Research Proposal on Petrotrin's Oil Refinery Operations

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
After conducting an investigation into Petrotrin’s oil refinery operations, the following problems
have been discovered:
 Mismanagement practices
 Poor Financial performance
 Over-Staffing
 Powerful Union
 Extreme fluctuating market prices
 Technological challenges
 Low Productivity
 Aging Infrastructure
 Environmental and Ethical Issues
These negative factors have led the government to close operations and terminate 1,700
employees in an effort to restructure and redesign its exploration and production business.
OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
This paper is aimed at helping the company in the long-term become a viable, sustainable and
profitable entity which will enhance the standard of living in Trinidad. The specific objectives to
be achieved by this initiative include:
 Identify key external and internal risk factors associated with the sustainability of the
company
 Critically evaluate the company’s leadership and strategic objectives
 Explore the possibilities of new and emerging opportunities
 Determine solutions and strategies that can solve the current problems the company faces

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
ELEMENTS OF THE EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
As we review the macro environment in which Petrotrin operates in, conducting a PESTLE
analysis is a strategic tool used for industry analysis and business strategy. This section will also
look at other situational factors such as the company’s competitors and customers to determine
its impact on the company.
1. PESTLE Analysis
A PESTLE analysis, sometimes referred to as a PEST analysis, consider matters related to
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. (Gupta, 2013)
Research study emphasizes that a PEST analysis is a critical component for strategic
management and allows organizations to understand pertinent external factors in determining
market growth or decline and as such provides an outlook for the future.
Political-
 It is a republic country, with parliamentary democracy system based on the UK systems.
 Political stability persists since 1962, when the country gained independence. There is no
such incidence of political violence, except in 1990, caused by an Islamist group that
attacked the parliament to take over the government (gov.uk, 2018).
Economic-
 It is the most industrialised country among the English speaking nations in the Caribbean
Islands and second wealthiest in terms of GDP and GDP per capita among the Caribbean
(Brereton, Robinson & Watts, 2018)
 The economy is based on oil and natural gas reserves and it is 6th largest exporter of
liquid gas (gov.uk, 2018)
 It has open market driven economy, promoting FDI, trade liberalisation and public sector
reform.