...decisions to executives through e-mail after two weeks on the job. However, two months later, she found that no one responded her decisions. Problems: 1. Senior personnel change The suddenly senior personnel change is one of the serious problems.At first, Cabletronica appointed Sampson to be the new head of CA, replacing the well-regarded founder, Frances Wong, who was very familiar with the operation of CA. Moreover, the period that Sampson started the appointment was in the busiest time of year, there were a lot of tasks of design and manufacturing to achieve a strong end-of-year holiday sales. The most serious problems were that although Sampson had professional financial ranks and successful background, she did not work with line managers in a manufacturing setting. 2. Communication system The problem of communication system led to no one responded Sampson’s decisions. It was an ineffective way to announce the important changing of policies to executives through e-mail memorandum, because e-mail is a low powerful communication channel in business communication. Although Cabletronica generally used e-mail to communicate, it was not as well as at CA. While Wong, who was very familiar with the process of CA, indicated that e-mail was not an effective way to announce, Sampson still insisted her own idea. There is a communication...
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...activity, and is a form of pollution. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and wells. Although oil spills can be controlled by chemical dispersion and/or absorption, this is not something easily to recover from. Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up. The cost of the oil spill clean-up is reported to be in the billions of dollars. BP had workers on the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig that could have prevented the missteps that led to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill according to the White House oil spill commission. The crew onboard the rig misread the pressure test and decided to move ahead which resulted in the rig exploding. What caused the oil spill to happen on the deep water horizon? The oil spill occurred because of impaired cement which caused the pipes of where the oil is stored to crack. Between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil leaked from a broken pipe each day into the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida were most affected by the BP oil spill. But the entire Gulf coast may have been impacted in terms of the environmental...
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...BP TEXAS CITY Answer #1 As this case shows Human Rights violation BP, The company was lacking operational decisions, such as ensuring that safety standards are appropriate for employees; rather than pursuing additional profits and hiding behind a mask of public relations. Viewed from this perspective, ‘calculated casualties’ don’t provide the greatest amount of good; it simply highlights an unethical and ruthless pursuit of profits and hence environmental destruction and human deaths would widely be considered unethical. Answer#2 Yes, the OSHA policies and rules are aimed at addressing problems that existed in BP texas. The problems continued for so many years because of the culture of BP. They were not serious about the safety of employees and were focusing on making numbers. Answer#3 As it is mentioned in the case that BP global management was aware of problems with maintenance, spending and infrastructure well before March 2005 they were informed and had many OSHA violation , In 2005 they had an agreement with OSHA to fix the safety violations but BP had failed to do so stating that budget pressures were the reason behind it. Therefore such a big penalty was announced. Answer#4 * Use checklist and follow OSHA standards, Should properly train and motivate staff to use personal protective equipment. Form evacuation plans * Conduct safety and health audits. Introduce policies and give trainings to supervisor. * Proper selection and placement of employees and...
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...I’m going to discuss the problem at hand which is BP and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill which caused so much damage to the environment and also huge economic losses within a short period of time among other damages. Meanwhile, the CEO, Tony Hayward’s response especially about a comment he made on air causes a stir and the fact that BP has got quite a poor safety record, heightened the reaction of the political and public to BP’s involvement in the spill. In short, I’m discussing the communication problem, its causes and symptoms and the application of the communication model. The main communication problem facing BP is their CEO’s choice of words to the public through the media about how no one wanted the problem over than he did and how he wanted his life back which was beyond inconsiderate, insensitive and out of touch by choosing words like that. The problem is affecting BP’s reputation and major implications for the organization of BP forcing them to implement strategies for the unanticipated environmental changes. It will also affect BP’s relationship with the government as the President is already under significant pressure to be tough with BP. The causes include the failure to learn their lesson from previous crisis concerning their number of highly visible US safety issues to implement strategies before the unanticipated event occurred. This would be fair to the concerns of the U.S. Congress to ask Mr. Hayward about whether BP had deliberately traded off safety measures...
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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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...BTEC HND in Business - Level 5 Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour Submitted by: Silviu Daniel Varvara ID: 22716 Edexel: FA62596 Date: Lecturer: Statement of Authenticity: I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own. Where the work of others has been used, has been used to support my work and credit has been acknowledged. Task 1 1.1 You are required to select any two companies from UK energy industry to compare and contrast the different organisational structures and culture with another company from the same industry. 1.2 Explain how the relationship between structure and culture can impact on business performance of the first organisation you have selected 1.3 Also discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at your first organisation that you have chosen. Task 2 2.1 Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles with another business organisation in the same industry. 2.2 Also explain how the management functions, managerial roles and management authorities will underpin their practice of this company management. 2.3 You need to evaluate the different approaches to management used by the both organisations concerned in this task. Task 3 3.1 You have to discuss the impacts on different leadership styles on organisational motivation throughout the change of periods...
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...BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: What Went Wrong Elizabeth D. Jones Southern New Hampshire University Student: 0811981 Abstract On April 20th 2010 the Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by BP, exploded unleashing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico resulting in the largest marine oil spill in history. What makes this spill so significant is the fact that the spill continued unabated for three months causing the declaration of a state of emergency across several states (Bozeman, 2011). The purpose of this study is to highlight the significant issues of management and leadership within BP and point out how the poor decisions surrounding the spill deeply hindered their corporate reputation. Additionally, the paper will offer ways in which BP and those involved could have possibly prevented this disaster or have better mitigated the impact had the catastrophe still occurred. Managing risks, monitoring safety, effective communication and ownership of faults are all solutions that if implemented can help BP restore their reputation and prevent misfortunes like this from happening in the future. BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: What Went Wrong British Petroleum (BP), In the early evening of April 20th, 2010 uncontrolled hydrocarbons escaped causing an explosion on the oil-drilling platform Deepwater Horizon resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters in world history. Within 36 hours the massive oil rig, approximately...
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...Running Head: BP OIL SPILL (2010) BP Oil Spill (2010) kemy Emesih Southern New Hampshire University Abstract In researching this topic, the organizational roles, structures and behaviors at various levels of employee hierarchy and how they played into one of the biggest crisis in the United States – BP oil spill 2010 was examined. Also looked at, was the dysfunction within the organization and if the cleanup had led to a better organizational structure, culture, communication, leadership and behavior. What are irredeemably forsaken are reputation and trust that can lead to a company folding up if it is not built on a good Organizational structure, culture, personality, communication, decision making and ethics. Some research questions were asked and used to answer some of these issues. What were the behavioral approach as it pertained to leadership? How did leadership influence, change or manage people? Did it inspire a vision, put people first and act decisively when there were issues? Etc. As stated above, this research paper specifically looks at BP Organizational structure and communication, culture, leadership and behavior as a whole and provides some solutions that could better help, prevent or avoid future crisis. BP Oil Spill 2010 Introduction In every company or organization, there is a structure and there are rules and regulations...
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...During April 2010, BP was involved in the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill brought about plenty of pollution to the marine wildlife and destroyed Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Accordingly, the government established a panel to look into the accident. The investigation result indicated that the accident was unavoidable because of serious of blunders involved in drilling the well. In this essay, I will examine the communication problem that occurred and explore key causes and symptoms related to the problem. Bad management and communication breakdown by BP and its partners are partly to blame for the oil disaster. However, it was BP who was the main culprit for failing to ensure its cost cutting measures did not further increase risks in a dangerous environment. All involved companies were struggling with poor communication between each other, as they failed to share important information. One of the major questions being asked was who was in charge of the command portion of the operations. Some assumed it was BP and its partners while others concluded it to be the government. This confusion lead to all parties pointing the finger at each other rather than finding a plan to control the situation. One of the causes for the oil spill was an engineering one, as many equipments were failed to be inspected on schedule. Poor communication was another cause, as no one had a big picture of what was going on. No structure or plan was put in...
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...Report – Culture and History of BP Introduction To build a good communication within an organization, we need to have heedful interactions between different business functions both inside and outside of the firm. As we introduced before, the weak internal and external communication contributed to BP’s accident. But the root cause of the weak communication is the heedless interactions. In this section, we will talk about BP’s history and culture, and we will explain how BP’s history and culture lead to those heedless interactions. In each of the following three sections, we will first talk about one specific history, and we will analyze how such a history develop a specific bad culture within BP and finally we will explain how such bad culture leads to heedless interactions and ineffective communications. I Risk-taking Culture Ever since its predecessor Anglo-Persian Oil Co., BP has been eager to explore oil in developing areas because there were a lot of potential profits in those areas. After those explorations, BP became one of the largest oil companies in the world in terms of its oil reserves. BP has experienced tons of benefits from that, and ever since then, BP developed an aggressive and risk-taking culture. BP has been focusing on exploring new areas and expanding its oil reserve. Whenever BP heard that there might be a rich oil reserve in some undeveloped areas, it will head there with no second thought. While on the other side, BP chose to neglect the risks underneath...
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...ISSN: 2278-3369 International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics Available online at www.managementjournal.info CASE STUDY Crisis communication failures: The BP Case Study Daniel De Wolf1, Mohamed Mejri2* 1University 2Ecole of Littoral Côte d’Opale (ULCO)/Management & Economics, Dunkerque, France. Superieure de Commerce/Management Department, University of Manuba, Tunis, Tunisia. *Corresponding author: Email: mohamed.mejri@univ-littoral.fr Abstract On the 20th of April 2010, an outstanding explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated in the Golf of Mexico caused the largest maritime disaster oil spill in the USA history and particularly caused considerable reputation and financial losses to BP.To deal with the spill oil as well as reputation and financial losses, the company particularly use many tactics and tools to communicate with stakeholders during and after the crisis. However, crisis management and communication experts’ opinions differed on whether BP crisis communication was effective or ineffective.This paper aims to assess BP crisis communication and mainly to point out possible failures through a content analysis of secondary data collected from various sources (newspapers, magazines, annual reports and blogs). Keywords: British Petroleum, Crisis communication, Crisis Management, Deepwater horizon. Introduction On the 20th of April 2010, the petroleum industry has been marked by the largest maritime disaster oil spill...
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...the family interact with each other and in relation to the group as a whole are often referred to as family dynamics” (Bowles, 2011, para. 1). A following assessment of the BJ & BP’s family was completed using the Friedman Family Assessment Tool. History of Family BJ & BP meet at a mutual friend’s house in December 1999. They dated for almost two years before getting married on August 18, 2001. Their family is a blended family with three children CM, who is a 16-year-old girl, CJ. who is a seven-year old boy, and DM, who is a five- year old girl. The father, BP, is a 34-year-old Caucasian male of American Irish Catholic descent who has been working as a truck-driver for US Gas Company since 2006. During BP’s childhood he lived with his mother, then father, and then his grandparents and never received his high school diploma or GED. The mother, BJ, is also 34-year-old American Caucasian of mixed heritage. BJ was a teen mom delivering her 1st daughter, CM, one month before her 18th birthday. BJ and CM’s father were married in July, prior to CM’s birth, after BJ graduated from high school. BJ and CM”s father divorced 4 years later. After the divorce BJ and CM lived with BJ’s mother for two years before BJ and BP married. BJ currently works at the Secretary of Illinois State’s office as a secretary/data entry clerk for the grand jury. CM, CJ, and DM attend school within the Chicago Public School systems. CM’s high school is approximately one-mile from the home and CJ & DM’s elementary...
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...company. Just like to set up a communication consistent standard for all the employees of BP for different location, culture and language. Originally, this is a good way to guide the company staff to maintain company standard and reputation. But the code did not effectively address specific high-risk activities for the scope of daily operations. It was quite reasonable because at the very beginning stage of drafting the related guidelines, not every experience or assumed circumstancs were fully considered in the daily operations. Unfortunately, after the spill happened, several reports have pointed out that BP's internal problems were the main causes of the disaster. In 2009, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had put a record largest fine of $87 million upon BP’s company. In the investigation, the OSHA has issued as many as 271 notifications to BP’s company. The notifications were mainly dealing with a series of misconducts which BP’s company performed in the 2005 Texas refinery explosion hazard. Moreover, BP’s company improper management and lack of adequate safety precautions were once again been found in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at Mexico in 2010. Millions of gallons of oil were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico in this incident. The nearby environment was highly deteriorated and many precious lives had lost. On 5 January 2011, a report has been issued by the White House oil spill commission, it pointed out that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean had...
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...Final Paper Management 5000 – OGF1 2010 Management Statement of the Problem From the perspective of strategic planning and leadership, how could British Petroleum Company (BP) have minimized the risk of the deepwater oil drilling incident of April 20, 2010, and done a better job of crisis management after the fact? This environmental emergency was the result of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion which killed 11 workers, injured 17 others, and resulted in a sea-floor oil gusher leaking 185 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The media is filled with stories criticizing BP for not taking proper precautions to prevent the accident, and for their public response immediately following it. The following are representative of the headlines covering media outlets across the country and internationally: “BP touts itself as ‘green’, but faces PR disaster with BP oil spill” (Farhi, 2010), “Another Torrent BP Works to Stem: Its C.E.O.” (Krauss, 2010) “BP contingency plans for dealing with oil spill was riddled with errors” (Clark, 2010), “BP’s failures made worse by PR mistakes” (Weber, 2010), “BP oil spill: Leadership and IT failure (Krigsman, 2010). Statement of major relevant principles to be applied The major relevant principles to be applied to this analysis are strategic planning and leadership as they relate to crisis management. Strategic Planning Strategic planning is the process by which organizations define their strategy and make decisions...
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...avoidable mistakes can happen that can have detrimental effects on company. An effective risk management plan will identify potential risks as well as provide ways to avoid these risks to ensure a safe workplace, and financial stability for the organization. Although financial risks are very important for a company, safety risks can severely harm an organization’s employees, users, and reputation. A company that failed to properly implement an effective risk management plan is BP Chemical Company (BP). The risk management failure of BP caused many issues for the organization, employees, so much more including people, places, and things. In 2010 an explosion and fire in the Gulf of Mexico on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was a result of a poor risk management plan that lead to the death of 11 as well as the release of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf (Zolkos & Bradford, 2011). According to a report done by the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management the investigators found no evidence that BP performed a formal risk assessment of critical operational decisions made in the days leading up to the blowout. BP's failure to fully assess the risks associated with a number of operational decisions leading up to the blowout was a contributing cause of the Macondo blowout (Zolkos & Bradford, 2012). The lack of a proper risk management plan failed to identify the potential risks that lead to the devastating explosion that could have been prevented. One of the...
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