BP Leadership Group Four MGMT 620 – High Performance Leadership 2/5/2012 Chadron State College

Abstract
The purpose of this analysis is to focus on British Petroleum (BP) leadership as it relates to the 2010 Gulf oil spill and cleanup. One would think that a large corporation like BP would be penalized greatly from an oil spill of the magnitude. Once the announcement was made of the spill, BP leadership was quick to shirk responsibility and circumvent its safety policies and practices which led to one of the greatest man-made ecological disasters the world has ever known.
Prior to the spill, the leadership values and culture at BP are obvious. Their focus was on reducing costs and meeting tight time-lines at the expense of safety. The former BP CEO resigned voluntarily. What leadership values or traits changed as a result of the disaster at BP? Did the new CEO set forth a path of leadership change or rather simply pacify the media?
The Gulf oil spill forced a rapid increase in fuel prices in the country. In one quarter during 2010, BP earned enough profit to cover the expenses associated with the spill, including the associated litigation. One astonishing fact is that, upon exiting, the (supposedly) punished CEO was given a settlement of over 100 million dollars from BP. What leadership changes have occurred as a result of this tragedy? Not much, why? Limited financial consequences for BP have brought about very little change in leadership traits, leadership values, and ultimately leadership behavior.
This has continued at a time when the oil industry’s lobbying has resulted in continued U.S. government subsidies for large and powerful companies while they sustain record profits (over 150 million annually). Given the lack of accountability and financial strain on the BP corporation as a whole, my hypothesis is that true