Decision-Making in Corporate Sustainability

Decision-Making in Corporate Sustainability

A knowledgeable manager would be keen on the safety procedures used in all business and production processes. BP’s management should have taken precautions on the gas that is usually released before the oil in the drilling process. Additionally, the cement used in making pipes was not properly scrutinized to ensure its safety assurance manifesting another managerial failure in the company’s operations.

Accidents are bound to happen unexpectedly. The first action would have been to evacuate lives that were in danger of being lost to a safer region (Rathnayaka, Khan, & Amayotte, 2013). Moreover, air firefighting should have been sent to neutralize the effects of the fire and smoke.

Many corporations are driven by profit-making which acts as the standard gauge for assessing performance. Higher returns imply the team was performing optimally to stay ahead of the competition. Therefore, it is true to say the environment would have influenced the haphazard behaviour displayed by BP oil.

BP did not deploy sustainability in its business practice since the method of production was not efficient and perilous to human lives and the environment (Gregory, et al., 2012). Oil in water bodies is a contaminant to aquatic life, and smoke is an air pollutant that increases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The negligence of fundamental knowledge such as gas released before oil clearly shows a lack of social responsibility by the corporation.

A business operating in the environment should be considerate of the economic, environmental, political, and social impact on the environment (De Cremer, Van Dick, Tenbrunsel, Pillutla , & Murnighan, 2011). If the effects are detrimental in any way, then there should be ways of mitigating the effects beforehand. In so doing, the corporation practices good ethics in business. In this case, BP had poor business ethics in its production.

References

De Cremer, D., Van Dick , R., Tenbrunsel, A., Pillutla , M., & Murnighan , J. K. (2011). Understanding ethical behaviour and decision making in management: A behavioural business ethics approach. British Journal of Management, S1-S4.

Gregory, R., Failing, L., Harstone, M., Long, G., McDaniels, T., & Ohlson, D. (2012). Structured decision making: a practical guide to environmental management choices. John Wiley & Sons.

Rathnayaka , S., Khan, F., & Amayotte , P. (2013). Accident modelling and risk assessment framework for safety critical decision-making: application to the deepwater drilling operation. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of risk and reliability, 86-105.

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Decision-Making in Corporate Sustainability

The Unit 9 readings discuss principles of sustainability, ethics, and how companies are responsible for maintaining and practising well-developed standards that enhance relationships with stakeholders and the environment, as well as to make a profit for those that have a stake in the company.

Before continuing, be sure to read these articles:

Defining Corporate Sustainability.
Unusual Decisions Set Stage for BP Disaster.
BP to Pay $Out 18.7 Billion to Settle Spill.
For your main post, respond to the following questions:

What decisions did upper management need to make that could have avoided the spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
How might BP Oil have initially responded to the crisis?
Did the business climate of BP prevent the company from making the right decision?
Do you think BP practised sustainability?
Was BP ethical in its actions?