...performance in business but also on their social responsibility. Ethics has been playing an important role in business in every industry. However, it is difficult to have a balance between ethics and profit, especially for gas and oil industry. No matter how large the company is, sometime they still make a decision which are seem like unethical, and Royal Dutch Shell Public Limited Company is one of the example. As being a large and profitable company, Shell has started a new Athabasca Oil Sand Project in Alberta. World’s scientific community together with independent non-profit organization believe that this project will make the environment pollution in Alberta being more serious and adversely impact the ecosystem. They are disappointed to the unethical decision of Shell. Therefore, based on this case, the purpose of this research is to discuss the ethics issue that Shell cause and the company performance under its Code of Conduct in this regard. Solutions will be given, including the cost and benefit for the different shareholders. 2. THE CASE 2.1 THE SITUATION AND KEY FACTS Alberta is a province of Canada which is the largest producer of crude oil, natural gas and other gas products. It is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration, production and refining. Athabasca oil sand is the world largest receptacle of crude bitumen which locates in north eastern of Alberta. This oil sand stores a high quantity of unconventional petroleum which consists...
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...TMG 610 Global Trends in Technology Case #8: Royal Dutch / Shell: Ethical Issues, Human Rights and Resource Extraction Case Study Report Ozel Kirkland 29 March 2014 I. Introduction – In General Terms What is this case is about? Why is it relevant to TMG 610? Whether the extractive industries like it or not, the nature of their involvement with host nations is a precarious balance between competing interests (Dicken, 2010), and firms are either obligated to conduct themselves responsibly when dealing with developing nations like Nigeria, or mitigate the negative effects of their choices after the fact, like Royal Dutch / Shell was compelled to. Unfortunately, some extraction companies have a reputation for embracing their short-term self-interests, exploiting developing countries rich with oil like Nigeria, instead of acting ethically. Many of the extractive resources of the world are found in poorer, or developing countries. The question is how can these resources be exploited without foreign assistance. In the earlier part of the twentieth century, many of these extractive industries originated from colonial powers that had expanded into these countries and invested in these companies. This expansion was singularly intended to expand the grip for these foreign countries over mineral resources, used to support their home country and the growing manufacturing and infrastructure growth in those home nations. However the relationships between these host...
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...corrupt countries impact Shell's approach to operating ethically and with corporate social responsibility?’ In order to answer the question Business and Management tools and theory have been applied to Shell’s way of doing business, focusing on corrupt countries. The essay takes into consideration the causes of corruption or unethical behaviour, and links to what Shell could do, or have done, to prevent such behaviour. The information of this essay has come from the public domain as well as Shell’s internal policies such as their Code of Conduct, their General Business Principles and other websites listed in the bibliography. The way in which Shell is considered a business, which has a corporate social responsibility approach, was assessed by using external business tools such as SWOT analysis and Cause and Effect diagram. The analysis allow us to see that Shell is trying to minimise the level of corruption and unethical behaviours among Shell and its employees by adopting several policies, long term and short term business controls, and an organisation structure that adopts various checks-and-balances which helps Shell to decrease its level of corruption and unethical behaviour. Operating in corrupt countries is seen to require greater diligence in how the controls are implemented, and how safeguards are built in to the organization. Table of Contents Abstract...
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...of Business Code Ethics Francisco Pacheco PHL/323 - ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT September 9, 2012 Donna Falloon Individual Paper: Evaluation of Business Code Ethics In the business world, every company, large or small, has a set of guidelines and standards that describe a person’s expected behavior at the work area. Everyone, including employers, must follow these regulations because it describes organizational expectations for all employees. Business organizations often develop several different policies, rules and guidelines for administering their business. Code of ethics and guidelines do not exist to govern all behaviors, but just enough so that everyone can harmoniously work together while at the same time being productive so that the business or organization can prosper. There are many big and small companies in the business world, and they all have a set of code of ethics that help to establish order and integrity. Even one of the largest oil companies in the world, Shell, has a code of conduct and ethics. They share core values and honesty, integrity and respect for everyone in their foundation and are required to conduct their affairs in accordance with those same principals. Shell Code of Conduct provides basic rules, standards and behaviors that are necessary to achieve the agenda. They are expressed clearly and concise for all their employees on a number of enterprise-wide risk areas and employees are reminded to remember that there is only one Code of Conduct...
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...HND Business and Finance Unit 45: Business Ethics Lul Mohamed The concept of business ethics applied in Pfizer, M&S and Shell Global Plc. Name: Lul Mohamed Student ID: Assessor: Date: 12/10/2014 To: Pfizer Managers/Directors, From: Lul Mahamed Subject: Ethical perspective and corporate responsibility of Pfizer, M&S and Shell Global Plc. Date: 12/10/2014 Pfizer pharmaceutical company According to recent studies, Pharmaceutical company that provide and innovate biopharmaceutical as a medicinal business such as Pfizer are subject on their ethical behaviour. Likewise, Pfizer is a Pharmaceutical firm that have recently been question on their ethical behaviour and standards. The organisation was unsuccessful on their takeover bid on British company AstraZeneca, due to their recent scandals on animal testing, testing drugs on children and bribery issues to resolve their illegal activities (paying 60 million to settle their charges). Each businesses should take into consideration their ethical standards and corporate social responsibility (CSR) . Therefore, it is inevitable to maintain sustainability in order to achieve good public image and reputation within their stakeholders. This report will examine the ethical behaviour including the Corporate Social Responsibility of Pfizer, M&S and Shell Global Plc. Pfizer primary mission is to improve the health welfare of each of its stakeholders needs and wants (Pfizer, 2007). The company uses science as...
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...business environment, there are often ongoing matters such as unethical business challenges, failure to embrace technology advancement, and stiff competition among businesses (Chevron, 2012). It is the responsibility of each individual global company to ensure that proper strategies and policies are utilized to address these challenges. This paper will analyze the Code of Conduct of Chevron Corporation, as it relates to other companies in the industry, while simultaneously determining the key issues impacting the company and how technological advancements may face challenges in the global society. Chevron is a company that has an extensive strong history, which began when a group of explorers and merchants established the Pacific Coast Oil Company on September 10, 1879, in San Francisco. The company has changed its name more than once, but claims to have always retained their founders’ spirit of grit, innovation, and perseverance (Chevron 2013). They have transformed into what is now Chevron Corporation, recently ranked 9th among the world’s top oil companies by Petroleum Intelligence Weekly in 2013, second among US oil companies behind ExxonMobil (Chevron 2013). Chevron has partnered with other companies, each with their own unique history, strengths, and character. Essentially, they have grown from a San Francisco based company with a five state market in the Western United States, to a major corporation whose affiliates conduct business globally. The company has a market...
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...Royal Dutch Shell Introduction Shell is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office at the Shell Centre in London. It is the largest energy company and the second-largest company in the world measured in terms revenues. It is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry which include exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. Along with the conventional energy, Shell has significant presence in the renewable energy sector with investments in bio fuels, solar energy and wind energy to mention a few. It has operations in over 90 countries and employees more than 93,000 people globally. It believes that people are central to its strategy and are involved in the planning and directing of their own work. It also values differences and create channels to report their concerns. Shell and its people Shell believes in valuing differences of its employees and believes in providing everyone equal opportunity to develop their skills and talents. Diversity and inclusion has been integrated into the Shell culture through their core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people. This is also reflected in the Shell General Business Principle, which states their aim of creating an inclusive work environment with equal opportunities. Shell has come up with People Standards which helps it to effectively resource, develop and engage...
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...1. Discuss how personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics. There are multitude of individual differences and preferences in any organization. The position of the individual within the organization would dictate the impact that they would have in the organizations ethics. If the organization adopts a grassroots approach they would attract employees who have stronger ethical values. An employee who is disgruntled would obviously have a negative impact of the organization. However the trend setter would be the leaders within the organization they would be the ones that would have the greatest impact on the ethics of the organization the phrase leading by example would be a perfect example. 2. Discuss how organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics. Many organizations have written formal codes of ethic. They have the codes for numbers of reasons. Ethic codes are one attempt to improve the organizational climate so that individuals can behave ethically (Shaw and Berry, 1995) Ethical controls are necessary because legal system and markets do not necessarily lead to organizational behavior that takes into consideration the moral impacts of the business decision. However, an ethics policy can already be rendered ineffective if the ethics code is inadequately designed. First, a code might only encompass a narrow set of issues such as conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality and use of company assets, without addressing wider obligations or...
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...image. Royal Dutch Shell Plc is ranked seventh among the top global oil producing companies for year 2012 by Forbes (Christopher Helman 2012). Despite its prominent reputation and its claimed aim of achieving the worldwide energy demand in a responsible manner, it does negate the fact their business operations have impacted the environment of Nigeria. The pressing argument that will be discussed in this paper would be the interminable oil spills due to the defective facilities and insufficient checks of equipments which are identified as the one of the main sources of the environmental contamination by Shell in the Niger Delta, how these irresponsible activities have implicated the environment which leads to unfavourable circumstances for society and stakeholders such as institutional investors, and the efforts made by Shell to counteract the situation. Background of Oil Spills in Niger Delta Before Shell tapped on the Delta, the eastern area of Nigeria was resource wealthy. However what thought to be a profitable activity for the corporations as well as Nigerian people too turned out to be a severe environmental threat and has been evolving for a few decades since 1956. Shell did acknowledge that their operations have caused oil spills, but did not agree on the extent of it. Analysts have recorded that in the year 1995 to 2006, Shell has committed an average three hundred spills annually which results to more than four hundred fifty thousand barrels of oil ( Tuodolo 2009...
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...Royal Dutch Shell Michael Swinson Dr. Brenda Harper, Professor BUS 508 Contemporary Business February 8, 2012 Shell Production and Operations Shell head office is located in Hague, Netherlands and the parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, is incorporated in England and Wales. Shell is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, transportation and marketing of natural gas and electricity, and marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals (www.itcilo.org). Shell’s strategic plan is to impose their status as a global power in the oil and gas industry. Providing a profitable shareholder return and meeting global demands for energy is a top priority. Shell’s core values are honesty, integrity, and respect for people. Global Corporation Types of Businesses “Shell is one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas companies in terms of market capitalization, operating cash flow and oil and gas production” (www.static.shell.com). The company consists of a global group of energy and petrochemicals companies. The number one goal of Shell are to engage resourcefully, reliably, and beneficially in oil, oil products, gas, chemical, and other selected businesses. Market Share For the past five years, Shell has been the industry leader in lubricant suppliers. During these years, Shell has gained 13% of the market volume in the United States and 23% in Mexico, the fastest growing North American market. Global demand for lubricants has grown around 6% since 2009...
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...Business Research Ethics When most people think of Ethics or Morals they think of rules that distinguish between right or wrong. Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so abundant that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense. This report summarizes the activities of Human Rights and Ethics in the oil and gas industry. It highlights related efforts by the IPIECA (International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association) oil and gas member companies. The oil and gas industry operates in some of the most challenging places in the world and faces complex human rights related issues ethical and unethical both at home and abroad. While recognizing that individual governments bear the primary responsibility to promote respect for human rights ethically, all of society, including businesses such as oil and gas plays a role in human rights. (Human rights and Ethics in Oil and Gas industry, 2006) In this research unethical research practices that should be avoided are unethical treatment of any participants, deception and informed consent. Unethical treatment of participants would be not safeguarding the participant’s rights. When data is gathered in an experiment, interview or survey they have...
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...Organizational and Product Success The oil company, Shell, that is known to many and in high competition with other oil companies, didn’t start in the market for oil. The company started in 1883 by Marcus Samuel in London. The company started off selling antiques and oriental shells. By 1886, the company was passed down to his son Marcus Samuel Jr. and his brother Sam Samuel. They exported British machinery, textiles, and tools to the newly developing Japan and the Far East. They also imported rice, silk, china, and copperware to the Middle East and Europe. Along with exporting and importing goods, they also traded sugar, flour, and wheat worldwide. While in Japan, their interest for oil sparked. From that day on they found ways to carry oil in bulks to different ports that they formed contracts with. World War I was the spark of success for Shell. They were the main fuel supplier of the British Expeditionary Force and shortly after became the world’s leading oil company, which in result founded Shell Chemicals. Shell strives to be the leader in the oil industry and their strategy plan states it; “Our strategy seeks to reinforce our position as a leader in the oil and gas industry while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way. Safety, environmental and social responsibility are at the heart of our activities.”. Their six themes of success are as follows: * Business Focus: Their business focus is on the energy demand for the oil and gas industry. * Closely...
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...A Study of Shell Oil and its Stakeholders in Nigeria Part 2 (Week 9) A review of basic issues regarding the Background and Interests of Stakeholders of Shell Oil Company in Nigeria Somaya Rhoda 16069635 Chapter 1 Introduction In a major oil spill that occurred in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria in 2008, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) stated that this was caused by a fault in a pipeline. In the town of Bodo, tens of thousands of oil barrels caused pollution to the land and creek. Shell’s official investigation report claims that 1,640 barrels of oil were spilt in total. Nigerian regulators have confirmed that the spill lasted for 72 days and estimate that between 103,000 and 311,000 barrels were spilt in this time. Besides the under-recording of this incident, Shell has repeatedly claimed to its investors, media and customers that the majority of the spill was caused by sabotage. Amnesty International has now confirmed that more than 50% of the oil spill was a result of operational failures. After more than 3 years since this oil spill, Shell has failed to perform a proper clean-up to the affected area, or to pay any form of official compensation to the affected communities. Thousands of activists in more than 14 countries have undertaken protests against the major oil giant, and the people of Bodo have now taken their claim of a leak of 500,000 barrels to the UK courts. Observing this particular situation involving Shell in Nigeria, an...
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...ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Name | Student number | Wayne Humphreys | 3135731 | Campus of Study: Newcastle Graduate School of Business Assessment Item Title: Assessment Item No 2 – Individual Assignment 1 Word Count 1049 Due date 25/3/2013 11.59p.m. I verify that I have completed the online Academic Honesty Module and adhered to its principles I declare that this assessment item is my own work unless otherwise acknowledged and is in accordance with the University’s plagiarism policy available from the Policy Library on the web at http://www.newcastle.edu.au/policy/academic/general/academic_integrity_policy-new.pdf I certify that this assessment item has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any other course. I certify that I have not given a copy or have shown a copy of this assessment item to another student enrolled in the course. I acknowledge that the assessor of this assignment may, for the purpose of assessing this assignment: * Reproduce this assessment item and provide a copy to another member of the Faculty; and/or * Communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking service (which may then retain a copy of the item on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking). * Submit the assessment item to other forms of plagiarism checking. I certify that any electronic version...
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...WAL-MART STORES: “EVERY DAY LOW PRICES” IN CHINA Prepared by: Daniel Magen Report Distributed February 10, 2012 Prepared for Florida Atlantic University MAN 4602: Global Business Operations Spring 2012: F 9:30 - 12:30 Focus/Perspective Joe Hatfield, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia. Responsible for implement Wal-Mart’s business model Every Day Low Prices (EDLP) to China. Recommendation & Plan for Implementation Wal-Mart has to implement their business model EDLP and define a different strategy for Chinese market and culture. Internal & External Strategic Issues Wal-Mart faces several environmental, cultural, political, economical, social and legal issues and challenges that may act as obstacles for being successful in China. Several internal issues include: * Employees * Shoplifting Wal-Mart pays low salaries and does not offer any type of share for employees. As a result, high rate of managers turn over and unhappy workforce, makes very difficult reproduce domestic business model in China. Corruption and delinquency are very common in under developed countries. China is not the exception, having a high rate in corruption, is another obstacle for Wal-Mart to be efficient amd keep low prices. Several External issues include: * Chinese Consumer Behavior * Too Many Competitors * Diverse Population * Local Protectionism * Backward Infrastructure * Regulatory restrictions Chinese behavior in terms of consumption...
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