The origin of Shell is the merger of two parent companies, which makes it the most international major oil company. Today, Shell Group has business contacts in many countries, more than any other oil group. There are about 5,700 international employees, more than any other company. Shell Group is the largest multinational investor in the world, and its brand is one of the most famous brands in the world.
Shell Group has a long-term vision for business development. Shell has a history of 100 years in many countries and has long-term partners in various fields. Many of Shell's projects (upstream or downstream) have large investment scale, and the operation cycle is as long as several decades. For this reason, Shell has established and used complex visual planning technology to study the future development. Anglo-Dutch Shell Oil Company was formed by the merger of British Shell Transport Trading Company and Royal Dutch Oil Company in 1907. Shell Oil Company is the second largest oil company in the world, second only to Exxon Oil Company in the United States. Mainly engaged in oil, natural gas, chemical industry, coal and metal business. In terms of total assets, the company is the largest manufacturing company in the world; In terms of reserves, the company is the largest oil company in the world. Nearly half of the annual sales come from Europe, and about three-quarters come from the United States. Since the 1990s, the company has been among the best in sales, profits and total assets in the list of the world's largest industrial enterprises listed by Happiness magazine.
The company developed on the basis of foreign trade in oil and other commodities, so foreign business accounted for the vast majority of the company's sales long before the company was established. After the merger of the two companies, their strength was further strengthened, and they gained a firm foothold in the United States, thus expanding their business to the world. After World War II, the company continued to expand its business overseas. During this period, the company's attention mainly focused on Southeast Asia, the Middle East and African countries. When the oil crisis came, the company was forced to cooperate with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce oil supply. In addition, a considerable number of companies in developing countries have been nationalized, and companies have been greatly affected. In order to solve the dilemma, the company implemented a large-scale diversification plan and acquired some coal and metal enterprises. At the same time, the exploration and development of oil and gas resources in Beihai area of China has been intensified. However, the company has repeatedly maintained close business ties with South Africa, which has offended American consumers and international public opinion. These actions of the company were accused of blatantly violating the UN embargo resolution, and its products were also boycotted. Nevertheless, the company continues to operate around the world and rationalize its business structure. After the crisis, the company expanded its business target to non-oil exporting countries, and the chemical products industry also developed. In 1990, it started production in the catalytic cracking plant in Singapore, and in 19 1 year, it started production in the catalytic reformers in Japan and Australia. 199 1 cooperated with another company to explore new oil fields in Thailand and reached an agreement with China to build an oil refinery in Guangdong province. The company has refineries in 34 countries including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan, chemical manufacturing business in the United States, France, Brazil, Argentina and Singapore, coal business in countries such as South Africa and Australia, and various metal mining businesses in countries such as Brazil and Colombia. In order to cope with various risks, Shell has taken a series of major measures:
The company pursues the principle of simple administration and decentralization in organizational management to ensure that business companies have sufficient flexibility. For a long time, Shell Oil Company mainly arranged its organizational structure according to its geographical location. The company has set up four regional headquarters in mainland China and branches in relevant countries or regions. Every branch should be engaged in exploration, oil refining, sales and other businesses. The logistics department of the headquarters is responsible for providing legal, financial and information services to branches, so branches often have to accept multi-departmental and multi-level management and leadership, so the company adjusted the traditional matrix structure in 1995. The main content of this adjustment is to set up commercial institutions according to the company's main business scope. From the past multi-head management by region and department to direct management by business scope, the purpose is to make the directors of subordinate branches directly responsible for the company's operating conditions while enjoying greater autonomy, so as to ensure the implementation of the company's business strategy and effectively manage and restrict subordinate companies, and at the same time give full play to the subjective initiative of first-line enterprises.