...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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...BP's 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...
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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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...BP and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Individual Case Analysis of Organizational Culture Introduction There are many issues that can be observed and assessed in the case which has come to be known as the largest oil spill in History. BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident brought attention to the kind of culture that U.S. government officials, industry regulatory agencies, and all oil-drilling firms created and fostered. With an industry climate that cared more about production rather than safety and environmental protective efforts, it was easier for drilling companies to make a great deal of flawed decisions in their business practices. If efforts to change the industry culture and implement better standards of operations do not come into play, the likelihood of such a similar event could happen again. As we look in to BP’s earlier years and identify their decision making pattern that were established while adapting to endless changes in their external environments, we will be able to better assess what the organizational culture was like at BP. Looking at the industry as a whole, we can assess how the actions of political parties and regulatory agencies influenced and shaped the culture for many firms operating in that industry. BP was always trying to cut costs wherever possible, worked hard to meet demands, and continuously exploring deeper water drilling opportunities. This type of behavior allowed BP to be an industry leader. With new environmental issues arising...
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...United States faced not only on of its largest environmental disasters but the biggest offshore oil spill in its history. Off the Gulf of Mexico a large oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, operated by British Petroleum, exploded killing 11 employees and leaking an estimated 4.9 million gallon of crude oil into the ocean. Furthermore, the explosion caused a subsequent fire resulting in 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....
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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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...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 300 by 300 feet had deteriorated and sunk into the Gulf. Eleven inhabitants...
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...research paper three different case studies are taken under consideration. Step by step all three cases are described. These cases are about projects which had to face failure. Therefore, the reasons for failure of projects are identified and recommendations are given to ail failing projects. First case study is about British Petroleum which is oil and Gas Company had to face situation which was not just critical but new for any oil company. The incident occurred due to explosion in the deep-water horizon while BP technical staff was trying to drill a well. Moreover, BP was not able to stop oil flow for three months. Second case is about Chrysler and Fiat. Both were automobile companies and had to face failure. Marchionne was the one who saved both companies. The main focus of this case is merger of these two companies and the challenges faced by CEO due to organizational change after merger. Third case study is about Millennium Dome, one of the controversial projects in the history of construction projects because of number of reasons. With the help of case study we will be able to learn the causes of failure of this project. Further recommendations to ail failure are given. Key Words Project Failure, British Petroleum, Chrysler and Fiat, Millennium Dome, Success. embark upon more initiatives than they probably should, causing over worked and often unhappy team members....
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...There are many key takeaways that are derived from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. The behaviors and attitudes of leaders were disappointing at best, and irresponsible at worst. It appears that BP presided over an organizational culture that sanctioned extreme risk-taking, ignored expert advice, overlooked warnings about safety issues, and hid facts (Morgan, Whitehead, Huth, Martin, and Sjolander, 2016). Their failure to respond to the disaster with sufficient speed and attention, was a direct consequence of the flawed culture. On April 20, 2010 there was an explosion and fire on the BP-licensed drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. While the Deepwater Horizon Rig sunk two days later, the seafloor oil gusher that resulted...
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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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...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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...Christy Vilavanh Cross-Cultural Perspectives Known to be one of the leading international oil, gas, and energy companies, BP has a worldwide reputation of providing consumers fuel for transportation purposes, energy towards heat and light; in addition to, creating petrochemical products and lubricants to keep engines especially in large machineries moving. With headquarters based in London, England, the multinational organization currently have operations in more than 80 countries throughout the world; in fact, has currently 83,900 employees in the United States as well as internationally. BP having a multinational presence since the organization conducts business operations out of countries; such as, Indonesia, West Africa, and Slovak Republic its open to possibly facing cultural issues which can in fact make an impact on the internal operations of the organization, or influence business decisions that effects the organization and its stakeholders. BP has experience more than one issue that could influence the interactions outside of the United States. In 2005 the Texas City Refinery explosion killed fifteen workers in which lead to the organization being fine by the OSHA, and the oil spill on Prudhoe Bay which happened in the Alaska North Slope back in 2006. However, one of the major environmental disasters that will go down in U.S. history is the Gulf Oil Spill of April, 2010. The Gulf of Mexico was paralyzed by an explosion to the oil rig off the coast of Louisiana...
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...The Unsafe Culture of BP The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been called the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The British Petroleum Company (BP) gulf spill started in April of 2010, and was first contained in July of 2010; it took the company 2 months to actually start the process of containing the spill. The Associated Press and The New York Times, reported that a total of 94 to 184 million gallons of oil were unleashed on the shores off the Gulf. This disaster has caused controversial topics to arise as to what the BP company is doing in preventing these disasters or if they are even taking any precaution to that notion. Critics say that BP has had a very bad track record when it comes to safety. It is a risky company that has grown too fast. They have had accidents like the one of BP’s most troubled refineries, which lies, in the State of Texas, which also had its fair share of explosions. BP now faces the largest liabilities in corporate history. All of what BP seems to be doing is shutting their workers mouths with money they cannot refuse but money that has no affect on the company’s profits. BP must change their culture of deadly accidents, disastrous oil spills, and countless safety violations. The Texas BP refinery had an “accident” in 2005 where 15 people died in an explosion and fire, 170 others where injured. Afterwards there were charges that BP management valued profits more than safety. BP acquired the 12,000-acre refinery in 1999 as part of...
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...the company’s bullying policy 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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...| 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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