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Management Ethics at Bp

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Management Ethics at Bp
Business Management Ethics Issue at Bp
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MANAGEMENT ETHICS AT BP

Abstract Beyond Petroleum, BP is among the largest Oil and other energy companies in the world. Its targets and confidence in the market has enabled it reduce Carbone dioxide waste and enhance alternative sources of energy like solar power. This upward success has, however, in the recent past been challenged. BP’s environmental image in the globe has been tarnished due to accidents and ethical issues it faces. Its actions are argumentative based on the facts and the rational thing that ought to be done at the time of the incidents. Looking at its business norms and the theoretical standpoints that contrast, therefore, paves way for arguments on the ethics of its business practices.

Business Management Ethics Issue at BP BP is currently being heavily scrutinized due to its history of ethical and legal violations that law enforcers, critiques and members of congress have ascertained. The London based oil company has a tendency of putting profits ahead of anything else. Its subsidiaries over the past two decades have had two felonies, including a conviction three times of crimes against the environment in Alaska and Texas. In the U.S history, it is the company with the highest fine levied against it for willful work safety violations. BP’s accepting responsibility is just a formality but denies it is guilty of a continuous sequence of safety and environmental faults (Greenpeace USA, 2010). Beyond Petroleum, formerly British Petroleum, aimed to drastically cut down the greenhouse gas emissions by 10% between 1990 and 2010. This they did, successfully pointing out their intent to either help the environment in their work or just instill a better image of an environmental-friendly company that intends to tap into the developing market of alternative energy. Most of BP’s actions have, with time, been



References: BP (2011). Annual Report and Form20-F 2011. 2011. Retrieved 08 Nov 2012 from http://www.bp.com/assets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/set_branch/STAGING/common_assets/bpin2011/downloads/BP_Annual_Report_and_Form_20F_2011.pdf BP (2012). BP at a glance. Retrieved 08 Nov 2012 from http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=3&contentId=2006926 Campbell, R. & Clifford, K. (2010). “Gulf Spill is the Largest of its Kind, Scientists Say”. The New York Times, 2 Aug 2010. Greenpeace USA (2010). Ecological Impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Retrieved 08 Nov 2012 from http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/news/gulf-oil-spill/ecological-impacts/ Hamel, G. (2007). The Future of Management. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Ohreen, D. (2010). “Opinion: BP puts costs ahead of environment. Are we surprised?” Business Ethics, 5 July 2010. Retrieved 8 Nov 2012 from http://business-ethics.com/2010/07/05/1432-opinion-bp-puts-well-costs-ahead-of-environment-are-we-really-surprised/

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