...Ethics in the Workplace Case Study: BP Oil Spill On April 20, 2010 off the Gulf of Mexico, there was a blowout of the Macondo well which is owned by British Petroleum also known as BP. When the blowout took place it got immediate media attention because aspects of the event were known over the world. Within events transpiring it was discovered how limited the resources and reaction to the disaster was going to be. This paper will detail aspects of the event from symptoms of the problem, the root cause, important unresolved issues, roles of the organization’s key players and stakeholders, and explain the focus of specific ethical systems. Also discussed in this paper are relevant strategies and alternatives, the effect of globalization on the choice of preferred alternatives, the most valid alternative and resolution recommendations, and an example of a successful implementation of the solution. Symptoms of the Problem Natural disasters or any disaster of any kind is hard to manage just for the purpose that these is no real planning for the situation and there is no real way to say who is in charge when a disaster happens. Concerning the oil spill with British Petroleum (BP) symptoms for the situation was that there was a delayed response, the impact on the environment and the citizens, federal regulations were lax, and the recovery efforts were not adequate. According to Griggs (2011), OPA 90 is a federal statute that holds all the responsible parties in containment, clean-up...
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...Ethical Culture and the 2010 Oil SPil The explosion of 2010 that occurred at the “Macondo” oil reservoir is to date the largest oil spill in history of the United States of America which resulted in 2.5 million gallons of crude oil to pour into the Gulf of Mexico daily. The death of thousands of marine animals, the damage done to the habitats, the lives of the 11 oil rig workers and many other consequences have been laid at the feet of BP. Such a crisis has raised further questions regarding BP’s ethical practices and has urged enquires into what aspects of BP’s ethical culture would have contributed to this disaster. BP (formerly known as British Petroleum) has had a long history of questionable ethical conduct. The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not the first incident that BP has been involved in but it is certainly the largest. After some previous incidents, BP issued a code of conduct to all of its employees around the globe entitled “Our commitment to integrity”. While this was a valiant attempt by BP to change course and to instill a clear code of conduct within its employees, it did not take effect which is apparent in the Gulf of Mexico incident. Research into this most recent dilemma has shown that BP did not place safety and security as a priority in their drilling activities. There is evidence that BP have conducted this operation with the intent to save costs and expenditures. BP included numerous safety systems in the oil rig and have complied with the...
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...British Petroleum’s Deep Water Horizon rig explosion infested the Gulf of Mexico, its surrounding coastline, and its inhabitants. The U.S. officials have labeled this incident as an accident. However, preceding events suggest otherwise. A causal argument attempts to demonstrate the believed relationship between actions and certain results. Due to neglect and financial greed, the livelihood of thousands was threatened. Transocean Ltd is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. It rents floating mobile drill rigs, equipment, and personnel to oil and gas companies. The Deep Water Horizon oilrig was owned by Transocean and leased to BP when the explosion occurred. For three months oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. Remote causes are events in the past that link to the future. An example of this in the case of the BP oil spill was the diminished work level of the organization that looks over the proper management of oilrigs. Due to the continual persuasion by profit-driven US corporate and financial elite, US government made it acceptable for the required work level of Mineral Management Service (MMS) to dwindle between 2005 and 2009. As a result, the safety regulations for workers and the environment were left up to drilling organizations. The lack of a constraining factor to stabilize safety resulted in negligence as the drilling companies found it cheaper and more convenient to assume that all operations were going well. As a result, the effectiveness of the rig blow...
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...How Global Brands Compete When a brand is marketed around the world, that fact alone gives it an aura of excellence-and a set of obligations.To maximize the value of global reach, companies must manage both. 68 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW by Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch, and Earl LTaylor I More than two decades ago, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt provocatively declared in a 1983 HBR article, "The Globalization of Markets" that a global market for uniform products and services had emerged. He argued that corporations should exploit the "economics of simplicity" and grow by selling standardized products all over the world. Although Levitt did not explicitly discuss branding, managers interpreted his ideas to mean that transnational companies should standardize products, packaging, and communication to achieve a leastcommon denominator positioning that would be effective across cultures. From that commonsense standpoint, global branding was only about saving costs and ensuring consistent customer communication. The idea proved popular in the 1980s, when several countries opened up to foreign competition and American and Japanese corporations tried to penetrate those markets with global brands and marketing programs. T'S TIME TO RETHINK GLOBAL BRANDING. While the world economy continued to integrate, experiments with global branding soon slowed. Consumers SEPTEMBER 2004 in most countries had trouble relating to the generic...
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...How Global Brands Compete When a brand is marketed around the world, that fact alone gives itan aura of excellence-and a set of obligations.To maximize the value of global reach, companies must manage both. 68 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW by Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch, and Earl LTaylor I More than two decades ago, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt provocatively declared in a 1983 HBR article, "The Globalization of Markets" that a global market for uniform products and services had emerged. He argued that corporations should exploit the "economics of simplicity" and grow by selling standardized products all over the world. Although Levitt did not explicitly discuss branding, managers interpreted his ideas to mean that transnational companies should standardize products, packaging, and communication to achieve a leastcommon denominator positioning tbat would be effective across cultures. From that commonsense standpoint, global branding was only about saving costs and ensuring consistent customer communication. The idea proved popular in the 1980s, wben several countries opened up to foreign competition and American and Japanese corporations tried to penetrate those markets with global brands and marketing programs. T'S TIME TO RETHINK GLOBAL BRANDING. While tbe world economy continued to integrate, experiments with global branding soon slowed. Consumers SEPTEMBER 2004 in most countries bad trouble relating to the generic...
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...How Global Brands Compete When a brand is marketed around the w orld, t hat fact alone gives it an aura of excellence-and a set of obligations.To maximize the value of global reach, companies must manage b oth. 68 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW by Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch, and Earl LTaylor I More than two decades ago, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt provocatively declared in a 1983 HBR article, "The Globalization of Markets" that a global market for uniform products and services had emerged. He argued that corporations should exploit the "economics of simplicity" and grow by selling standardized products all over the world. Although Levitt did not explicitly discuss branding, managers interpreted his ideas to mean that transnational companies should standardize products, packaging, and communication to achieve a leastcommon denominator positioning that would be effective across cultures. From that commonsense standpoint, global branding was only about saving costs and ensuring consistent customer communication. The idea proved popular in the 1980s, when several countries opened up to foreign competition and American and Japanese corporations tried to penetrate those markets with global brands and marketing programs. T'S TIME TO RETHINK GLOBAL BRANDING. While the world economy continued to integrate, experiments with global branding soon slowed. Consumers SEPTEMBER 2004 in most countries had trouble relating to the generic...
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...S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II www.ibscdc.org 1 Transformation Corporate Transformation Korean Air: Chairman/CEO Yang-Ho Cho’s Radical Transformation A series of fatal accidents, coupled with operational inefficiencies snowballed Korean Air into troubled times. Then, at the beginning of the 21st century, its CEO/ Chairman, Yang-Ho Cho undertook various transformation initiatives - for instance, improving service quality and safety standards, technology integration, upgrading pilot training, better business focus; putting in place a professional management team, improving corporate image through sponsorship marketing, etc. He gave a new corporate direction in the form of '10,10,10' goal. However, Korean Air is held up by a slew of challenges. Among which are inefficiencies of - Chaebol system of management, possible clash of its cargo business with its own shipping company, limited focus on the domestic market and growing competition from LCCs. How would Korean Air manage growth as a family-owned conglomerate? The case offers enriching scope for analysing a family business’s turnaround strategies, with all the legacy costs involved. Pedagogical Objectives • To discuss the (operational) dynamics of Korean Chaebols - their influence/ effects on the country’s industrial sector and the economy as a whole • To analyse how family-owned businesses manage the transition phase - from a supplier-driven...
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