The paper purposed to evaluate how BP embedded aspects of image restoration theory in its press releases, especially bolstering, transcendence and corrective action, to demonstrate to the government and the publics that it was firmly dealing with the problem of Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, which killed 11 rig workers and sent an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the gulf over five months (Rogers, 2012; Swartz & Underwood, 2011).
It was important to evaluate BP’s case since it offered an opportunity for students of organizational communication to learn first-hand how theoretical elements of crisis communication can be used in real-life settings to calm a potentially explosive situation.
In the BP situation, it should be remembered that the federal government and the publics were uneasy with BP’s spill containment efforts. Elsewhere, President Obama not only described the spill as a massive and potentially unparalleled environmental disaster, but was also quoted in the media accusing BP of not doing enough to stop the oil leak (Ertresvag, 2011). Such accusations, in my view, had the potential to dent BPs image and reputation if action was not taken.
BP used its CEO Tony Harward as its mouthpiece to counteract negative reports coming from the government and the publics, which mostly touched on the company’s lack of credibility to contain the spill. Although BP mostly used the social media in its crisis management efforts, the paper largely dealt with press releases dispatched by the CEO to deal with sentiments echoed not only in the U.S. but also globally.
Based on three questions, the researcher highlights some of the elements BP borrowed from William Benoit’s image restoration theory to respond to the sentiments and therefore, minimize damage to its image and reputation.
How did BP counter the mounting accusations from Obama that it was not doing enough to contain the spill?
The CEO countered Obama’s fiery messages by engaging in acts of bolstering; that is, he bolstered BP’s strategies by consistently repeating what was being done to contain the situation, and by also reinforcing the fact that it had contracted world-class engineers to assist in stopping the spill. Additionally, the CEO engaged in transcendence to neutralize the accusations of perceived wrongdoing by reinforcing the statements echoed by the President and passing them as representing the company’s formal position.
How did BP succeed to scale down a potentially dangerous crisis situation?
The CEO used the element of transcendence in Benoit’s theory to suggest a different frame of reference to the whole crisis situation. While the government viewed the oil spill as an act of unprecedented environmental disaster, BP continued to release statements in popular media underlining that the spill was just a normal accident. That way, the crisis was scaled down in the eyes of the publics, effectively reducing chances that could have led to image loss.
How did BP bring on board the publics and local communities to share in crisis management?
BP undertook corrective action not only by promising $500 million in funding research initiatives aimed at restoring the situation to the state of affairs that prevailed before the objectionable oil spill, but also by compensating people who had lost loved ones, livelihoods and business.
Overall, it can be established that the study (paper) emphasized the important role of undertaking strategic responses in postcrisis communication not only to counter negative allegations that may work to the disadvantage of the organization, but also to release factual information to relevant stakeholders for informed decision-making.
Reference List
Ertresvag, K. (2011). BP and President Obama on the deepwater horizon oil spill: Interplay between government and corporate communications. Web.
Rogers, K. (2012). British Petroleum’s use of image restoration strategy on social media and response after the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
Schwartz, J.A., & Underwood, J.S. (2011). At the edge of the BP oil spill: Teaching inside disaster in New Orleans, LA. Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies, 42(3), 205-214.