The purpose of this paper is to study the ethical leadership of a leader within a fortune 500 company. The paper will discuss the history and current information of British Petroleum (BP). It will describe their mission, vision, and value statements. It will provide detailed information on Tony Hayward and his leadership style. It will discuss the company’s culture of command and control, cost cutting, and lack of accountability. It will review their stance on ethics and corporate social responsibility. It will discuss the impact corporate culture can have on ethical leadership. And finally, it will point out the lesson to be learned from the historic troubles of British Petroleum. History and Current Information
In 1908
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In 2006, a pipeline leak spilled thousands of gallons of oil in Alaska, causing them to replace miles of pipeline in the Prudhoe Bay area (Hall, 2010). In 2010, a blast on an offshore rig caused 206 million gallons of oil to be spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers in what is said to be the worst oil spill in history (Weber, 2010). Mission, Vision, and Values Statements
The mission and vision statement at BP is based upon value statements and a code of conduct. They want to be recognized as a great company that is competitively successful and a force for progress. For example, they believe that they can make a difference in the world by meeting the growing demands for heat, light and mobility. To accomplish this, they plan to produce energy that is affordable, secure, and doesn’t damage the environment ("How we run," n.d.).
The core values that drive their mission are: progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven. Progressive for them means that they believe in the principle of mutual advantage and building productive relationships with each other, their partners and their customers. Responsible means that they are committed to the safety and development of their people, their communities, and the societies in which they operate. For example, they aim for no accidents, no harm to people, and no damage to the environment. Innovative means that they will push
This company is a well-defined; well-establish organization that has been able to stand the test of time. One thing that I do believe stands out though is not defined by a long list of words is the fact that it is a powerful message in that it is speaking to people around the globe.
This paper will first discuss briefly what ethics are and provide the definition for an ethical issue. An ethical leadership issue is identified and explained for this author’s practice area. We will then identify and discuss key strategies for leadership that are pertinent to the ethical issue. Next, empirical evidence which supports the strategies discussed will be analyzed. Then, the impact and importance of the strategies will be stated. The final step will be to provide a conclusion to the reader that summarizes the content and strategies.
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
The Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 24, 1989, happened in Prince William Sound, Alaska. A tanker spilled 10.8 million us gallons of oil in the water supply. It viewed as Similarly as a human-caused Ecological catastrophe.
On April 20, 2010 the largest accidental marine oil spill in human history took place in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident resulting in methane gas was released and exploded killing 11 rig workers and having a major impact on our marine wildlife.
The BP oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico is the largest oil spill in human history. The incident resulted after methane gas was released and exploded in the BP-owned Macondo well on April 20, 2010. The fire continued for 36 hours and the oil drilling rig, named Deepwater Horizon, sank two days later on April 222, 2010. This incident led to the loss of 11 lives, the injury of multiple others and a spill of approximately 4.4 million barrels of oil. The oil spill is said to have affected as many as 68,000 square miles. Not only were lives lost, but the livelihood of thousands of fishermen were impacted, countless marine animals and organisms were destroyed, and marshes and beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida were fouled. After extensive efforts, the well was capped on July 15, 2010, 87 days after the explosion and sealed on September 19, 2010.
Ethics is the guiding force in any respectable organization. With a moral compass, especially in the leadership of organization, a company can become compromised and fall into a quagmire of legal issues, a tarnished reputation, and devaluation of company stock if it is a publically traded company. In pursuit of examine my own ethical lens I will analyze the ethical traits of an admired leader, my own traits as exhibited in the Ethical Lens Inventory, and how I make a decision concerning a particular ethical dilemma.
Pratt & Whitney has a set of core values that they try to instill on all of their
It is only during moral lapses and corporate scandals that interest groups and the broader public ask themselves the fundamental ethical questions, who are the managers of the organization and were they acting with the ethical guidelines. For a long time, the issue of ethics was largely ignored, with organizations focusing on profit maximization. However, this has changed, and much attention is now focused on ethics management by researchers and leaders. The issue of ethics has arisen at a time when public trust on corporate governance is low, and the legitimacy of leadership is being questioned. Leaders are expected to be the source of moral development and ethical guidance to their employees.
INTRODUCTION BP, formerly British Petroleum and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, has experienced a lot of ups and downs over its hundred-year history—from nearly bankrupting its founder William D’Arcy to becoming one of the world’s largest energy companies. BP has also experienced its fair share of controversies regarding business practices, environmental damage, and hazards to workers. It and all other large energy companies have come under fire for releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. For some time, BP has attempted to turn a page in its history book toward a more environmentally-friendly future through investments in renewable energy and a support of ethics and compliance
In 2001, someone fired a rifle at the pipeline, resulting in 300,000 gallons to leak out. Likewise, in 2006, a deteriorated portion of the Prudhoe Bay pipeline resulted in a leak of 270,000 gallons of oil into the area. Furthermore in the Alaskan area, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker leaked approximately 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound. This massive oil spill killed over a thousand sea otters, thousands of birds, and cost more than $2 billion dollars to recover.
Deepwater Horizon oil Spill: BP’s drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion in April 2010, causing the “largest oil spill catastrophe in the petroleum industry history”. It caused the death of 11 men and injury to several others. “More than 150,000 barrels of crude oil gushed into the sea, every day, for almost 5 months and up to 68,000 square miles of the Gulf 's surface were covered” (1).
Leadership is by all means a special talent that not all people possess. A leader must also have ethics to be effective for the long term in the corporate world. These leaders generally implement ethical programs in order to influence an organizations climate (Yukl, 2010). I will evaluate the importance of ethical leadership and the role it plays into today’s organizations. In addition, I will discuss the repercussions a company may have when its leadership allows and even rewards unethical business practices. Lastly, I will apply my personal leadership perspective. My perspective will include the path-goal theory and ethical practices that I find important to
BP created one of the largest oil spills in history. Under the oil rig the sea floor gushed out massive amounts of oil. About 210 million gallons poured out of it. People from the rig went missing and were never found. After failed attempts they finally sealed it on September 19, 2010.
On April 20, 2010, an eruption occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP oil spill, or the Gulf of Mexico spill, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil were pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. The BP pipes were leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The disaster killed 11 workers and injured 17. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010 an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked into the gulf. As much as 20 percent of the of the spilled oil ended up on top of the sea floor . As of 2012, the Gulf was still polluted with oil. Of the 400 miles of the Louisiana coast, approximately