Bp Deepwater Horizon Case Analysis
Rafique Sheikh. MGMT 518: Legal & Ethical Env. of Business
BP’s ethical conduct concerning the Deep Horizon blowout
Background:
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the BP oil spill refers to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed for three months in 2010. The spill was a result of the explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others (Summarized from Wikipedia article on: “Deepwater Horizon oil spill” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill )
In the following text we will analyze the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill from some of the well-known ethical perspectives.
From the Perspective of the Communitarian Theory:
Communitarian theory supports and deepens the argument for a duty to rescue. On this view, community is valuable not merely as a means to the protection of individual right, but also as a positive human good (Halbert, Law & Ethics in the Business Env. pg. 7). In case of the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill and BP’s conduct we find that the corporation did not consider itself part of a large community but rather as a business carrying out its core mission of extracting oil to sell. When the Spill did occur, however, communitarian theory compels the community at large to come to the rescue of the environment as well as the people affected by it.
From a Free Market Perspective:
According to well known free market economist, Milton Friedman, a corporate executive has a direct responsibility to the owners of his business or his employers to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society (Halbert, Law & Ethics in the Business Env. pg. 11). When applying the free market ethical theory to BP’s decision the important question to ask is whether deepwater drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico is
BP’s ethical conduct concerning the Deep Horizon blowout
Background:
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the BP oil spill refers to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed for three months in 2010. The spill was a result of the explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others (Summarized from Wikipedia article on: “Deepwater Horizon oil spill” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill )
In the following text we will analyze the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill from some of the well-known ethical perspectives.
From the Perspective of the Communitarian Theory:
Communitarian theory supports and deepens the argument for a duty to rescue. On this view, community is valuable not merely as a means to the protection of individual right, but also as a positive human good (Halbert, Law & Ethics in the Business Env. pg. 7). In case of the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill and BP’s conduct we find that the corporation did not consider itself part of a large community but rather as a business carrying out its core mission of extracting oil to sell. When the Spill did occur, however, communitarian theory compels the community at large to come to the rescue of the environment as well as the people affected by it.
From a Free Market Perspective:
According to well known free market economist, Milton Friedman, a corporate executive has a direct responsibility to the owners of his business or his employers to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society (Halbert, Law & Ethics in the Business Env. pg. 11). When applying the free market ethical theory to BP’s decision the important question to ask is whether deepwater drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico is