The Responsibility Triangle of Effective Management
Authors: Bish Glenn F. 
Published: December 2007

Introduction

Management problems, principles and practices existing in the oil industry are no different from those in most other industries. Although operating and administrative problems can be very different and there may be wide variations in the scopes and objectives among industries, a manager functions essentially the same regardless of the type of business activity in which he is engaged. Therefore, the discussion which follows will not be limited to the oil industry specifically but, rather, will apply to the business of management wherever it is found. During the last 30 years in the petroleum industry, an amazingly vast number of changes have taken place. And these changes have not been restricted to purely technological advances which have resulted, for the most part, from an expressed confidence in the value of industrial research that has increased seventy-fold over the past 30 years. Important also is the fact that we operate in an entirely different business atmosphere than we did 30 years ago. The history of the American economic system gives ample proof through countless examples that, as needs and problems arose, enterprising people through their own initiative have worked tirelessly to develop reasonable solutions. The full exploitation of the corporation concept is a fundamental example of this determination on the part of the American people. The individual proprietorship was the principal form of business organization during the early days of our nation. However, with the discovery of great natural resources, it became increasingly apparent that other measures were needed to satisfy the nation's economic needs. This brought about the combination of talents and capital into an active, vibrant, corporative entity which could more effectively supply the demands of the people and still provide an outlet for individual energies in an ambitious, growing society. From these humble beginnings, corporations which have been able to prove their worth have grown to gigantic proportions. But size, in itself, certainly gives no cause for alarm. Indeed, large corporations have produced many of the developments that have shaped the most productive economy in the history of the world. It is not implied that we now rest on the laurels-of past accomplishments. Quite the contrary is true. Industry must use its economic inheritance as a base upon which to meet the challenges of the present and of the future. Each American businessman occupies a particularly envious position because he is going to be a part of the most dynamic era in American business since the impact of the industrial revolution. Undoubtedly, the job of business management is fast approaching acceptance as the most adventuresome of all the professions.

A Need for Better Cooperation

This paper is entitled "The Responsibility Triangle of Effective Management" because the manager's job can be viewed in the perspective of a three-sided responsibility relationship. If it is proper to view the responsibilities of business management within the framework of an equilateral triangle, one side definitely should be assigned to a re-analysis of a responsibility to each other. Each man is important to his company either in a management capacity or as an individual contributor. Both groups, working harmoniously together, are essential to the success of any business enterprise. Everyone, on occasion, is guilty of taking an extremely narrow view of his responsibilities to the extent that he feels his problems and his activities represent the most important considerations in the company. He sometimes fails to recognize the contributions others are making toward the final red or black figures that appear on the corporate profit-and-loss statement. There was a time, and unfortunately it still exists to some extent in the oil industry, when most of the important decisions were made by the "seat of the manager's pants"; many years of trial-and-error experience determined what the best course of action would be. We can no longer afford this type of decision making! For example, the location of an oil well often was decided by a judgment that, if used today, would be labeled an "old wive's tale". Then, along came the professional geologist with his vast storehouse of knowledge about the earth's structure and with all kinds of scientific equipment to assist him in his work. It is only fair to say that, even with this technical guidance, the record of the industry shows only one commercial producer out of seven attempts. The important contributions made by the petroleum engineer are well known and need no elaboration here.