As a student trying to support myself through college years, I started working in an Oil and Gas company called Jacobswell. This is not an easy busy because of the challenges such as pricing, difficult customers, as well as the lack of oil supply at time. At times all the staffs in the office are so distressed due to the lack of oil to supply the paying customer. So during meetings we always sit and discuss the issues involved. The best way to manage the stress and problems are by using the six thinking hats by Edward de Bono.
By using the white hat which is by running through facts we can learn that in order to produce oil and sell it to the market we first need crude oil. And from the available facts we also know that there is 2 trillion barrels of oil available in total but in recent years there are information that half of the 2 trillion barrels of oil has been used up. People use oil for everything. For power generators, for transformers, for vehicles etc. This also means that oil will be continuously used up until there is no more left. It is predicted that by 2020 there will be major decrease in oil production. This means our company should not accept all orders and if we do not have the oil we should not over promise as this would only put us in a difficult situation. Then by using the red hat we find solutions to every staff’s worries and main concerns as some may feel distressed, helpless, disturbed and scared. This all happens due to us being unable to deliver on time and customers become agitated and start yelling at the staffs and start being very demanding. By using the yellow hat we discuss more on the positive side on everything we are going through like what is the outcome of this. Maybe by going through all this we learn to handle pressure and remain calm in the worst situations and also we learn proper management with the right skills. The company also needs to learn that all resources are finite and that the involved authority should investigate and set up researches to find new alternatives. Now by using the black hat we learn to be judgemental and be more on the negative side. For example due to the gradually decreasing oil supply the prices are also rising, so by using the black hat we would wonder if customers would buy as it would increase their expenditures as well and they may start losing money. So even common people like us would be contemplating whether we should give up our driving habits and use public transportation instead and some may be even thinking of giving up their V8 cars. That will definitely cut down the usage of oil which also poses a negative threats to our company. When we think creatively we put on the green hat. Here we start discussing other alternative oils such as biofuels and how we can produce and sell this and save the entire company from falling to pieces. Last but not least we put on the blue hat. This is the process that we use to make a conclusion based on evaluation based on the issues that the company is facing and move forward. Here the company can invest in other alternatives as said earlier and bring it into the market. Here the company must also think outside the box and conserve as much oil as possible. Probably use ethanol as a replaced additive in petrol which helps reduce the use of oil by 60%, thus we will have more oil for future use.