Anisiobi Chukwuebuka - BS4S14 A2 PDF

Preview

Summary

Download Anisiobi Chukwuebuka - BS4S14 A2 PDF

Description

BS4S14 A2 PERSONAL REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON MY RESEARCH ‘STUDY ON OIL PRICE FLUCTUATIONS AND THE AVAILABILITY OF LOCAL TECHNICAL EXPERTISE IN THE NIGERIAN DRILLING INDUSTRY’

Chukwuebuka Anisiobi 74112119 Tutor: Cornelia Nicolaou 31st October 2020

Introduction Business research is an important aspect of business decision making as it helps executives and management take informed decisions that can shape or mar the organization (Saunders et al., 2011). Following the successful completion of my research study, this reflective report documents my thoughts, experience and journey while preparing, executing, and documenting my just concluded research. This reflective report has been categorized into various parts – What I learnt about myself, what I have gained from the research experience, the challenges I faced during this project, the effect of the report on my philosophical school and finally, how I managed ethical issues encountered during the course of the research. What I learnt about myself I chose my research study topic out of a burning desire to investigate a serious issue I face in my work. We find it difficult to hire local competent personnel on our drilling rigs for some positions. We usually end up hiring expatriates to fill these positions with the attendant stress and policy consequences. Even though Oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, our local expertise has not been fully developed. Hence, even though I suspected it was because of instability in the sector, I had to investigate further to see if I was correct and if there were other contributing factors. Going through this research process, I learnt that I am sometimes quick to conclude based on my own experience rather than on researched facts. The study results showed that my initial assumption was correct but there were other contributing factors which I had completely disregarded. In future, I must be careful

2

to avoid reaching quick unfounded conclusions and getting trapped in what is termed as ‘the interpretive crisis’ according to Denzin (1994). I also learnt that I can be tenacious when working on things I am passionate about. This was evident in the way I persevered until I successfully secured telephone appointments with top executives of all the drilling contracting companies in Nigeria. If I were not passionate about the topic, I would have given up after hitting the initial obstacles thrown my way and probably changed my methodology or even my topic. Challenges faced while working on the project I faced some challenges while preparing for this study and during the study. Some of these challenges are outlined and explained below: ▪

Choice of research study topic: I had difficulty coming up with study topics of interest to me as most areas in my field have been thoroughly researched. To deal with this challenge, I had to think deeply about my daily work routine to examine the problems that kept me up at night to find direction and hopefully get needed answers from my research.

▪

Methodology and data collection decision: I was faced with the dilemma of the best method of collecting primary and secondary data for my research. If I collected data from normal rig workers, what would have been the best sampling method vis a vis the authenticity of the data considering the workers might not have full insight beyond their career scope limitations. The other option was to collect authentic data from the top executives of all the drilling companies in Nigeria. There are eight of them and I did not really have ready access to them all. I had to utilize the strength of my industry network and some mentors to overcome this data collection challenge. I also 3

struggled with the choice of using questionnaires or semi-structured interview data collection method but once I decided to go with executives, I knew I had to settle for semi-structured interviews as executives might not have the time for questionnaires. ▪

Access to top executives of drilling companies: Having decided on collecting expert data from top executives, the challenge I faced was how to approach them. COVID 19 restrictions was proving a showstopper to securing in-person interviews. I overcame this challenge by settling for telephone interviews.

▪

Possible experiential bias: My industry experience proved a challenge to me as it often made me jump to conclusions about issues. However, I overcame this by researching deeply for facts and data to rely on rather than on my limited experience.

Effect on my Philosophical School Before I commenced work on the research study, I had a postpositivist philosophical school of thought as I recognized that my background knowledge and experience in the field might influence my research methodology and data collection. However, as Moore (2009) espoused, I realized quickly that my bias was inevitable and worked assiduously to correct sources of bias in my research by having semi-structured interviews with questions that led to deeper explanations from the industry experts interviewed. I also expanded my research to include periods before I entered the industry to counter any experiential based bias as suggested by Newman and Benz (1998). This stance led me to discover other sources of instability in the industry which I had often overlooked. After the research, my philosophical school remained as post positivist though tending towards constructivist as some of my research findings were in line with my earlier assumptions.

4

Ethical Issues Because I was dealing with collecting data from competing companies, I was faced with data protection issues. However, knowing the importance of the Data Protection Act which is based on ‘informed consent’ (University of South Wales, 2015), I prepared and administered Participant Consent and Debriefing forms to the executives I interviewed from 8 drilling contractors including my own company. OES, ODENL, Shelf Drilling, Aviam Offshore, Depthwize, SDF, Sinopec and Borr Drilling all received and executed my consent and debriefing forms prior to the interviews. I also did not include the names of the senior executives in my report to protect the identity of the interviewees as explained in my informed data consent form which I administered to the participants. During the data collection process, no other ethical issues arose. Conclusion Through this research study, I was able to get answers to an important research question plaguing my industry in Nigeria. The study also serves as a base for further possible studies into some of the possible recommendations towards improving the level of local technical expertise available in the country. I learnt how best to apply methodology of choice based on my philosophical school of thought, how to deal with ethical issues arising, and how to handle research challenges professionally. Furthermore, through this research, I was able to expand my professional network as I was able to interview senior executives of all the drilling contracting companies in Nigeria during this study.

5

References: Denzin, N.K. (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Moore, R. (2009) Towards the Sociology of Truth. London: Continuum. Newman, I. and Benz, C.R. (1998) Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Chicago: Southern Illinois University Press. Saunders, M.N., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2011) ‘Research Methods for Business Students’. Pearson Education, India. University of South Wales (2015) ‘General Ethical Guidelines for Research and Consultancy’. Available at: https://vle-usw.unicaf.org/course/view.php?id=1802 (Accessed: 28 October 2020).

6...