BP Case Study Introduction (BP

BP Case Study

Introduction (BP Oil Spill, Background)- the Gulf of Mexico British Petroleum oil spill, also known as the Deepwater Oil Disaster, was one of the largest, most damaging, and most controversial oil disasters ever. The spill itself began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Oil platform, killing 11, injuring 17. It was not until July 15th, however, that the leak was stopped by capping the wellhead, after releasing almost 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil, or 53,000 barrels per day into the Gulf of Mexico. It was not until September 19th that the relief well process was complete and the U.S. Government, EPA, and Coast Guard agencies declared the well breach effectively stopped (Cavnar, 2010).

The damage caused by the spill is almost immeasurable; ecological, political, economic, social -- it almost devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast fishing and tourism industries. Even in January 2011 a report was made by oil-spill experts from the University of Georgia stating that tar balls continue to wash up on beaches, collect in shrimp nets, kill marsh grass, and even undegraded oil in the seabed (Dykes, 2011). It will likely be years, if not decades, before the final assessment of damage, short-term and long-term, is accurately noted from this disaster.

Leadership Analysis of Local BP Station Manager -- the BP Oil spill is not the first, nor will it be the last, error made by a company. The public realizes this, knowing all too well that the human effect is never perfect. A crisis like this, however, is not national, local, or requires ego and pride to step in -- it is ecological and has an effect on the entire world. There are ways to handle product mishaps, however, that have been proven in case study after case study to be effective, publically acceptable, and positive in the long-run. In general, crisis management focuses on three major activities: 1) What are the most appropriate methods of response to both real and perceived crises?, 2) What models and scenarios need to be defined that constitute a crisis and should engage a necessary and appropriate response?, and 3) What is the communication plan and chain that is necessary to ensure that the emergency phase of crisis management is handled appropriately? (Fink, 2000). However, there is a clear difference between the leadership style needed from a multinational corporation and that needed from a local franchise. The overall theme, though, regardless of how correct it is, is indeed set by BP. Consumers see the corporate logo- the sign, and the image is transferred from international to local.

Using a model developed by leadership experts Kouzes and Posner we can find at least three major leadership gaffes committed at both the BP international level and local BP Station Manager level regarding the Deepwater crisis: