Multinational Companies and Their Social Responsibilities (Α Case Study of Shell, Nigeria)

Situated along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea is a region about the size of South Carolina that offers a land full of sweet, light crude oil, known as the Niger Delta (Delta). The Delta sits within the country of Nigeria in West Africa and is in a constant state of crisis, underpinned by a multitude of key issues. Those issues include severe poverty, soil and water contamination, high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, depletion of natural resources, corruption, and armed militia groups. These issues have one thing in common: oil.

ecological purposes. Various acts and pieces of legislation paired with advocacy on the part of

Facts: Plaintiffs are residents of Nigeria, who claim that Dutch, British, and Nigerian corporations engaged in aggressive oil exploration and production, aided and abetted the Nigerian government in committing violations of the law of nations related to crimes against humanity and human rights abuses. Royal Dutch and Shell are parent companies incorporated in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom respectively; Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is incorporated in Nigeria. Since 1958, SPCD has conducted oil exploration and production in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. Protesting SPDC’s activities in the region, Ogoni

The ethical responsibility is at the top of the pyramid mainly due to it having the least affect upon the implementation of CSR in the African region, it ‘embodies the standards, norms, or expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, shareholders and the community regard as fair, or in keeping with the respect or protection of stakeholders moral right’ (Carroll 1991, p41). There still remains a divide that is hard to breach for the likes of Shell due to the way in which corruption still remains rife, meaning they are seen by locals to be doing the wrong thing, Shell pays the Nigerian government a 13% royalty (Coble, B 2007) on the oil but due to political system being widely corrupt very little of that money actually reaches the locals that need it.

British Petroleum is a multinational corporation that provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, and petrochemicals products for everyday items to its customers. It operates in more than 80 countries and produces approximately 3.2 million barrels of oil per day. Throughout the course of British Petroleum’s life cycle it has been involved in a number of legal dilemmas which related to environmental, safety, and political issues. The purpose of writing this report is to evaluate British Petroleum’s legal business practices and ethical responsibilities within its corporation. Evaluating multinational corporations are important for the overview of the company because any legal issues that may

The Niger Delta is a region of Nigeria that is very rich in crude oil and gas. Crude oil and gas make up 70% of the country 's revenue and 95% of it 's export earnings (Ezekoli, 5608). Those percentages are incredibly high and represents large amounts of money that can be found in the region. However, the people of the Niger Delta never see the wealth that comes from their natural resources. The wealth instead goes to the oil companies set up in the area as well as the pockets of a few elite government officials. The disconnect between the people of Nigeria and the oil companies and governments is incredible (Ezekoli, 5609). The effects are slum turned neighborhoods, increased poverty, and job loss. In order to improve the conflict in the Niger Delta, the government and oil companies need to allow more involvement of women and people as voters and elected officials, and create or adhere a sustainable environmental regulations plan.

oil in Nigeria. Nigeria’s large supply of high quality crude oil helped Shell climb to the top,

Shell is a group of oil and petrol companies. The parent company is Royal Dutch Shell, based in Britain, is a multinational corporation (MNC). The group of companies is active in countries all over the world, including Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is extremely rich in oil resources. Rightly so, their business-connection goes back over fifty years. Likewise, a Shell company, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), is the largest oil and gas operator in Nigeria.

The author accurately stated throughout the article that the government is removing the subsidy as act of corruption. This was shown firstly, by moving the audience towards the direction that the promises deliberated during presidential campaign were not sincere. This therefore, allows the reader to understand that the Nigeria population was not adequately or not educated about this matter. Secondly, the authors provides figures of the refineries’ lack of capacity which showcases the years of mismanagement and corruption which has led to the incapacity to refine oil in the country. Thirdly, it emphasizes that the removal of such subsidy has taken place during the worst time ever given to all the instability in the North and moreover with the energy problems that Nigeria are currently facing. However, in my opinion despite all these facts stated by the author, I strongly believe this article has only one side of the story. In other articles which were investigated for the purpose of this analysis such as it talks about the massive problem they are with smuggling (Madukwe,2012), in addition, it explains how this massive amount of money which is being used to acquire

Promulgated in 2000, the NDDC Act highlights the importance of addressing the “problems” which arise from the exploration of oil minerals in the Niger-Delta area […]” .Section 2(1)(b) of the NDDC Act sets out rules for the composition of the Niger Delta Development Commission reflecting the need for a stronger representation of the oil producing states. In addition, Section 2(1)(c) provides for the representation of non-oil producing states while Section 2(1)(d) calls for a deeper integration and cooperation between these states and oil operators . The major mandate of the NDDC among others is the conception, planning and implementation in accordance with set rules and regulations, of projects and programs for sustainable development of the Niger delta area in the field of transportation including roads, jetties, water-ways, health, employment, industrialization, agriculture and fisheries, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications. That mandate includes the formulation of policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger Delta Area. Unfortunately, as Ojukwu laments, much work has to be done in order to ensure the fulfilment of this goal notwithstanding the efforts made by the government in this direction, .

"You produce the oil from our lands, but we get no benefit from it. Look around, does this look like an oil-producing community? Does this look like Saudi Arabia?" . This angry riposte, from Vinkaviks Ekariko at a meeting between chiefs of a local community in Nigeria 's now volatile Niger Delta region and officials of a Multinational Oil Corporation , reflects Amao’s view that, home jurisdictions in vulnerable areas are generally perceived to be powerless when it comes to the operations of large organisations particularly multinational corporations(MNCs) situated in their area . According to Mujih, MNCs operate on a large scale throughout the world producing both constructive and damaging consequences . He proffers the promotion of economic growth as a constructive consequence of their operations; while on the negative side, he accuses MNCs, particularly those in the extractive industries of colluding with the governments of their host countries, to inflict human rights abuses, damage the environment and consequently, destroying the way of life of local communities .

Finally, we think that corruption in Nigeria is presented on a large scale because the government allows it, so this case involves a very important and outrageous government and its leaders. And the company in question, we think that this had to have chosen a better his legal representative in Nigeria for the construction of the plants (they were a part of the blame)

Employees of a global company such as MKD need to adhere to the companies’ regulations as well as guidelines regarding ethical behavior and responsibility. The various ethical behaviors that are exercised by MKD towards their employees include, abiding to the law. With regards to the oil spill, the employees of the company are required to take the required measures that will ensure that the damages of the oil spills are minimized, this will enable the company to adhere to environmental laws as well as prevent the occurrence of law suits and government fines. The employees of the company are also required to be responsible for their actions regardless of whether the actions are positive or negative. The employees in this case are required to take responsibility after the oil spill before it causes more damage. They are also required by the management to ensure that they keep the environment clean as they carry out their organizational activities. The employees of the company also need to be accountable, they thus need to communicate their negative actions to the management as well as admit to their actions in a timely manner. In our case, they need to assess the damage that has been caused by the oil spill, as well as identify the causes of the oil spill instead of blaming each other (Damon P. 2010).

There are limitations for corporate social responsibility. Basic limitations are compliance with laws, cost, effectiveness and complexity. As a result of limitations, social responsibility activities of corporations may not satisfy society.

Nigeria is Africa’s leading producer of oil and the seventh largest producer of crude oil in the world, and equally endowed with other numerous natural resources. But rather than utilizing its resources for maximum development, the country is unfortunately bedevilled with how to efficiently and effectively distribute oil revenues in an equitable manner. The revenue allocation phenomenon in Nigeria is basically the issue of distribution of national (resources) revenue, mobilized by the central federal government. And as far as the revenue allocation debacle is concerned, the haggling is between those who bake the national cake (major contributors to national revenue) and those at the helm of affairs to allocate it. There