Aspects of BP’s ethical culture that contributed to the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster
There are some ethical and cultural aspects with BP which could contribute to the Gulf Coast oil spill. BP used to pay fines as a result of operating against rules and regulations of handling petroleum products in several countries. The company used drilling designs that were cheaper and easier to implement. The top management of the multinational company did not adopt internationally accepted measures for detecting and preventing oil spills. These aspects could have greatly contributed to the Gulf Coast oil spill. Business ethics requires that businesses adopt recommended measures to prevent disasters that could destroy human and animal lives. If a business has a culture of observing the ethics of conducting its business operations, then it has minimal chances of causing disasters due to faulty operations (Ferrell et al., 2013).
Purposeful avoidance of risk management
BP did not engage in purposeful avoidance of risks associated with oil spills. Although BP had encountered many oil spills, it did not implement measures that could prevent the occurrence of the Gulf Coast oil spill. It was reported that BP did not use a control shut-off switch which could have prevented the oil spill. BP was also accused of negligence because leakage was noticed a few weeks before the Gulf Coast oil spill, but no action was taken. It was asserted that BP was using inadequate disaster management systems (Ferrell et al., 2013).
Future actions to rebuild the reputation and manage the risks associated with offshore drilling activities
For BP to avoid risks associated with drilling in the future, it should adopt risk detecting systems within its drilling locations. The systems should be well maintained and monitored. BP should change its culture of negligence, and this will ensure that it would act to minimize the events that could result in loss of lives and property in advance. In conclusion, BP should follow the law to ensure that it conducts legal operations across the world. This would go a long way in ensuring that it does not pay fines as a result of illegal practices.
Reference
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.