Upper management has dug a deep ho-e that will be tough to get out of. Not impossible but very challenging.
In my opinion the BG deal was a disaster that we still haven't recovered from. Our debt almost tripled after we acquired BG and we still haven't made a big dent in it. Right now we have exactly the same amount of debt as we did post purchase. A lot of the assets we got from BG were subpar at best with the biggest benefit coming from LNG which has shown good results but may have a questionable future.
We are very inefficient. In a high margin oil industry, our margins are pathetically low compared to other companies. Its hard for me to believe that Shell can survive in a very low margin hypercompetitive utility business.
A lot of the financial metrics can be blamed at bad commercial deals along with poor management of the assets that exist. No one takes accountability. I understand that the organization is very large and people need to be rotated around to get experience but higher ups need to be accountable for the decisions they make! The organizations need to be flatter as well as there are too many mid-level managers.
There are tons of ineffective project and central organizations with capable people that just spin wheels all day long trying to sell projects around Shell. Gotta cut it out.
There has been a lot offshoring of different disciplines that may cuts costs short term but may end up having long term issues with integration. So far its so-so.
Summary:
- Hold managers accountable
- Flatten organizations
- Remove non-value add groups
- Slow down offshoring
Originally posted by @1fcy+1b0IIhFE.