Introduction
Slightly over three decades ago, in Prince William Sound, Alaska, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez was responsible for one of the worst environmental catastrophes in American history. The oil spill from the Exxon Valdez affected wildlife and the environment in the short and long term, necessitating extensive cleanup operations by various response groups. This paper uses concept theories to document observations from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill film and focuses on the actions of the leaders and followers. Monitoring companies and preventing oil leaks are two significant areas where the government should invest resources.
Observation
The Exxon Valdez oil spill is well known for its observable catastrophic effects on human and environmental health. Over 1,300 miles of Alaskan shoreline were covered by the 11 million gallons of spilled oil that leaked from an Exxon Shipping Company tanker into Prince William Sound (Exxonvaldezdisaster, 2010). To circumvent ice, the tanker had set sail a few hours earlier to traverse Prince William Sound with a cargo of about 50 million gallons of the petroleum product.
The crude oil leak occurred because the accident with the Bligh Reef ripped open the ship’s hull. After looking into the tragedy, investigators found that the Exxon Valdez’s captain had been intoxicated and had let an unregistered third mate helm the ship. The third mate was so sleep-deprived and incompetent with the Raytheon Collision Avoidance System (RAYCAS) radar that he mismanaged the ship. Since Exxon Mobil Corporation did not monitor the ship or ensure its crew had enough rest, it collided with another vessel, and Prince William Sound was forever changed.
As the Columbia Glacier frequently calved small icebergs in the area, the third mate instructed traffic control and chose to veer off the designated traffic lane to avoid them. The ship was put on autopilot and directed southward. It departed the eastern edge of the traffic lane slightly before midnight. Lloyd LeCain Jr., the Second Mate, was supposed to relieve Third Mate Gregory Cousins after he had been on service for six hours (Exxon Valdez Disaster, 2010).
The Second Mate had been on duty for a long time, so Gregory hesitated to wake him and stayed on duty. In defiance of corporate protocol, Gregory Cousins remained the sole officer stationed on the bridge for many hours that night. Gregory Cousins started guiding the ship into the traffic lanes at about midnight. In addition, it was observable that the Bligh Reef light was 45 degrees off the starboard bow, which was odd because the light should have been on the port side.
Since the ship was in danger, Gregory Cousins directed a change in course. The ship grounded just as Cousins was about to finish calling Captain Hazelwood. At only a few minutes past midnight, the ship slammed aground on Bligh Reef, causing what the helmsman called ‘a rough ride’ and ‘six extremely sharp jolts’. It remained precariously balanced on top of a rock peak, propelled only by its momentum; eight out of eleven cargo decks ruptured (Exxon Valdez disaster, 2010).
Six million gallons of crude oil were evacuated from the ship in about three hours. Thirty minutes following many efforts to free the vessel, Captain Hazelwood notified the Coast Guard of the grounding via radio. First Mate, James Kunkel, warned the captain that the ship would not be structurally fit without the reef backing it, but the captain continued to try to navigate free of the reef for over 45 minutes after the grounding.
Prince William Sound was blanketed with strong oil sheens for several days after the spill began. Storms began three days after the ship went down, and numerous beaches in the Knight Island chain had enormous amounts of crude oil washed up on their stony coastlines. In their failure to ensure that the Exxon Valdez had an adequate and well-rested crew, Exxon Shipping Company executives neglected to oversee the master, the ship’s skipper (Exxonvaldezdisaster, 2010).
Perhaps due to exhaustion or overwhelming workload, the Third Mate could not steer the ship correctly. The RAYCAS radiolocation, which Exxon Shipping Company neglected to keep in good working order, would have alerted the Third Mate to the approaching danger of colliding with the Bligh Reef. This would have been facilitated by detecting the radar reflector on the rock inland from the reef, thereby maintaining the ship’s course.
Bligh Reef is a notorious navigational danger in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and the ship struck it a few minutes past midnight. A crash forced open the ship’s hull, releasing 10 million gallons of oil into the ocean. Reportedly, the cause of the disaster is that Hazelwood changed the ship’s direction to avoid icebergs before passing the helm to the Third Mate.
The Third Mate’s poor navigation forced the ship to veer off course and crash into the reef; the radar malfunction was the primary contributing factor. The oil spill tragedy occurred over a year after the radar stopped functioning. It may come as a surprise, but almost 11,000 Alaskans, including state and federal responders, Exxon workers, and fishers, were responsible for cleaning up the oil spill in the months following the Exxon Valdez disaster (Exxonvaldezdisaster, 2010). Delays in cleanup efforts were caused by Coast Guard and Alaska officials who did not provide the necessary authorization.
Irate fishers decided to protect a few of the numerous islands that make up one of the best salmon nurseries in North America from a rapidly spreading oil spill in Prince William Sound. Therefore, they took the lead in the effort to contain it. When Exxon acknowledged it could not stop the leak, the fishers tried to deal with it. Despite their offers of assistance since the spill, they were not used in the cleanup operation, as several vessels independently made their way to the islands.
The fishermen tried to secure the hatcheries’ access points to protect the pink salmon, which account for about half of the 25 million that return to Prince William Sound annually. Annually, the salmon catch brings around $70 million; since they were directly affected by the spill’s destruction of local fish and wildlife populations, locals were understandably enraged with Exxon (Exxonvaldezdisaster, 2010). Undoubtedly, they had good reason to be angry.
The leak damaged many natural assets, and Exxon management failed to handle the cleanup. Those living near the area were among the most affected. When the Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef that night, the first regulator to hear about it was Dan Lawn. Lawn recorded Alyeska’s futile efforts to stop the leak and the 10 million gallons of petroleum barreling towards Prince William Sound (Exxon Valdez disaster, 2010).
For over a decade before the spill, Dan informed the state of the oil industry’s incompetence in preventing falls and preparing for cleanups. He cautioned them of the possibility of a catastrophic incident in Prince William Sound. Following the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and the subsequent spill of eleven million gallons of petroleum into Prince William Sound, Mr. Larossi was the earliest senior Exxon official to reach Alaska. Before his replacement by other Exxon executives, who oversaw the reflotation and evacuation of any remaining oil from the ship, he led the cleanup operations.
Steve Cowper was instrumental in helping the state of Alaska deal with the oil disaster that occurred in 1989 after the Exxon Valdez. During the crisis, he served as the state’s governor. Joseph Hazelwood oversaw the 1989 oil disaster from the Exxon Valdez as its captain. A misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil was the lesser offense for which Hazelwood was found guilty; he was fined $50,000 and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service (Exxon Valdez Disaster, 2010).
The person present at the location when the spill occurred was Chuck O’Donnell, the Superintendent of the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal. The authorities’ responses, he claimed, were slow and ineffective. Oversight of the incident was vested in President George W. Bush. Some people also blamed him for the spill because of the delayed responses. In 1990, President George Bush enacted the Oil Pollution Act.
According to classical theory, companies are like machines, with humans just playing a supporting role. Consequently, according to classical thinkers, individual productivity directly correlates with organizational effectiveness. A key component of transformational leadership is helping subordinates discover their identities and contribute to the organization’s objectives. This is how transformational leaders engage with their followers, and it helps them become more invested in the organization (Bass & Avolio, 1994). It was the company’s and its crew’s fault for the disorganized, ill-prepared cleanup.
In the end, the board ruled that the tanker’s owner, Exxon Shipping, was partially to blame, as depicted in the film, because the company had not ensured a professional, vigilant team. The Coast Guard’s incompetence caused the oil leak, overworked crew members, and an intoxicated captain. The group failed to address the shipping issues, the Coast Guard was unable to inspect the vessel, and reports circulated that the captain had been drinking before the voyage.
Attributable to the primary and supporting leaders’ failed control, the leak imperiled wildlife populations and the fragile food web that sustains commercial fishing in Prince William Sound. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that about 370,000 birds died due to the spill, as the grounding occurred at the start of the bird migration season (Exxon Valdez Disaster, 2010). In addition, the spill immediately significantly reduced sea otter populations in Prince William Sound. Thousands of ocean otters, bald eagles, harbor seals, and seabirds were reported dead because of the spill in the days following the tragedy.
In the years immediately following the oil spill, some fishers in Prince William Sound went bankrupt due to the collapse of the herring and salmon fisheries. Fishing was a way of life for the oil spill survivors for a long time; it was their primary source of income and nutrition (Champoux, 1999). It stung deeply when employees from the oil corporation’s recklessness yanked it out of their hands. The Exxon Valdez oil spill has prompted scientists, news outlets, and government agencies to wonder about the long-term effects of an oil spill of this size on ecosystems.
The executives at Kenai Fjords National Park continued to address the oil issue for some time after it occurred, even though they were far from the spill’s source. The composition of biological communities is influenced by the physical features of their habitat (Spears, 1995). The depletion of resources like fresh water, beach sediment, plant life, and bivalves affected the species that inhabit or rely on these areas. Ecosystem effects were inherently unexpected and degrading, making it hard to isolate impacts from the oil spill. Even after all the years, the Prince William Sound area continues to show signs of oiling, oiled beaches, declining species, and concerns about the safety of seafood for animals and humans.
Since the disaster happened in open, navigable waters, United States Coast Guard officials were in charge of the cleaning. Organizational preparedness and response capabilities were tested during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. When the leak occurred, no cleanup or oil recovery gear was on the water.
Representatives of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company were the primary responders under Coast Guard supervision during the Exxon Valdez disaster (2010). However, their response barge was not operational during the catastrophe, and further emergency reaction equipment was either reported missing or covered in snow. Exxon claimed full responsibility for the extensive cleanup following the oil spill. These efforts lasted over four years, included hundreds of vessels, airplanes, and land-based infrastructure, and employed thousands of workers.
Regarding factors influencing worker efficiency, neoclassical theory emphasizes human interactions and group dynamics. Individual, team, and participatory leadership are the defining characteristics of neoclassical theory. As established in neoclassical theory, successfully addressing the Exxon Valdez disaster and preventing similar incidents in the future requires the collective effort of various stakeholders. Rules enacted by government officials aimed at reducing the likelihood of future oil spills were shaped by the facts, insights, and experiences gained from the Exxon Valdez disaster.
Oil extraction and beach cleanup tactics included chemical dispersants, burning, high-pressure cold- and hot-water washing, fertilizer-boosted bioremediation, mechanized and manual oil removal, and oil-laden sediments. Some shorelines were intentionally left untreated to conduct efficacy studies, as specific cleanup procedures had not yet been demonstrated to be effective (Exxon Valdez disaster, 2010). It turned out that hot-water cleaning did an excellent job of removing oil, but it was more harmful to the environment because it killed off any remaining plants or animals.
According to game theory, there are four possible ways that an individual or organization can handle a given situation. These four options range from mutually beneficial to jointly detrimental (Gladwell, 2002). When it comes to preventing and regulating ship oil leaks, the approach that combines government and company officials is the most efficient overall. While the company executives’ primary goal was to maximize profits, the government representatives failed to minimize environmental harm and cleanup costs effectively. To ensure the company officials followed all environmental regulations, the government should have enforced laws through inspections and fines earlier.
Conclusion
The oil tanker Exxon Valdez caused one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in American history. Preventing oil leaks and monitoring are two crucial areas where the government should allocate its resources. According to the classical theory, an organization’s effectiveness is directly proportional to its workers’ productivity.
The neoclassical theory posits that preventing future incidents similar to the Exxon Valdez disaster and effectively resolving them requires the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders. The government should enforce environmental regulations through inspections and fines to guarantee that companies comply. Although eliminating catastrophic events like oil spills is unattainable, avoidable losses can be mitigated by establishing response protocols and coordinating stakeholder and agency efforts.
References
Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (Eds.). (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage.
Champoux, J. E. (1999). Film as a teaching resource. Journal of Management Inquiry, 8(2), 206-217.
Exxonvaldezdisaster. (2010). The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill – Part 1 of 10. YouTube.
Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Little, Brown and Company.
Spears, L. C. (Ed.). (1995). Reflections on leadership. John Wiley & Sons.