...When asking someone about the top 3 oil companies in the world, it is almost always certain that BP will be named on that person’s list, accompanied by Exxon and Shell. The oil company is such a huge and necessary industry that our country depends on day in and day out. Governments and companies have all looked into different types of alternative energy but there are still none that are near as effective as oil. Oil is a highly flammable, high combustion, fuel that gives high effectiveness. The problem with oil is that it is messy, in many different ways, when burned it sends damaging emissions into our atmosphere, when leaked it kills basically anything in it’s path from animals to plants. The riskiness of oil has caused an uproar around the world recently with the recent “going green phase” and environmentally friendly movement. These largely point towards oil because oil when burned sends large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, which does damage to our atmosphere and lets in more Gama radiation from the sun, which heats up the Earth. This causes a large problem for oil companies and their initiative to make money. In this case we will be focusing on BP, a very well known company if not the most well known. The largest problem with BP is, most of us when hearing that name think straight to April, 2010 when a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico leaking out millions of gallons of petroleum. For a company and it’s stakeholders, this is one thing that you don’t want to...
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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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...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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...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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...dilemma facing BP is how to balance profit maximization and at the same time be responsible for the environment and society. Several events have affected BP in recent years but none has challenged the balance between profit and environment responsibility like the Gulf oil spill. This event, recognized as the worst oil spill in the History of the United States, occurred on April 20th of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and was characterized by an explosion following an integrity failure of a well and a consequent 87 day spill of oil into the sea (BP, 2010). Eleven people were killed in the explosion and it is estimated that almost 5 million barrels of crude oil dispersed into the Gulf Sea (The Ocean Portal Team, 2010). Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP at the time of the oil spill incident, downplayed the effects of the oil leak in the environment and society, stating, “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean“ (Webb, 2010). Previous events had caused concerns among authorities on the possibility of BP not doing the appropriate maintenance of its old system of wells. In fact, in 2004 the company was fined for $1.2 million by state regulators (Barringer, 2006) and in 2006 for $2.4 million by the labor department also because of unsafe practices (Pulham, Hilaire, & Fenn, 2010). In addition, reports from a longtime employee stated that the company had received repeated warnings on the possible effects of cutbacks in maintenance and inspection routines (Barringer, 2006). It seems like BP had been struggling...
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...http://blogs.reuters.com/chrystia-freeland/2010/07/19/whats-bps-social-responsibility/ http://www.ecoinstitution.com/green-news/bp-from-social-responsibility-to-environmental-catastrophe/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10194335 http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=98&contentId=7067682 http://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/bp.html http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=41&contentId=7067505 http://thetruthaboutbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/05/fall-of-british-petroleums-ethics.html http://www.ethicalcorp.com/communications-reporting/beyond-petroleum-why-csr-community-collaborated-creating-bp-oil-disaster Unethical BP operation in Colombia – BP paid state forces to protect its operation against local gorillas who have declared war against oil companies. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuse the Colombian Military of human rights abuses. BP Gulf of Mexico spill- was described as the worst environmental disaster in US history. The spill caused the death of 11 people, affected wildlife, and tourism industry. In 2006, BP was charged with misconduct after 201,000 gallons of oil leaked into Alaskan Tundra, it cost the company $200million in criminal penalty Between the years 1997 and 1998 it was recorded that the company was responsible for 104 oil spills in the Arctic alone Ethical Bp completely rebranded itself 2000 to try to position itself as being a greener fossil fuel producer, to seem more environmentally friendly they initiated a new campaign and...
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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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...British Petroleum (BP) is a worldwide oil as well as gas establishment whose roots can be traced in British. The company’s headquarters are based in London, United Kingdom. The company has been ranked as the third biggest energy establishment as well as fourth biggest establishment in the world measured by 2011 profits. The company functions in all sectors of the oil as well as gas business ranging from examination in addition to manufacture, purifying, supply in addition to advertising, petrochemicals, power generation as well as exchange. The corporation has as well diversified its core operations to integrate renewable energy actions that bio fuels in addition to wind power. Operating over 80 nation states it’s biggest union remains BP US in where it remains the 2nd biggest manufacturer oil as well as gas in the US. The company be situated both registered with London’s Stock Trade primarily with minor list with New York Stock Exchange. In British Petroleum planning is critical and it helps the company to forecast the future as well as chalk out actions to be taken. Planning can be viewed as a preparatory step that determines when, how as well as who is going to perform a specific job Internal and external factors in management of British Petroleum Company The British Company has several internal factors that can be corrected within these categories that can drive the company to its success; on the other hand they also come with external factors that are further than the company’s...
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...British Petrolum 2012 BP Oil Spill Management Dr…………………………………….. Nahla…………………………… , Nuf………………………. QATAR UNIVERSITY Executive Summary This paper examines the oil spill that took place due to an explosion at one of the drilling rig of British Petroleum on 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and the managerial response to that crisis. Introduction: History of British Petroleum (BP) According to the British Petroleum's website, the company has started in 1908 with oil found in a rugged part of Persia after a long and hard search. Since then, discoveries large and small have participated in our progress. This is the first phase of BP between 1901 and 1908, the period during which the oil discovery was uncertain. The company has started as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which would be called one day BP. The next phase of BP's history was from 1909 to 1924, when the Field of Naphtha was 210 rugged kilometers from the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The Anglo-Persian was building a refinery to turn the thick crude oil into a usable product. Despite its name, the British Petroleum brand was originally created by a German firm as a way of marketing its products in Britain. During the I World war, the British government seized the company’s assets, and the Public Trustee sold them to Anglo-Persian in 1917. The Third phase of BP's history was from 1925 to 1945, when cars flooded onto the streets of Europe and the United States in the 1920s and 30s. BP-labeled gasoline pumps...
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...Since April of 2010, BP Oil Company has been working to repair the damages of an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Do Something, an environmental website, have reported the death and injury of 28, more than 8,000 animals dead within six months, and 16,000 miles of coastline pollution (11 Facts about the BP Oil Spill). Many accounts blame this catastrophe on BP’s neglect to properly build and maintain machinery. Several clean up workers and fisherman have been affected due to this oil spill (Reed 35). People living near the coast line has been affected due to polluted air and water. Many children had been sick and they had problem breathing fresh air. BP’s ways of “cutting corners” are a point of interest when considering the factors leading to the Deep-water Horizon Oil Spill. There were several issues with this oil spill: professional issues, ethics and new technology issues, legal, regulatory and political, safety issues, and environmental issues. If BP would have taken care of all these issues there had been no oil spill. According to the official federal report, BP’s management cut corners in many areas, especially during the installation of the drill. While drilling the drill pipe got stuck and the engineering had to redesign the parameters but completely cut corners to drill the fastest way possible, which was the start of BP’s problems. Events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon incident led one to question the values and motives of the British Petroleum...
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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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...The global ethical position of BP and their exploration of the Gulf oilfields. BP (formerly British Petroleum) is one of the world’s largest oil and energy companies, which provides fuel, energy and petrochemical products. They have been in existence since the early 1900’s and have gone through a number of changes. In July, 2003 after merging with Amoco they rebranded as a ‘beyond petroleum’ company. Their logo, a sunburst of green, yellow and white, symbolizes dynamic energy in all its forms. (BP, 2010). Their ‘beyond petroleum’ tagline featured BP as a company that was concerned with the environment and its corporate social responsibility (CSR). BP’s Director of Business ethics outlined their commitment to ‘being ethical’, which included respect for human rights, avoiding harm to people and the environment , avoiding conflicts of loyalty and interest. (Broome 2003). However, as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, BP’s ethics policy have been placed under extreme scrutiny, exposing them as a company whose marketing strategies is misaligned to their actions. This article looks at BP’s global ethical position with regards to their exploration in the gulf oilfields. It takes a further look at the implication that it caused to their branding and marketing strategies and suggests what marketing strategies they should adopt in order to move forward and regain sustainable competitive advantage. One of BP’s strategies is to create value for shareholders...
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...Petroleum is a public limited company. They suffered a huge downfall from their 2010 Mexican Gulf oil spill, although have rebounded very positively since then with major improvements in the company, both ethically and environmentally. This company markets its products in over 100 countries and, as of December 2011, employs over 83,000 employees. British Petroleum has worked hard to honour their commitments to the people and communities of the Gulf Coast. This company produces the natural resources that the world depends on daily, and produces them in some of the most operative, proficient, and resourceful ways which are possible today. (BP, n.d.). This company proves to be constantly evolving in the world. They are always innovating and coming up with new ways to operate their business as to cause the most minimal effect or damage on the environment. BP has become one of the most environmentally aware companies of the modern age, especially from what they have gone through in the Gulf of Mexico, and the revolutionary technologies they have integrated in their business operations. The vertically integrated company uses three main types of leadership, as well as an operational controlling method to ensure that the organization functions accordingly and remains socially responsible, ethical, and practices corporate social responsibility. By focussing on developing the company’s organizational structure on upstream and downstream tasks, British Petroleum can aim towards innovating and...
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...London, England. The initial name of BP is the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909; in 1954 it changed to its present name British Petroleum. It is combined and reconstructed by the former British Petroleum, Amoco and ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company). BP’s business has spread to many fields including oil and natural gas, alternative fuels, the production of petroleum based product, aviation fuels and its business about the solar electric power generation is also growing very fast. Since 1981, BP has set up 12 branch companies successively in many fields such as mineral, food, ship, international finance, international detergent with its business spread to more than a hundred countries all over the world. BP has nearly 110,000 employees work all over the world. In 2003, BP is ranked on the FORTUNE as the first five global top 500 companies. Deepwater horizon oil spill and deepwater horizon explosion On 20th April, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico suffered a lot from a great catastrophe of oil spill. The drilling platform of the British Petroleum Corporation exploded in the deepwater horizon in the Gulf of Mexico which led to 11 workers death and very severe environment pollution. This event is regarded as the most severe oil spill incident in the history of America.。 Many people are curious about this catastrophe and people did not know what cause it and what actions would BP take. According to the inspection report BP made on 8th September, BP thought this catastrophe is not only...
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...Value Alignment Introduction British Petroleum (BP) is an oil company founded in 1909. They merged with Amoco Corporation in 1998 and became one of the largest oil companies in the world ("Encyclopedia Britannica", n.d.). Working in the oil industry for so long, BP has encountered many issues that have tested the organizations values. Analyzing those values and comparing them to personal values can lead to a better understanding of the organizations actions. Personal and Workplace Values Values are beliefs rooted deep in our subconscious that influence peoples actions and decisions (Gibb, 2010). During childhood, a beginning set of values are derived from interaction with parents, teachers, coaches, and other influential figures. As one matures, critical thinking, and life experiences may change some of these values. However, many of the values learned as a child stay in the subconscious and serve as the basis for many decisions as an adult. Many adults tend to live their lives according to their set of values. Decisions are made according to what feels right or whether it is “the right thing to do.” Some may think their values are universal, but it is important to understand the diversity in values and not become outraged or angry when values held sacred are challenged or violated. Companies establish a set of values or ethics to help ensure the company operates properly and is profitable. These values or ethics are guiding principles that help employees make important...
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