...1. Introduction The company, BP is the third-largest energy company where produces approximately 3.8 million barrels of oil and gas per day and possesses 22,400 service stations over the world. However, the oil disaster called as BP oil spill or the deep water horizon oil spill was occurred on April 20th, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico recording the greatest oil spill compared to other oil spill accidents in our history. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion caused deaths of 11 workers, 17 workers injured as well as a tremendous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, this case has been described as a complex accident including a variety of issues ranging from environmental to economic, politics and even ethical issues. The goal of our research is to find any ethical issues since this disaster happened is closely related to ethics which is concerned with moral obligation, social responsibility and justice (Carolyn Wiley, 1997) either individual (‘bad apples’) or organizational (‘bad barrels), which should be evaluated to verify this case. Firstly, the ethical issues can largely be divided into three categories, namely (1) technical design which has had some testing flaws before the actual usage and insufficient guidelines against the negative pressure test, (2) human factors including misjudgment, errors and a failure in duty, (3) organizational system such as taking risk procedures to save time and money and refusing the advice of staff and contractors as well as slowness to...
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...Image creation-BP is in the mature stage of its life cycle, has been involved in multiple mishaps over the years. They have lost focus of their duty to the environment, the public, and its shareholders. 1) SWOT analysis Strengths-they have alot of money that can be reinvested in enhancing/repairing their image and focusing on the environment, their connections (with the British government and Navy), alternative energy (wind, solar, biofuels), infrastructure, carbon footprint toolkit, they were the first energy company to acknowledge global warming/environmental awareness Weaknesses-image, oil spills, poor ethics (price gouging,wire/mail fraud, etc.) Opportunities-technological opportunities (alternative energies, improved drilling capabilities, jumping onto the environmentally sustainable movement-and is also a threat to their original business model) Threats-politics (policies/regulations), economics (supply and demand fluctuation, improved commodities markets), competition, natural disasters 2) Problem Analysis (this should be clear and to the point-a few sentences is all that is necessary): Their image is tarnished, so they are concentrating on rebuilding this. They started this process by changing their name from British Petroleum to simply BP (Beyond Petroleum-suggesting that they will focus their efforts on multiple energy sources). Why is their image tarnished? What led to this occurring? What measures have they taken to address this issue? 3)...
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...Ethics William, Scott Ethics In the case of BP oil the internal factors that “affect” ethics within management started at the very top of BP. In, the beginning its handling of the deepwater horizon spill was a disaster. Bp was involved in a number of projects at the outset of this disaster in an effort to save; money However at the start there was a lack of adequate communication between top level management and the front office. Bp planned to use cement that was much lighter to cap the well and therefore cost less in a cost saving measure greed became a factor. That is an act of poor judgment on any individual in a managerial capacity. Bp from the start did not have a plan on how to go about organizing the cleanup of the spill even after they had been informed that if they would have used the right cement the first time the disaster could have been avoided. Management made many calls that compromised their ethics right from the start not only within the company but also on the jobsite in the way that they went about organizing the cleanup put employs at risk in efforts to make the company look more favorable. In similar incidents BP had been cited in the pass for safety issues. After the clean up BP lead the way in helping the fisherman affected by the spill a subcontractor for BP oil is hiring unemployed fishermen for boom deployment off the cost of Louisiana as part of the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill (Kelly May 2010). BP oil also set up a fund to help...
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...Ethics Case Analysis BP BP Struggles to Resolve Sustainability Disaster Case Summary: The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 is the worst oil spill in US history. Initial claims on the scope of the spill, as released by BP, was that 5,000 barrels per day were being released into the water, although they stated they had no way of precisely measuring the spill. Outside analysts have stated that between 54,000 and 84,000 barrels per day were leaking into the area. This estimate has been largely supported and accepted. The spill lasted for 87 days before workers finally sealed the leak, but by that time, more than 4 million barrels of oil had been released into the gulf. The BP oilrig, owned by Transocean, Deepwater Horizon had been in operation in the Gulf of Mexico since February 2001. The rig was valued at more than $560 million dollars and worked on many different wells in the gulf. The last well it operated on was the Macondo well. It was this well that the oil spill came from and was brought about by several preventable errors on the part of BP and Transocean management and employees. The Deepwater Horizon vessel was an exploratory rig assigned the duty of finding oil, reporting it, and capping the well for another extracting type rig to come in and harvest the oil. While drilling the well, the rig encountered pockets of natural gas buildups where it was drilling. A week prior to the fatal explosion, Horizon encountered one of these pockets and the natural...
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...Topic: An analysis of the corporate social responsibility demonstrated by BP in the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico | | | | | 9/15/2010 | | ------------------------------------------------- Topic: An analysis of the corporate social responsibility demonstrated by BP in the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico SECTION 1: Introduction The explosion on the Deepwater Horizontal rig on 20 April 2010 led to a serious consequence. A large area of oil spill spread through the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, this accident killed 11 people. (BP Global, 2010) Generally speaking, BP on the surface achieve the highest level of CSR, the discretionary responsibility which is the highest level in the pyramid of CSR. It includes economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic (discretionary) responsibilities (From bottom to the top) (Carroll, 1999, as cited by Lindgreen, et al, 2009). However, comments from the public and the US government appear to be unsatisfactory to the action taken by BP in this case. This essay will analysis the social responsibility demonstrated by BP by first looking at three journal articles from 2000 to 2010 written by Bird, Hall, Momente and Reggiani (2007); Shen and Chang (2009); and Udayasankar (2008), to further elaborate the insights in the articles and the academic theories into the application of the oil spill case in the Gulf of Mexico SECTION 2: Corporate Social Responsibility Article one Bird, Hall, Momente and Reggiani (2007) examine in...
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...Judging from the case, the fact was that the BP Atlantis project might run a certain risk of misoperation, which might lead to a catastrophic disaster. Kenneth Abbott, as a contractor who was hired to oversee BP databases, reported that and got termination abruptly. The issue was that whether it was wrongful discharge and how to deal with the remedies though BP had issued an exculpatory statement in response to Abbot’s allegations. Maryland law does provide a wrongful discharge cause of action for employees who are terminated because they perform their “statutorily prescribed duty.” But it is relatively conservative in identifying violations of public policy. Maryland courts have found such a mandate only in limited circumstances: (1) “where an employee has been fired for refusing to violate the law…” and (2) “where an employee has been terminated for exercising a specific a specific legal right or duty…” Therefore, if it was under the law of Maryland, a clear investigation should be done to make sure that whether the operation of BP was dangerous as Abbot reported or safe and reliable as BP claimed. Whether there were illegal operations or not? If there were not enough evidence to show that Abbot was fired for refusing to violate the law or exercising a specific legal right or duty, “wrongful discharge” could not stand. Employees who are professionals owe a special duty to abide not only by federal and state law, but also by the recognized codes of ethics of their professions...
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...| 1. Based on the history of the company, why did BP get involved in so much questionable conduct? BP's history extends back to 1901 when William D'Arcy's Anglo-Persian Oil Company first drilled for oil in Persia and after seven years of drilling and darcy's nearly spent his net worth finally oil spewed out and became rich. Unfortunately later at 1914 BP was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the very low demand of oil in global market. Accordingly ,BP's Board strategy focused for decades on selling and making profits by expanding and increasing their market shares and they have neglected BP responsibilities with respect to human and environmental resources in their Mission statements and Corporate goals . Below is part of their new mission statement and underlined parts emphasize how BP have changed their way of thinking and realized how social responsibility and environment are important to their business especially after several disasters that occurred to them last decade. Mission statement: "BP wants to be recognized as a great company – competitively successful and a force for progress. We have a fundamental belief that we can make a difference in the world. We help the world meet its growing need for heat, light and mobility. We strive to do that by producing energy that is affordable, secure and doesn’t damage the environment. BP is progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven." "Progressive - We believe in the principle...
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...American Business Ethics a Modern Day Oxymoron The dictionary defines an oxymoron as a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. Examples of this are dark light or living dead. This term is related with business because although most companies have a small book outlining ethics and guidelines that should be followed on a daily basis, many of them do not fully comply. The oxymoron “American Business Ethics” contradicts American Business with Ethics. The ethics of many American companies are not law but should be treated as such however these regulations are rarely followed and sometimes not followed at all. The risks that companies have been taking to increase profits and put more money into the CEO’s pockets use illegal actions. In recent times, companies such as Enron, Wal-Mart and BP have been guilty of multiple charges against ethical principles which have led to bankruptcies, housing market crashes and environmental disasters. The most famous case related to Enron and their aggressive accounting practices of reporting losses as profits to keep the stock price high. This act ultimately led to the bankruptcy of the company. Enron was founded in Omaha, Nebraska by Kenneth Lay in 1985. It was an American energy, commodities and services company based in Houston, Texas. Enron was once viewed as one of the best companies in America during its initial years of operation. Fortune magazine named Enron “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years...
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...psychological research. The work will begin by rationalizing the importance of research and will identify the relevant body regulating psychological research in the UK. It will endeavour to present, an give an overview of the main research methods employed by researchers. The advantages, similarities and limitations of two of the methods will be explained. Finally, the ethical issues and criticisms identified in particular psychological experiments will be discussed. Psychologists use several methods of research, each of which provides information about human behaviour. These methods include: naturalistic observation, survey method, correlational method, the experimental method ( laboratory, field experiments) the correlational method and case studies. In general psychological research methods attempt to: Describe mental and physical behavior; explain the reasons for that behaviour, and predict the circumstances under which it might happen again (Mcleod 2012). None of the methods is able to study all aspects of human behaviour and thought. For example, In naturalistic observation methods participants are carefully observed in their natural setting without interference by the researchers. Researchers observe and record behaviour without trying to influence or control it while participants are not aware of observation. In survey methods a large group of people are questioned about their attitudes, beliefs, etc. by using interviews and/or questionnaires. The experimental method...
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...The Socially Responsible Oil Company: An Examination of Corporate Ethics by Peter Fischer A Paper Submitted in Fulfillment of the USD School of Law Writing Requirement Energy Law Professor Burleson Spring, 2009 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Background 3 The Need for CSR at Home and Abroad 7 Case Study Analyses: Four Critical Events in the Oil Industry and their Effect on CSR Case Study #1: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 9 Case Study #2: Occidental and the Piper Alpha Disaster 12 Case Study #3: A Two-Part Analysis of Shell in the Mid-1990s a) Shell’s Human Rights Violations in Nigeria 16 b) Shell’s Response—Outsource CSR 21 Case Study #4: BP’s Major Advances in CSR 24 Ethics and the Problem of the Public Relations Quick Fix 27 Analyzing the Current Corporate Culture: Failure to Meet the Triple Bottom Line 32 Conclusion 38 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………...…………41 Introduction Over the past twenty years an irrefutable shift in the oil industry has occurred—the shift to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).[1] The purpose of this paper is to analyze the motivation behind this shift and determine if these CSR practices are genuine. In other words, does the adoption of CSR denote a tangible change in the way oil companies operate, or is it merely an elaborate public relations exercise? To answer...
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...Ethical Issues Affecting Bp Operations Management Essay For a company to become a good corporate citizen it must follow the rules put in place by the government to where the company's operations activities are taking place, this also include protecting the environment and local people in the community from any harm from noise or water or air pollution. This report will explore more about the responsibilities BP have for making moral judgement and how their employees are involved and empowered. Also will have information on ethical issues affecting their operational activities and how do they ensure good relationship of employer and employee. Ending part there will be a summary about ethical code for oil industry. INTRODUCTION Considering ethics, a corporations' responsibility for taking actions that are morally sound needs to change. Reviewing the role of the individual, corporations are being subjected to the role of moral agent. The question is, can a corporation, composed of people, be held responsible for its own action as a moral agent? The answer is complexed from an individual's viewpoint with that of the corporation. Werhane (1989:821) viewed that corporation by law is identified as a person that is frequently held responsible for business practises. However, Werhane continues, if firms are not moral agents, they do not become morally liable and thus the onus is passed onto the individual person. [1] This becomes complicated because how can individuals become solely...
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...An ethical Perspective can be seen as a Moral standpoint in which we choose to view/consider something. The lack of both external and internal regulations as well as a management philosophy that encourages cost cutting and risk-taking ultimately caused the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent gas leak. While talking about ethics, it can be argued that, “The individualistic business theory states that the only obligation for a company is to make a profit.” This means that a company can do whatever it takes to make a profit, as long as they stay within the legal boundaries. In this case, BP did not do anything unethical because the accident was a result of mechanical failure. If the employees knew of this and did not do anything to fix it, it would be considered unethical behavior. But since they had no knowledge of what was happening, they did not do anything unethical. Duty...
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...SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Prepared for: Professor Christopher Selvarajah Prepared by: Thanh Tuan Nguyen Student ID : 100010779 Prepared for: Professor Christopher Selvarajah Prepared by: Thanh Tuan Nguyen Student ID : 100010779 Exploring Justice, Fairness and Organizational sustainability in the international environment: The case of 2010 Gulf of Mexico Exploring Justice, Fairness and Organizational sustainability in the international environment: The case of 2010 Gulf of Mexico Abstract This study leverages insights from the literature of organizational sustainability, stakeholder theory as well as the notion of organizational justice and fairness to help answer the question as to how companies should morally prioritize corporate social responsibility, corporate accountability and stakeholder claims. In this paper, I also utilized the concept of corporate social responsibility as well as the triple bottom line in order to form my own model of sustainability. This model is used to analyze the case of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spills which was claimed as the responsibility of British Petroleum. I also addressed the strong relationship between organizational justice and organization sustainability with the conclusion that by enhancing organizational justice and fairness, organizations will be able to obtain its sustainable development in the long terms. Moreover, it is important to note that this article...
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...There was a vast number of ethical issues raised in the movie “Enron-the Smartest Guys in the Room” but the four I am going to focus on are listed below. Art Anderson, Ken Lay and all of the other executives did a number of unethical things which ultimately brought down Enron and affected thousands of employees and their futures. The bottom line was that each and every one of them acted out of greed for the almighty dollar. 1- Encouraging employees to invest and buy stock in Enron when they knew the truth about the lack of value in the stock. As an employee you trust in your management to make the best choices both for you and for the business to succeed. Ken Lay and other executives strongly encouraged Enron employees to invest in it’s stock. They all knew that the company was not doing well and yet they encouraged others to spend their hard earned money investing in it all the while they are selling their shares of stock. Employees trusted and relied on their decisions and in the end it ended up hurting them. With Ken Lay publicly encouraging its employees and other investors to invest in Enron’s stock he is affecting their future and retirement. These employees didn’t earn nearly as much as he did and he is convincing them to invest their money into an entity that was set to fail by Lay himself. I don’t believe any proper ethical alternative action could have been taken in this situation. Of course you want your employees to have faith in the company they work for...
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...As we all know, the BP spill of 2010 was both catastrophic and costly. In April 2010, BP’s Transocean drilling rig Deep water Horizon sank in the Gulf of Mexico killing over 10 people and spewing more than 200 million gallons of oil into our ocean water. This historic and devastating spill is now labeled as worst in U.S. history due to its crippling economic factors throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It has taken us a year to restore our relationships and our strong presence in the energy sector so we must have a plan in place to get us back on track. In the presentation I will be discussing BP’s planning function of management as it relates to the organization’s goals and strategies. I will then discuss the influence that legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility have had on management planning at BP. Last, I will analyze the influence that legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility have had on management planning at BP. Global demand for energy is expected to increase by 50% between now and 2030. Eighty-five percent of the energy to meet this demand is expected to come from fossil fuels (BP.com, 2012). In order for BP to recover and tap into this 50% increase, we must first plan and analyze our current situation. In this unique industry, anticipating the future has become even more important than before. We must first create a plan that will not only guide the recovery process...
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