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The Ethical Leadership Of British Petroleum

Decent Essays
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
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