘quality culture’ in the target organisation and incorporating it all through the organisation. A recent study showed that 1129 accidents have been recorded in 5 studied years through monitoring of only 9 refineries in Iran which five times higher than 217 incidents in the UK’s oil and gas industry in 2017 referring to energy voice report. The oil and gas industry is definitely a fundamental element of economic activity in every oil-producing country. Not only it is a key provider of employment opportunities, but it pulls together different sectors and stimulates value creation.
The aim of this study was to investigate challenges that the Iranian oil and gas industry face as they embrace the quality management guidelines and in creating the operational quality cultures. The study further explores the definitions of culture and how it is generated in the oil and gas organisations as well as the effectiveness of the quality culture. With the growth in the global energy industry is becomes critical to assess the challenges that affect Iran and the Middle East region to establish factors that might impede the growth. In this regard, the study sought to identify the drivers, barriers and success factors when implementing or adopting a quality culture, and the implications and impacts of Iran’s culture on quality for organisations in the oil and gas industry.
To achieve this aim, the study uses a mixed research approach and adopting a multiple case study strategy by triangulating the data collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaire survey and literature review. Data was collected from two Iranian oil and gas organisations and descriptive and inferential statistical analysis in addition to content analysis methods were used to analyse the data. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this study will be the first of its kind to be undertaken in Iranian oil and gas oil industry. Therefore, the findings will enrich the existing literature on the quality culture implementation in the oil industry and fill the gaps in knowledge of studies on Iran.
The finding shows that the soft and hard cultural skills majorly determine the quality of the culture in the organisations in the oil and gas industry. Based on the findings of this study, there is an apt need for improvement in the leadership of the organisations. The nature of the leadership within an organisation is of particular importance in determining whether TQM is likely to be successful. The success of an organisation is highly dependent on the ability of the leaders and the people involved in the management of the organisation to direct the firm, regularly to generate or develop a cultural agenda that reflects their mission. The companies must add value to its products, services and its operations. Otherwise, the companies risk losing its esteemed customers and failing to gain new ones. Leaders must be strong and committed to successfully endure the quality programs needed in the organisation. Managers should play a significant role in improving the quality of the entire organisation.
The contribution to knowledge is highlighting the importance of critical factors of quality in the oil and gas sector. Moreover, numerous updates from earlier researches were provided through this study and in more significant manner new considerations were added. By focusing on the five main critical success factor areas, this study added school of thought related to people, resource, strategy, process and performance management and finally this research unified the perception of stakeholder orientation by adding the performance management fundamentals in relation to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The study provided a deep insight into the complexity of implementing quality management for a quality culture, and the various challenges and obstacles highlighted through other studies. The outcome of this study provided an empirical evidence that contributes to the importance of total quality management practice as a strategic tool helping oil and gas companies to optimise performance and operate efficiently and effectively in the industry.

Citation

Sadabad, M. The implementation of quality culture in Iran’s oil and gas industry. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 5, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 5, 2021
• Award Date: Oct 20, 2020