The Relationship between Staff Attributes and Sharp Practices in the Oil and Gas Down Stream Sector in Nigeria

We studied the various attributes of the staff of twenty filling stations in Nigeria and related the attributes to sharp practices in the sector. To achieve this purpose, the filling stations¡¯ managers, attendants and drivers were interrogated using survey questionnaire. A total of forty staff was sampled. The data collected were analyzed and hypotheses tested using stata 9 soft ware. We find that, experience is critical in reducing sharp practices (ie it is a factor across all the three groups of respondents) in the sector more than any other factor. The age of staff is also important in the reduction of sharp practices, since, it cuts across two of the units of analysis. We also find that the independent marketers are more into sharp practices than the major marketers (I¦Ä < M¦Ä). Based on these findings, we conclude that the sector is best run by experienced and aged personnel and our recommendation is that the workers must be adequately remunerated to motivate and distract workers from indulging in sharp practices.