Ethics Portfolio

BP Video Case Study

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BP Video Case Study

The environmental disaster occasioned by an explosion of a floating oil rig operated by British Petroleum (BP) in 2010 was enormous. Millions of gallons of oil spill uncontrollably into the Gulf of Mexico (Genesis Unlimited, 2017). Many marine creatures like fish were killed in the process. The political and economic fallout emanating from the disaster cost BP a lot of money. The share value of the company decreased immensely. BP shrunk in market capitalization by almost $ 100 billion. The oil spill raised serious questions on the ethical decision-making framework within the company. Companies have a moral responsibility to take necessary precautions that to safeguard the environment. Critics accuse BP of failing to institute adequate safety procedures that are necessary when conducting deep sea oil extraction. The fact that BP knew that the Gulf of Mexico undertaking was a risky project and failed to take precautions was perplexing. It exposed a disturbing corporate culture of relentless pursuit of profits that compromised safety protocols. Chapter 9 focusses on the management and control of ethical programs (Ferrell et al., 2018). The BP oil spill illustrates a lapse in ethical risk management. The crisis was entirely avoidable had the company pursued a cautious strategy of deep-sea oil exploration. Whereas it is unfair to apportion the entire blame of the explosion on BP executives, they bare some responsibility for flawed decision making that led to the crisis. Implementation of ethical programs in both small and large business entities is essential in avoiding mistakes that can cause a crisis. A good business decision should not only be anchored on profitability but also on morality.

References

Ferrell, L., Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2018). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (12th ed.). Cengage.