Managerial Blunders
Isaac Eino Bacher Smith
Clark University
Author Note This paper was prepared for Managerial Communications, taught by Professor Cheryl Amantea during the Spring 2016 Semester.
Managerial Blunders
Introduction A managerial blunder is a blunder or mistake that a company, institution, or firm makes effecting the image and reputation behind the company’s name. The negative externalities from the blunder can cause a monetary loss along with the destruction of the company’s image and reputation in the working world. Managerial blunders are not uncommon in the working because of the pressure and scrutiny that large companies are put under by the media. In business there is no room for mistakes and perfection is expected. One of the biggest managerial blunders to ever happen is the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
British Petroleum Background BP is a company that delivers energy products around the world through the exploration and refinements of natural resources. The company is also known as one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies that competes with other major household names such as ExxonMobil and Chevron. Because many of these large
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The oil spill started when an explosion happened on the oilrig known as the “Deepwater Horizon” oilrig. This explosion cause one of the pipelines along the sea floor to gush oil out over a period of 87 days. During the explosion 11 people working upon the oilrig went missing and still have not been found to this day. During the 87 days that the oil leaked out 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf which ended up being fatal for thousands people living along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. When the spill happened there was an immediate movement to try to save the estuaries and costal wetlands through controlled burns but most of the damage could not be controlled due to the gulfs
Oil covered everything: beaches, animals, plants, bottoms of boats. Approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil leaked into the ocean and toward the Louisiana shoreline. To put the amount in perspective, that oil could be used to drive a Toyota Prius around the earth 184,181 times (Repanich). All of this pollution and destruction because of one singular company: British Petroleum. Needless to say, the image of BP was tarnished because of this. What can a company do to come back from such a serious setback? This was the question that was faced by the company in 2010 (when the spill occurred), and is still being wrestled with today. By analyzing BP’s “Commitment to the Gulf” ad campaign, the brand’s desired identity is made very apparent. When it comes to oil, nearly all consumers are involved. However, BP does take specific steps in order to narrow down a target audience when it comes to advertising its product. Despite the hardships faced by BP stemming from the spill, consumers still have an addiction to oil. BP, the fourth largest oil company in the world (“Biggest Oil”), has such a firm hold on consumer society that it is a necessity in today’s consumer landscape. By pushing the brand’s identity to its target audience, BP used branding to overcome a severe controversy and rebuild the image it hoped to convey to consumers.
How did the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect our economy and environment, and what does the future hold, with regard to the environment, oil drilling, and sustainability?
An estimated amount of 206 gallons were let loose in the water.This oil spill has made the records of being one of the largest oil spills that has ever occurred. It happened when an oil well approximately a mile below the surface.blew out. In addition, this caused an explosion on the BP Horizon rig that killed 11 people. Experts made many attempts to stop the oil flow but it took time to reach success. However, every minute passing by is a very crucial one. Within as little as one day 2.5 million gallons were released into the water. The well was capped on July15, 2010. Meaning that the oil leaked for a grand total of 85 days. Resulting in 572 miles of the Gulf Shore being covered in oil. Not to mention the hundreds of animals found and taken into care due to the oil spill. Of course long term effects won’t be able to be further approached until time passes and experts are able to have obtained enough data throughout the years. However, experts have concluded that the damage from this oil spill will not be completely over with until years to come. Still today clumps of oil are being found coming from the shore. The oil is not the only thing to worry about however. Chemicals still remain in the environment and therefore can still affect the nature and can result in a chemical reaction which may be harmful. If parts of the oil are not able to reach oxygen it can just be a big toxic reservoir damaging the environment waiting to cause trouble.The only way to remove things like this is mechanically which only further destroys the habitat. Al in all it is a lose lose
The leak after it was fixed was the size of Kansas (Friedman 100). There was 47,829 local, state, and federal responders to help clean up the oil (Friedman 100). There was 9,700 vessels that helped clean up the oil spill which were 6,500 government and commercial vessels and 3,200 vessels of opportunity (Friedman 100). 3.8 million feet of hard boom and 9.7 million feet of soft boom was used during the clean up to clean up the oil (Friedman 100). There was 127 surveillance aircraft used to help with the cleanup (Friedman 101). There was 1.4 million barrels of liquid waste collected and 92 ton of solid waste recovered (Friedman 101). They recovered more than 800,000 barrels of oily water from the Ocean and Coastal areas (Friedman 101). The oil spill effected the fish population by a large amount (Brown 18). The largest US oil spill in history is the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which impacted ecosystems and residents of the Gulf Coast (Peres 1208). In 3 months over 200 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico (Peres 1208). The BP controlled burned 1.84 million gallons of chemicals to break up the oil (Peres 1208). The clean-up employed several thousand workers (Peres 1208). The
In this paper I will be discussing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on microbes in different locations of the Gulf Coast. A study done by Lamendella et al. (2012) investigated the effect of the oil on samples of microbes collected from a beach that was heavily impacted by the spill. Another investigation took a look at microbes on surface sediment samples from 64 different sites (Mason et al., 2014). A third study researched the past, present, and possible future responses of microbial communities, and how they have evolved to adapt to oil that was failed to be removed (Kimes et al., 2014).
The BP oil spill was one of the worst oil spills to ever happen in the US. There are many factors that caused this horrible spill to happen; to be exact there were eight failures of the oilrig that caused this disaster. The first failure was the cement at the bottom of the borehole was not sealed properly. This caused the oil and gas to start leaking into the pipe leading to the surface of the rig. The second failure was that the valve leading to the surface was sealed improperly with cement. In addition, there were two mechanical valves, which failed to stop the leak of gas and oil. The crew was also to blame because they did pressure tests, which they did not read properly. This made the crew believe the oil well was under control when it was not. The crew also did not spot the leak before the explosion; there was an increase in pressure inside the well fifty minutes before the explosion but the crew did not interpret it as a leak. Next, about eight minutes before the rig exploded, mud and gas began to come out onto the floor of the rig. The crew tried to stop this by activating the blowout preventer, which is at the top of the well, however this caused the blowout preventer to malfunction. The rig had side vents that were suppose to release this mud and gas, but instead it was diverted to a device that separates only small amounts of mud and gas. This device quickly became overwhelmed and flammable gas was sent all over the rig. The alarm on the rig should have sounded
BP is one of the largest company producer in both oil and natural gas in the United States, venturing on exploration and discovery, Deepwater drilling and gas supply chains. On April 20th 2010, 11 men lost their lives after an explosion on the semi-submersible drilling on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig working on the Macondo exploration well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The well blowout and subsequent oil spill pumped 3.2 million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico the biggest marine disaster in US history. The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank, and the hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before the well was closed and sealed. After the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil
This article refers to the Gulf oil spill reached its don 't-just-stand-there moment. . Every day, the White House responded with updates and briefings. The White House has belatedly gotten the message, announcing new drilling regulations and scheduling the president 's second trip to the Gulf on Friday.
It is well known that in 2010 a oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by BP, exploded and sank and caused a continued oil leak that released amlost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in U.S. history (Biello). In an address delivered inJune of 2010, President Obama called the oil spill “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” (Obama). Given the magnitude of the spill, and the media attention surrounding the issue, the entire topic became an emotional subject and strong opinions were formed regarding the nature of the spill and the correct way to proceed with containment and restoration. Of the many debates surrounding the issue, one which falls prey
British Petroleum Company (BP) is a British multinational oil and gas company. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world. It is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has renewable energy activities in biofuels and wind power. BP has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has around 21,800 service stations worldwide.
An argument is fallacious when it contains one or more logical fallacies. A logical fallacy is an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning (2002). When using critical thinking to make decisions, an individual or group needs to be aware of logical fallacies and how they relate to decision-making. Logical fallacies can be used to manipulate a situation and if a person or group does not recognize logical fallacies, the person or group can be manipulated during the decision-making process. This paper will discuss three common logical fallacies and how they can be used in the decision-making process between management and subordinates in a business setting.
BP is one of the biggest petroleum and energy companies in the world. It has a truly interesting history that stated very early in the 20th century in Persia, when an Australian/British magnate decided to explore the country’s soil in search of petroleum. After the success of such expedition (That at some point almost failed) the company developed a rich market and expanded all through Western Europe, as well as some parts of Asia and Oceania. They also played a crucial role during the wars, by providing the British with fuels for their army.
BP, originally known as British Petroleum, which was founded in 1889, is part of the world’s seven largest publicly traded oil and gas companies. According to BP’s recent annual report BP states that they provide their customers with “fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants for engines, and petrochemical items used to make items for everyday use such as paints, clothes, and packaging.” The current CEO of BP, Bob Dudley, has a focus on turning the company around into a safer, stronger, and more simple business. Its headquarters are in London, England but the company is present worldwide and operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Rosneft.
On April 20, 2010, a massive offshore drilling rig, known as the Deepwater Horizon, exploded and set fire. The results were devastating. Eleven people lost their lives, and approximately seventeen were injured (“BP Oil Spill Timeline”). The explosion caused oil pipes to rupture and spill thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The BP oil spill has since turned into one of the worst disasters in recent memory. The damage that it has caused is insurmountable, and it has taken its toll on a wide range of people (Walsh). Making Matters worse, the spill has spawned many controversies (Lustgarten). The question, however, remains the same: Why did this happen in the first place?
The British Petroleum Company plc (BP) is one of the five largest oil companies in the world today. It is United Kingdom’s largest corporation. BP discovered oil in Iran before World War I. By the mid 1990’s it produced over 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas every day. It has more than 16,400 service stations around the world. It is an integrated oil and gas company. The company provides its customers fuel used in transportation, petrochemical products that are used in making paints, clothes, packaging and other everyday items and energy for heat and light.