Corporate Responsibility and Governance- PDF
9 Pages2453 Words65 Views
Added on 2021-06-15
Corporate Responsibility and Governance- PDF
Added on 2021-06-15
ShareRelated Documents
Running head: Corporate Responsibility and GovernanceCorporate Responsibility and Governance-Oil Spill at the Gulf of MexicoName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
1Corporate ResponsibilityGulf of Mexico Oil spill: Deepwater horizon was a semi submersible, ultra deepwater, dynamically positioned,offshore rig under the ownership of Transocean. On 2009, they drilled the deepest well(10,683 meters) in the Gulf of Mexico. On 20th April, 2010, during the drilling for MacondoProspect, an explosion occurred at the rig due to a blowout, as a result of which 11 crewmembers were killed and created a ball of fire that was visible from 64 Km. The fire wasimpossible to control, and in two days it sank, and the well kept leaking oil from the seafloor,leading to one of the largest oil spills. This caused a massive environmental damage due tothe oil entering the marine ecosystem. The rig was under lease to British Petroleum (BP) till2013 and after investigation BP was charged with negligence and willful misconduct whichmade this accident possible (Brennan, 2013; Goldstein et al., 2011; Cleveland et al., 2010;BP, 2010).Ethical Issues involved from the perspective of BP and other stakeholders There are several ethical concerns related to the event. Apart from the 11 casualties inthe accident and additional 17 were injured and almost 5 million barrels (about 780,000 cc) ofoil was leaked into the ocean that covered an area of 176,000 sq km (BP, 2010; Dadashzadehet al., 2013; Eckle et al., 2012). The waters were consequently closed to fishing to preventcontamination. This additionally led to loss of several jobs at the fishing industry. The spillalso caused many whales and dolphins being stranded, and the deaths of thousands of turtles,birds and mammals who got covered in the oil from the spill (Lauritsen et al., 2017; Venn-Watson et al., 2015; Beyer et al., 2016). The brown pelican which was declared as anendangered species, was one of the worst affected by the spill (Walter et al., 2014; Wallace etal., 2017).
2Corporate ResponsibilityFirst ethical concern is the magnitude of damage caused due to the oil spill on themarine habitat and the effect on wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. For several years, BP alsorefused to take full responsibility of the accident, and instead blamed others. However, it wasacknowledged by BP the different types of species being affected by the spill, and soaked inthe oil and the natural habitats being destroyed because of the oil spill. Also, the effects of theagents used to disperse the oil on the marine life were also not analyzed in detail before beingused at the site, which shows a significant form of negligence towards environment. Thedispersants breaks down the oil droplets into smaller droplets, which helps it to mix withwater more easily. In the deepwater Horizon, more than 1.4 million gallons of different typesof dispersants used. These can also enter the food chain, and have potential adverse effects onthe wildlife (Beyerb et al., 2016). The second ethical concern was the effect on the various stakeholders due to the oilspill. The Fishing industry was affected, since the area of the oil spill soon became out ofbounds for any fishing activities, and hence caused loss of jobs. The seafood industrysimilarly got affected due to this, as the fishing restriction meant they had to look for otherfishing areas. Moreover, the fear of contamination of the food and its subsequent health risksalso affected the fishing and seafood industry as well the consumers (Alvarez et al., 2015;Incardona et al., 2014). The oil spill also destroyed the aesthetic value of the place, with largeswathes of oil deposits in the region, which repelled tourists and visitors. This was a majordisadvantage to the tourism industry. These aspects also affected the local communitiesadjoining the affected coast (Shultz et al., 2015). The third ethical concern is the loss of lives and disabilities caused due to the accidentand safety concerns of those involved in its cleanup. Any form of human casualty and threatto human wellbeing is an ethical concern of any organization. Ensuring the full safety of theworkers is one of the prime responsibilities of the organization (Pangborn et al., 2018).
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents
BP: The Problem with the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexicolg...
|9
|2476
|57
Strategic and Sustainable Accounting Report 2022lg...
|12
|2926
|31
Role of BP in Deepwater Horizon Disasterlg...
|9
|2609
|79
Gulf Oil Spill Caselg...
|7
|2102
|90
Leadership and Ethics in British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill Disasterlg...
|6
|1162
|374
Critical Analysis of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spilllg...
|17
|5200
|121