British Petroleum Crisis (Essay Sample)

British Petroleum crisis
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British Petroleum Crisis and its Ethical Consideration
British Petroleum experienced a crisis on 20th January in the year 2010. In this crisis, there was an outstanding explosion of the British Petroleum oil rig known as the Deep-water Horizon. The explosion occurred in the Gulf of Mexico causing a spill in the sea. The spill was the largest maritime disaster the history of the US. The explosion caused the oil gusher to flow for about eighty seven days and capped on 15th day of April in the same year. The spill left about eleven people unaccounted for. The rig was closed in September, 2010 after the several attempts were made to contain the flow of oil. However, some reports in the year 2012 still indicated that the rig was still leaking. Floating booms and skimmer ships were employed in the protection of the estuaries, the beaches and the wetlands from the oil that was spreading to the other areas. The spill caused adverse effects on the wildlife, the habitat and even the tourism sector was affected. In the year 2013, there was a continued death of the wildlife especially the dolphins. The deaths were caused by the flow of oil as the wildlife could not breathe CITATION Kle10 \l 1033 (Klein, 2010).
There was an inquiry into the cause of the spill. In 2011, an investigation recorded the defective at the oil well as the root cause of the spill. In addition to this, BP was found to be guilty in causing the spill since its ethical and safety practices were inadequate. The contractor, Halliburton and Transocean, the rig operator were also found liable for the damage. BP and its affiliates were to blame for the spill because of inadequate safety measures. However, the Department of Justice in the US pointed an accusing finger on the insignificant reforms in both government policies and the industry policies.
BP was to be monitored by the government for four years and banned from getting contracts. This was to help the company to improve on its environmental, safety and ethical policies as the accident was unethical and could have been prevented.
BP communication of the crisis
The company used various communication strategies to manage the crisis. The communication strategies were meant to uphold the reputation of the company and the monetary losses it was likely to face. However, there were failures recorded in trying to manage the crisis at hand. The company admitted its mistakes in the crisis and for this reason it allowed the government to supervise its operations for a period of four years. The government was to ensure that it puts in place stringent guidelines on safety and environmental issues. For this reason the company was fined about four billion USD. In the year 2014, the company found liable of causing the spill and due to its recklessness and negligence. It received eighteen billion USD additional fines CITATION Swa10 \l 1033 (Swatz , 2010).
The managers at BP were not willing to divulge information regarding the spill to the members of the public. They considered it a very sensitive matter that could have serious implications on the reputation of the business as well as its financial position. The company utilized the media in order to deliver the message to members of the public even though the key messages were not delivered. Coast Guard played this role. It setup a response center, informational websites. Additionally, it held press conferences and media interviews among others. Even though the company censored part of the information that was supposed to be released, it shared both bad and good news about the crisis.
In the communication process, the employees were involved during the crisis. For example, in an interview, the C.E.O spoke about the company’s unpreparedness and the inadequate safety measures it had in place. The actions undertaken by the company were not in line with the mission and visions of the company. The company claimed to protect the environment but this incident reveals that indeed it does not CITATION Off11 \l 1033 (Office of the Maritime Administrator, 2011).
The recommendations towards effective communication
There are various communication strategies that could have been applied by BP in the crisis. To begin with, the company should have had a good communication plan. The C.E.O of the company acknowledge inadequate communication plan in an interview with Mone...