...Problems inside BP Submitted by: Date: December 4, 2014 Memo 12/4/14 Jeff Lewis Metropolitan State University of Denver 890 Auraria Parkway Denver, CO 80204 Dear Jeff: Enclosed is my report on British Petroleum and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This report shows how BP cut corners to expedite construction and save millions of dollars. As a result, the biggest oil spill in United States occurred. Due to the reckless conduct of BP, the corners cut by the people in charge ended up costing them billions of dollars as well as endangering the habitat and wildlife in the area. After reading this report you will realize BP’s CEO Tony Hayward, all the way down to the engineers in charge of everyday operations were to blame for the worse oil tragedy in our history. Sincerely, Executive Summary This is a report on how British Petroleum has failed in many areas of business communications. It’s going to include 3 main points that will explain in detail on how British Petroleum had bad communication and how it ended up creating history’s biggest oil spill in the United States in the Gulf of Mexico. The 3 main points include: 1. Pre-Event Planning a. Anticipate, Prepare, Practice b. “Safety” Not a Core Value c. Responsibility of Employees 2. Expressing Concern and Wrongful Focus a. Slow in Expressing Concern b. Lack of Sympathy to Affected People c. Accountability 3. Company...
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...Introduction Corporate governance could be defined as the system of regulating and overseeing corporate conduct and of balancing the interests of all internal stakeholders and other parties which are external stakeholders, governments and local communities who can be affected by the corporation's conduct, in order to ensure responsible behavior by corporation and to achieve the maximum level of efficiency and profitability for a corporation. (Jean, Anil and Mirko 2011, pp.10). Therefore, the corporate governance framework consists of explicit and implicit contracts between the company and the stakeholders for distribution of responsibilities, rights, and rewards; the procedures for reconciling the sometimes conflicting interests of stakeholders in accordance with their duties, privileges, and roles; and procedures for proper supervision, control, and information-flows to serve as a system of checks-and-balances. (businessdictionary.com 2012) Starbucks Company and British Petroleum Plc are chosen to explain and discuss on good corporate governance; meanwhile Enron is chosen to explain and discuss on bad corporate governance. Since Starbucks and Enron are incorporated in the United States of America (USA), therefore these two companies will be used to compare how they governance their company under principle of corporate governance of America. Corporate Governance in United States (US) In United States, after have various corporate scandals, corporate governance has rising...
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...and acknowledge that they have read and understood the policy. In most cases a policy isn’t enough to deter negative behaviors. Asking for feedback and allowing employees to express their point of view is one a great measure to implement. In addition, when employees exhibit positive behaviors they should be recognized in a systematic manner. This will create a culture that fosters an optimistic corporate culture. BP Podcast The BP oil spill that occurred off of the Louisiana Gulf Coast is perhaps the worst oil spill to occur in history. It aroused a nationwide concern for the environmental strains placed on our ecosystem and placed a high profile spotlight on the legal considerations both a corporation and government should uphold to prevent and handle such situations. Risk management is both a preventative and situational measure that all organizations should strictly enforce. BP’s risk management department failed to avert the disaster that destroyed wildlife habitats and fishing industries and that took the lives of eleven of its employees. Furthermore, BP failed to have proper procedures in place to handle the matter after it occurred. This raises the questions as to what legal propositions are there to ensure a risk management department is working efficiently. In terms of liability the...
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...the relationship between ethics and reputation What constitutes good ethics and good governance? Why are good ethics and good governance important? 3 Changes of ethics trends have brought to the expectation framework Public Expectation （公众的期望） 4 There has been an increasing expectations that business exists to serve the needs of both shareholders and society. Stakeholders’ support are ultimate to the success of businesses or professions to achieve their long-run strategic objectives. A Stakeholder（利益相关者） is: 5 a person, group, organization, member or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder) MAP OF CORPORATE STAKEHOLDER ACCOUNTABILITY Shareholders Activists Employees Governments Corporation Customers Creditors Lenders Suppliers Others, including the media, who can be affected by or who can affect the achievement of the corporation’s objectives 6 Figure 1.1 Support of Stakeholders 7 Stakeholders’ support depends on the credibility(可靠 性， 可信性） that stakeholders place in corporate commitments, the corporate’s reputations and the strength of its competitive advantages. How do you get the support from stakeholders? Support of Stakeholders 8 A company’s activities should respect the values and interests of the stakeholders. Corporate directors are expected to govern their company ethically. The corporation is...
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...entrepreneurial problems takes the form of irresponsibility and lack of accountability of the firms in regard to the negative externalities they create to the society, deteriorating integrity and manipulation of ethical codes of conduct. In the recent past the oil firms have been in the international focus for their major role in the pollution of the environment as they produce and distribute their product and even as the products are consume. One of the major casualties for this problem is BP Oil Company that has been in wrong books with the international community for its growing unethical standards that emerged in the twenty-first century. To save its tainted reputation and restore its public image, BP management has been working on various strategic plans to improve the firm’s code of conduct. This came into light with the 2005 publication on code of conduct that was entitled “our commitment to integrity.” Due to the multinational status of the BP Company it has geographically dispersed operational regions across the world and this meant that they were to circulate this message to all its employees across the globe. The debate over the position of BP on the issue of risks stands out as a much asked question by many people. It is understood that the oil production from the sea is a contractual co-operation between BP and Transocean as the driller. However, the risk need to be absorbed by both of the as the primary stakeholders. BP is the major shareholder in the risk management and safety...
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...Professional Nursing Accountability: Our Ethical Responsibility Ralaya L. Allen R.N. Grand Canyon University: Professional Dynamics 08/27/11 Professional Nursing Accountability: Our Ethical Responsibility In healthcare, accountability can be regarded as a responsibility as well as a legal obligation. Patients have the right to be treated by well educated professional personnel such as doctors, nurses, and ancillary staff. Without accountability, there would not be consequences for unfavorable actions taken on the behalf of the patient. It is reverent in the physicians oath “do no harm"; this is a fundamental truth in all healthcare practices. Professional Nursing Nurses have both an ethical and moral responsibility to their patients. According the American Nurses Association, "Ethics is central to the way we care, and to the way we envision ourselves as professionals..."(2011, p.1). A nurse’s moral responsibility is based from their own personal conviction of doing what is right for the patient. Legal Obligation Today, healthcare regulations are governed by laws. All medical professionals are required to obtain and uphold adequate licensure and provide patient care per the current laws. The nursing licensure is dictated by the State Board of Nursing. In Nevada, completion certification must be presented to the State Board of Nursing from a state approved nursing program. The student must also pass a full background investigation, as well as also pass the...
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...Border Patrol is a model law enforcement agency. Instances of corruption are rare and Border Patrol agents use lethal force seven times less than the national average” (“Integrity Advisory Panel”). The author of this particular article further insists that any investigation is futile and that BP agents should be left alone to do their job, and despite the existing misdemeanors “CBP needs to respond to real problems, not ones perceived or that are part of an agenda…Simply hiring more investigators will not solve the problem of corruption and abuse within CBP” (“Integrity Advisory Panel”). In order to deal with some of the existing flaws within the agency, an adjustment to its Use-of-Force Policy (of how the agents deal with civilians) was implemented (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/amid-criticism-border-patrol-to-change-use-of-force-policy/). The original policy came under scrutiny “after 19 reported deaths in 2012 at the hands of Border Patrol agents. No agents have been prosecuted for the killings,” as often is the case...
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...On April 20th, 2010, the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. This lead to 11 crew members died and caused large-scale oil pollution. The economic loss of ecological environment in Gulf of Mexico would up to several hundred billion dollars. As the main person in charge, BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, did not timely response to this oil spill event. And his inappropriate remarks and performance was even aroused great dissatisfaction among the people and caused a huge loss of profits of BP. “I'm sorry. We're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused their lives. There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I'd like my life back” said by Tony Hayward. And not long after the incident, he was also criticized for having a sunbathe on the beach of Isle of wight in southern England. Under the pressure of public comments, Tony Hayward decided to resign for restoring BP’s reputation. In this case, I think the most important key term is responsibility, both include company’s social responsibility and BP CEO’s responsibility for BP and all relevant people. First of all, I want to mention that this is the most serious oil pollution incident in America. This event not only results in a large area of oil pollution but also caused ecological damage. It caused more than 547 birds died and Animals who live in the Gulf of Mexico will lose their wetland homes. So in this event, Either Hayward or BP, should have considered social responsibility on a daily basis. Here social responsibility...
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...Individual assignment 2016 Managing IT Projects/ ITM8X05 Individual assignment 2016 Managing IT Projects/ ITM8X05 Suhail Bhana/201329489 Suhail Bhana/201329489 Table of Contents Question 1 2 Step 1: Identify the Facts 2 Step 2: Key Issue Identification 3 Step 3: Alternative Courses of Action 3 Step 4: Evaluate Alternatives 3 Step 5: Select Best Solution 4 Question 2 4 Initial Contract 4 Contract Re-Opening Evaluation 5 Conclusion 5 Question 3 6 Roles and Responsibilities 6 Type of Structure 7 Accountability 7 Project Ownership 7 Controls, Measurement and Monitoring 7 Business Strategy Alignment 8 Independent Scrutiny of Projects 8 Conclusion 8 Question 4 9 References 10 Question 1 In order to analyse the situation identified in the case study, a number of steps can be followed: Step 1: Identify the Facts * The North American Financial Corporation(NAFC) was founded in 1850 and has a large presence in Canada’s financial markets * NAFC’s IT systems are managed by their own subsidiary, the IT Management Company(ITMC) which has 2 main IT Development groups; the first is an internal maintenance and development group, the second is a consulting group. * NAFC adopted an aggressive expansion strategy and in 2001, acquired a security brokerage firm known as Blixton which allowed for the creation of a new subsidiary known as NAF-Insur. * The acquisition of Blixton sparked the need to redevelop the Mortgage...
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...referred to as the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill or Deepwater Horizon oil spill, took place in the Gulf of Mexico and started due to “well integrity failure” on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oilrig. A “blowout preventer,” the device that seals the well in situations such as this, failed to engage. The failure led to hydrocarbons uncontrollably shooting up the well, triggering a chain of explosions. These explosions not only killed 11 BP personnel, but also unleashed over four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (Bryant 2011). The leak took three months to stop, despite a variety of attempts, before BP finally capped it off on July 15th, 2010 (Adams and Gabbert 2010). In response to the crisis BP launched a website to present itself and its responses in a positive manner. BP’s “Gulf of Mexico Restoration” website uses these three strategies to try to repair its reputation: BP uses vibrant images of beaches and aquatic habitats to visually demonstrate its progress toward restoring the environment affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident; chronicles its accomplishments of restoring the Gulf of Mexico using sizeable headliners and captions, and provides a timeline of expenditures to display its financial commitment to revamping the damaged region. BP uses stunning pictures of restored beaches and enhanced aquatic habitats to express its commitment to rectifying all damages the oil spill had on people and their communities. BP scattered pictures of gorgeous shorelines...
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...the ultimate sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. Although this disaster was accidental there were many warning signs that BP neglected which could have prevented it. To begin with, the construction of the underwater drilling pipelines were shoddy and a vital valve was installed backwards. Consequently the pipelines became brittle, full of cracks, and flooded. In addition, equipment readings, internal documents from BP engineers, and other red flags warned that the rig wasn’t operating correctly and that there was potential for a dangerous explosion. However, all these signs were ignored and not addressed as threats by managers. In an effort to avoid incurring costs and to maximize profit, BP cut corners and underestimated the importance of safety. After initial investigations it became clear that BP not only missed significant signs but staff did not have proper training, maintenance of the rig was inferior, and overall BP lacked formalized emergency responses and a safety culture. As a result BP has undergone strict investigations by the U.S Justice Department and a variety of environmental organizations. The company has faced and is still facing both civil and criminal charges and was initially set to pay over $20 billion in damage claims. Due to the oil spill and explosion BP’s stock fell 52% in 50 days in the New York Stock Exchange. Before the disaster BP was valued at $182 billion...
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...BP and The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Jose Roberto Dominguez Dr. Ken Rossi MGMT 6000 A (CRN: 1535) September 20, 2015 Table of Contents Case Introduction and Background 3 BP or Industry Failure 4 Most Significant Flawed Decisions 5 Did BP lack the appropriate safety culture? 8 References 12 BP and The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Case Introduction and Background This particular case study created an abundance of unanswered questions for me to consider and made me realize how poorly we are at regulating industries that continue to deplete our natural resources and yet don’t even prepare for when disasters strikes. The details of this case are alarming for a number of reasons and the most critical point that resonates throughout the entire paper, is that profit margins exceed any other concerns, to the point that even death could not convince them to make the changes to their company culture. The cycle of errors came to a complete pause, on the evening of April 20, 2010 when a “serious of explosions rocked the Deepwater Horizon, a mobile offshore drilling rig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico” according to (Roberto Pg.1) and one that saw a serious of catastrophically events, that would change the lives of many. That fateful night under the cover of darkness, eleven people died and several other encountered injuries that required medical attention and rescue. This occurred as direct fault of equipment, when the blowout preventer failed. The device is designed...
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...BP: Marketing Case Study Sarah Allen, Matthew Earhart, Amelia Pye I. Case Summary BP plc, formerly known as British Petroleum and Anglo-Persian Oil Company, is a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England (“BP”). It is the fifth-largest company in the world measured by 2012 revenues (BP Annual Report 51). Its extensive corporate history has created a non-malleable image and reputation which present-day marketing strategies must overcome in order to effectively promote the ideals of industry leadership and ethical responsibility. BP is faced with significant challenges to its brand as a consequence of its widely-known safety and environmental policy issues. An explosion at one of its Texas refineries caused fifteen deaths, 170 injuries, and a violation of the Clean Air Act in 2005. Years of neglecting pipeline corrosion led to its violation of the Clean Water Act in 2006 when Alaskan oil pipelines leaked crude oil into the tundra. The following year, another BP spill occurred near Prudhoe Bay, leaking toxic chemicals into the tundra and thus killing wildlife and vegetation (“BP Gulf Coast Disaster and Recovery”). These incidents, however, were dwarfed by an explosion at BP’s Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, in April 2010. The explosion caused the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. It resulted in the deaths of eleven people and the release of an estimated 210 million gallons...
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...BP Case and The Gulf of Mexico Jorge Salazar Hawaii Pacific University MGMT 6000 September 23, 2015 BP Case and The Gulf of Mexico Introduction The BP case concerning the Gulf of Mexico dealt with the second largest company in the world at that time (2010), it was founded in 1908 and it had more than 92,000 employees. Deepwater Horizon had two main components, owned and operated by offshore oil drilling company (Transocean) and it was leased by BP Oil Company. The BP oil spill occurred in April 20, 2010, there were three major cracks that spilled the crude oil into the ocean. The blast occurred approximately 41 miles from the Louisiana coast. The leaked continued for about three months after the explosion from the Macondo well, it was estimated that anywhere between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day were leaked, it is estimated that after all was said and done, approximately 4.9 million barrels were spilled. It is also important to mention that 11 workers died when this explosion happened. When the spill happened it affected a lot more than BP was expecting; it wasn’t just the Gulf of Mexico sea life (sea turtles, marine mammals, coral and fisheries), but it also affected all of the shores of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. When it hit all of these states, it affected their tourism, fishing, food, and healthcare just to name a few of the things. President Barack Obama stated, “Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has...
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...BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT BRP BP Business Research Report Content I. Corporate Profile …………………………..…1 II. Management…………………………………..2 III. Financial Statement Analysis……….……3 IV. Marking Strategy ……………………………..8 V. Cross-cultural Issues………………………..10 VI. International Business……………………11 VII. Human Resources Issues………………..12 VIII. Gulf of Mexico Oil spill…………………..16 IX. Conclusion……………………………………..18 X. Appendix ..………………………………………..20 1 BP Business Research Report I. Corporate profile BP, a public limited company in the industry of oil, natural gas and alternative fuels, runs its business in the exploration, production, refining, trading and distribution of energy. The products are mainly BP petroleum and derived products serving an area worldwide. BP was founded in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and renamed as British Petroleum Company in 1954. A merger of British Petroleum and Amoco in 1998 modeled the greatest petroleum company all over the world---BP. Headquartered in London, UK, BP launched its new green, white and yellow logo in 2000 which is designed to show the company's commitment to the environment and solar power. Bob Dudley performs BP’s CEO since Oct. 2010 and Carl -Henric Svanberg is chairman of the group. BP’s vision “A force for good” underlines all its activities worldwide. All BP’s 79,700 employees live under its corporate culture Slogan—Different people, common goals. BP ranked 4th in Fortune Global 500 in...
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