Company Overview
Chevron Corporation is one of the world’s largest energy companies that deals with the production and exploration of oil and gas. It was founded in 1879 and served many countries all over the world. Its main products are petroleum, oil, lubricant, natural gas, and fuel. As of 2008, Chevron Corporation had estimated revenue of 273 billion U.S. dollars and an operating income of approximately 42 billion U.S. dollars. Its success is contributed to its numerous assets that were estimated to be 161 billion U.S. dollars as of 2008.
Statistics taken in 2009 reviewed that, Chevron Corporation employs more than 67,000 employees all over the world with more concentration in the United States (Chevron Corporation “Company profile: Providing Energy for Human progress” 2010). Its headquarters is in California a city called San Ramon, and it operates in more than one hundred and eighty countries
Marketing and Legal Systems
Chevron Corporation has a wide marketing network that covers more than 84 countries, with about twenty-four thousand retail centers. Its daily operation includes producing, transporting, and marketing of energy resources. Most of its resources are found in America, Europe and some parts of South Africa. It has refineries distributed all over the world to serve a large number of its customers.
Chevron products are marketed under three main brands: Caltex, Chevron, and Texaco and its retail outlets are located in six continents that are the U.S., Africa, and Pakistan, among others. Oil, natural gas, and other refined products are transported through pipelines to the major markets such as the United States. It also has a shipping company that transports products to many parts of the world. Chevron Company operates in separate entities which are responsible for managing their business affairs.
However, its financial reports may include the use of certain terms such as, the company, us, our, among others which does not refer to any specific entity but all the subsidiaries of the company (Chevron Corporation. “Marketing: Trusted by customers” 2010). This ensures that all subsidiaries are treated equally with no superiority of one entity over another.
The company has an audit committee that is responsible for ensuring that, the financial statements are audited by independent accounts, financial risk is monitored, and corporate compliance is monitored by the board of directors.
Political Risks
The possible sources of political risks to the countries in which the company operates may result from global competition for the energy market. We all know that the oil and gas industry is the most profitable industry in the world with exports flooding the global market. Political risks may emerge from the ownership and control of oil and gas reserves that are available in the respective countries.
For instance, the collapse of the Gulf of Mexico oil resulted not only in economic impacts but also political issues regarding who should take the blame, which should be responsible for the clean-up, and whether other rigs should be drilled. The nature of the Chevron products and operations is also likely to be affected by political risks if individualism is given priority than the development of the whole nation.
These risks include drastic changes in the prices of oil and gas, chemical margins, technological developments, increases in exploration expenses, and the list is endless. If I were a political consultant for the company, I would suggest the company to restrain from involving itself in the political matters of the member countries and let them manage their political issues.
Stakeholders
Chevron Company involves itself in constructive discussion with all the stakeholders in identifying and managing issues related to the operation of the business. Its stakeholders include the government, nongovernmental organizations, stockholders, and communities.
To satisfy all these stakeholders, the company engages in annual meetings where annual reports are presented, stockholder proposals are discussed, the human resources are surveyed, contracts between the company and the government are negotiated, and supply from both small and large scale is surveyed. It also holds community outreach programs regularly.
This process may seem difficult for other international companies because it is not always easy to bring the stakeholders together, and many companies do not involve them in the decision-making process (Roberson, 2007).
Company’s Code of Conduct
Chevron Company has a code of conduct that is followed by the employees when buying or selling its products. It is the responsibility of the Chevron employees to buy and sell energy resources according to the laid down rules and regulations that guide the company’s way of doing business. They are also responsible for reporting the company’s information regarding its transactions to the publishers of energy indices, which must be accurate.
Chevron company’s transactions are reported consistently with the procedures set by the FERC (Anon. “Business Conduct and Ethics code” 2010). This includes the submission of trade data to the treasurer’s department by the Risk management group. The type of trade data submitted includes the transaction date, price, term, volume, and the buying or selling indicator.
Social Programs
Chevron Company has social programs in the countries where it operates. For instance, it collaborates on global initiatives (for instance, the extractive industries Transparency initiative) with the member countries for the welfare of the government and the communities as a whole. It also promotes road security through a program known as Arrive Alive and has offices for promoting support services to customers (Johnston, 2003).
The Future of the Company
There is substantial evidence that the company might monitor their investment and actions in the future reflected in its involvement of the key stakeholders. For instance, employees go through training and retraining programs where they are equipped with skills to meet the current demand and to help them advance with technology.
It also has programs that are aimed at the development of suppliers and for safety; it participates in the studies developed by the National Petroleum Council and engages in direct discussion with the governments where it operates from (Johnston, 2003). Chevron Company has embarked on research and development programs in the respective countries to look for ways of promoting business success to become profitable.
Reference List
Anon. (2010). Business Conduct and Ethics code. Web.
Chevron Corporation (2010). Company profile: Providing Energy for Human progress. Web.
Chevron Corporation (2010). Marketing: Trusted by customers. Web.
Johnston, D. C. (2003). Perfectly legal. New York: Penguin Group.
Roberson, J. (2007) Supplier Cobasys exploring more hybrid batteries. New York: Detroit free press.