Analyzing International Business Management Challenges at BHP Billiton

This report examines the international business management of BHP Billiton, particularly addressing the legal and political issues stemming from a mining disaster in Brazil. The paper highlights the company's expansion into African territories and the lawsuits filed by families affected by the dam failure, which led to significant environmental and social consequences, including loss of life, destruction of villages, and damage to ecosystems. The report analyzes the company's implementation of motivational theories, such as Herzberg's two-factor theory, and its responses to the disaster, including corporate social responsibility initiatives aimed at restoring the environment and local communities. The conclusion emphasizes the company's efforts to address the situation and its commitment to restoring affected areas, though it acknowledges the ongoing legal challenges.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN BHP BILLITON
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN BHP BILLITON
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN BHP BILLITON
The following paper highlights the issues that have been faced by the mining company
that is based within the Australian territories. The paper highlights the political as well as legal
issues that are being faced by the company within the course of action that are undertaken by the
company. The paper further discusses the ways in which the company might deal with the issues
that are being faced by BHP Billiton.
The company in discussion, BHP Billiton is one of the mining companies that have been
present within the Australian territories. The company is known to have expanded their services
to the African territories in order to harness the raw materials that are available at the mines
within the territorial boundaries of Australia. The company has been facing huge law suits that
are filed by the families of the Brazilian people who were involved in the mining disaster within
the territories of Brazil. The incident that had led to the lawsuits refer to the failure of the dam
that was present within the area. This incident resulted in a destructive flood which in turn led to
the death of the villagers. The flood had led to the complete destruction of the village named
Bento Rodrigues which led to the death of over 19 people (Lynch 2015). The failure of the
concerned dam is often highlighted to be the worst disaster in the Brazilian history till date. The
incident resulted from the rupture that resulted in the release of a great volume of industrial
waste within the river that had been flowing through the area (Bbc.com 2019). The concerned
incident had resulted in the death of the fish and the disruption of the marine ecosystems within
the area. The report by the United Nations stated that the disaster had been responsible for the
death of almost over 11 million fish communities that had been residing in the given area
(Roche, Thygesen and Baker 2017). The disaster had also resulted in a huge mudflow. This in
turn was responsible for the destruction of over 1469 hectares of the riparian forests that were
present within the area (Watts, J. 2018). Thus, it is observed that the disaster had led to the

2INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN BHP BILLITON
overall destruction of the flora and the fauna of the area as well as was responsible for the death
of the people working or residing within the area.
The company had undertaken various measures that were necessary for the overall
development of the area wherein the company had set up the mine. The company had
implemented the two-factor theory of motivation as have been highlighted by Hertzberg. The
company is observed to have been in knowledge of the issues that might arise due to the
conduction of the mining activities as well as the construction of the dams. However, the
company has been facing legal as well as political issues due to the lack of the proper
conveyance of the issues by the concerned senior executives who have been attached to the
project. The company might be advised to implement the various motivational and the hygiene
factors that have been stated by Hertzberg (Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl and Maude 2017). These
in turn would help in the overall development of the trust of the organizational workforce in the
various measures that are adopted by the organization. The company has also been facing
charges due to the loss and the harm that was caused to the ecosystem present within the area.
The company has been observed to have been working alongside Samarco in order to restore the
social conditions, the environmental factors as well as the various local communities that had
been present within the given area. The company is observed to have been implementing the
corporate social responsibility within the area in order to help restore the flora and fauna within
the area. This in turn would have helped the company in building up the loyalty among the
potential as well as the existing employees residing within the country of Brazil (Crane, Matten
and Spence 2019). The company in discussion has been facing legal issues due to the disaster
that the residents of the area have been witnessing due to the disaster that had taken place at
mining site in Australia.

3INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN BHP BILLITON
In conclusion, it might be stated that the company in discussion, BHP Billiton has
properly implemented as well as maintained the various areas wherein the actions on the part of
the company leads to the overall development of the concerned society. The company has been
working towards the restoration of the social conditions, the environmental factors as well as the
various local communities that had been present within the affected area.

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References
Alshmemri, M., Shahwan-Akl, L. and Maude, P., 2017. Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Life
Science Journal, 14(5), pp.12-16.
Bbc.com 2019. Miner in $5bn claim over Brazil dam disaster. [online] BBC News. Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48194377 [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
Crane, A., Matten, D. and Spence, L. eds., 2019. Corporate social responsibility: Readings and
cases in a global context. Routledge.
Lynch, R. 2015. BHP Billiton locked into descent after mining catastrophe in Brazil. [online]
The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bhp-billiton-
locked-into-descent-after-mining-catastrophe-in-brazil-a6732651.html [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].
Roche, C., Thygesen, K. and Baker, E., 2017. Mine tailings storage: safety is no accident. A
UNEP Rapid Response Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-
Arendal, Nairobi and Arendal.
Watts, J. 2018. BHP Billiton facing £5bn lawsuit from Brazilian victims of dam disaster. [online]
The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/06/bhp-
billiton-facing-5bn-lawsuit-from-brazilian-victims-of-dam-disaster [Accessed 16 Aug. 2019].