Case Study: Bp Struggles to Resolve Sustainability Disaster

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After reading Case 4, “BP Struggles to Resolve Sustainability Disaster", on pages 342-352, of our textbook Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J. & Ferrell, L. (2013), Team D will review and discuss the following questions introduced on page 352 and provide answers to these ethical and legal questions regarding BP (British Petroleum) and submit there findings in a final summary. What aspects of BP’s ethical culture could have contributed to the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster? It was discussed, with the team, that the way the company constant apathetic view towards violations, severity of safety risks and towards the neighboring social and ecological environment, by severely cutting corners, to either save time or money, were specific aspects of British Petroleum’s (BP) ethical culture that greatly contributed to the Gulf Coast oil spill. An apathetic view and total disregard for need of the installation of emergency shut off valves or a secondary deep sea emergency valve, in lieu of cutting time off to complete the job, was a fatal mistake for BP and the severity of the disaster could have been minimized. There was apathy shown towards fishermen, factories and businesses, when BP they offered a $5000 settlement plans to fishermen, in need of quick cash relief. This plan involved fishermen to accept $5000 and to sign a waver, waiving their legal rights to sue BP, file a future claim or divulge any information related to the agreement. Many fishermen and business owners claimed to the government that BP was not apathetic to their plight, causing BP to set up a $20 billion fund for claims. This type of behavior is not ethical business practice and preys on the need of others. Did BP engage in purposeful avoidance of risk management? Why or why not? Though the majority of the team discussed in favor of BP’s

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