For COMM 101 – Business Ethics Class 3 Blog Post
A recent federal report has placed ultimate responsibility on BP for the 200-million gallon oil spill which occurred in their undersea well last year. This incident resulted in the deaths of 11 workers, billions of dollars in damage to hundreds of miles of coastline, and the crippling of the Gulf economy.
The report, released on Wednesday, concluded that BP violated federal regulations in the construction of the well, as it failed to take the necessary precautions to ensure the utmost safety of the project. BP made several flawed management decisions that complicated operations and added risk, thus the well was not kept under control at all times.
BP, under federal regulations, was obligated to conduct operations in order to ensure “the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources, and the environment.” The main ethical issue here is that BP neglected this social responsibility to its workers and the environment in order to cut costs. BP may have initially benefited financially by neglecting the ethical responsibilities of their actions, but this incident will cost them dearly in the long term, with perhaps irreparable damage to their corporate image.
Source: The Globe and Mail
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