Case Study: Shell
Who are the relevant stakeholders?
In recent years companies have been suffering a loss of legitimacy and confidence caused by a growing social awareness about their irresponsible behavior related to social injustice and damage to the environment. In this context, the case of the oil company Shell allows us to have an overview of the complexity of this type of situations. In the 90 ' Shell was involved in two major problems that has caused serious tensions between the company and its stakeholders because of the removal of the Brent Spar oil platform and problems in Nigeria. The relevant stakeholders involved in this case were consumers, investors and specially the local community that were affected with pollution caused by the company operation.
What are the key ethical issues within the case? Are there other issues that are relevant to the discussion of the case?
1) The first ethical issue arises from the need for Shell to dispose of Brent Spar, the oil platform located in the North Sea. After conducting studies on the options that the company had to dispose of the platform they arrive to the conclusion that the best option was to sink it in the sea. The company was also taking into consideration the alternative of dismantled on land, however, Shell was not ready to assume this risks due to the dimensions and the weight of the structure. As a result Shell decided that sinking it at sea was the most convenient alternative in terms of costs and for all in general. As the company received the acceptance of the Government of the United Kingdom on the project and the preparations for the collapse began, a group of Greenpeace members seized the platform in order to try to stop the project. The organization acc...
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...ow to manage more effectively its dual role of economic and political agent.
2 The programs that the company is implementing about training and employment, as well as the large-scale infrastructure projects and actions to rehabilitate the environment will require a long-term commitment. The conflict around the control of resources you will need to include topics such as corruption, the reform of the electoral Commission and transparency.
3. Other recommendation is that the company should provide direct answers to the problems to the stakeholders and not only to their shareholders in order eliminate a bad perception of the community. Involve the community should be taken as an essential part of its operation but not as an extra effort.
4. Finally, Shell need to understand that large number of people that is affected with their activity due to the dimension of the
False Information: This is probably the most obvious as to why it has negative ethical implications and a hard topic to defend
Ethical issues in this case are the impact on tourism industry of Gulf of Mexico and its beaches, unemployment around area because of closure of business, wildlife and the environment destruction and concerned with human health and post incident trauma. It has been almost year but world is still recovering from the devastation of disastrous oil spill. It destroyed the environment and wildlife all over the place and its total impact is still unknown. Environmental impacts may be noticeable for years to come.
What information from this week’s articles might be helpful as you think through this case?
BP was founded in 1908 under the name Anglo-Persian Oil Company. They changed their name to British Petroleum in 1954 and merged with Amoco in 1998. (BP Public Website, 2010) “The Texas City Refinery is BP’s largest and most complex oil refinery... It was owned and operated by Amoco prior to the merger of BP and Amoco.” (Michael P. Broadribb, 2006) Throughout their history, there have been a number of accidents that have been caused by negligence and disregard of safety precautions. Unfortunately many lives have been cut short or seriously injured as a result. My research will focus on the 2005 Texas City Oil Refinery Explosion. I will attempt to look into the ethical implications that surrounded this disaster before and after the event and suggest what BP could have done to prevent the incident then and in the future.
If the community works hard for the company, then the company should work hard for the community. Many people from the community work for the corporation and continue to make the corporation a better company by working hard. Therefore, the corporation should give back to the community for all of the hard work that they have done. “Companies that encourage community involvement distinguish themselves from their competitors, and see many benefits,
Business today has so many responsibilities. Aside from making a profit, they are forced to take on a different responsibility, one that involves the environment. Even though, they already have many regulations set by the government, they are still being asked to answer to the call of helping out the rest of society take of nature. This essay will discuss the pros and cons of corporate responsibility for the environment through the agent-of-society and agent-of-capital views.
In 1995, an important event marked a victory for the national GreenPeace organization, and for humans alike. The Brent Spar oil installation was not allowed to be dumped into the ocean. The importance of this decision lied in the fact that there were over 600 oil installations that would someday expire just as the Brent Spar had. When the decision was made to not allow the dumping, it set a precident that the other installations would not be allowed to be dumped, either.
As per request of the first assignment of this course, I watched the movie “A Civil Action” starring John Travolta (Jan Schlichtmann), as a plaintiff’s lawyer and Robert Duvall (Jerome Facher) and Bruce Norris (William Cheeseman) as the defendant’s lawyers of W.R. Grace and J Riley Leather companies. The movie depicted the court case fought in the 1980’s among the previously mentioned companies and the residents of Woburn a little town located in Massachusetts. After watching the movie, an analysis using the ethical tools reflected in the chapter 1 of the course textbook will be used to portray the ethical issues of the movie.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., S.J, & Meyer, M. J. (1990). Justice and Fairness. Issues in Ethics V3 N2.
The author argues TATA is dishonest by using CSR as a tool to distract public opinion in order to hide their cares about profit and their market reputation more than addressing the issues of society and environment betterment. In addition, they argued that corporate social responsibility is just a mask that the TATA wanted to wear because, there is no such company that tries to both improve the community as well as aim to displace and pillage their people. This in return causes expulsion from indigenous stakeholder’s land, leaving many homeless. The TATA Company have the ability to make significant changes to encourage a revelation about economic social and environmental sustainability by achieving new tactics that produce better
The largest petroleum-producing nation in Africa is Nigeria. The petroleum company is the main contributing factor of the GDP in the West African nation, which is also the continents, most noticeable and populous reserves. Since Nigeria was under British control it has suffered socio-economic and political adversities for decades. Corrupt domestic militias and complicity of multinational corporations have rid the nation of its natural resources. The same corporations that are ridding the land and exploring the resources have hypocritically identified Nigeria as a major concern with regard to human rights and environmental degradation. The petroleum business in Nigeria dynamically impacts its economy so much that “oil and gas exports accounted for more than 98% of export earnings and about 83% of federal government revenue, as well as generating more than 40% of its GDP.” Just to be reminiscent on this fact, the petroleum business accounts for almost the entire exporting business of a country so it raises the question of, where is the income going and how is it bring redistributed?
The oil companies are using a structured power approach while addressing the land use issues with the locals. The oil companies use formal authority, legal prerogative, and association to strengthen their side of the conflict. The Nigerian government has a history of being influenced by foreign money and influence, which gives big business a huge advantage over monetary decisions. The Nigerian government has gone as far as creating laws and legislation to benefit the oil companies because of the significant economic contributions the companies bring to the country. Omeje (2005) states “Oil is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy and the state is largely dependent on oil rents, taxes and royalties paid by transnational oil companies (TNOCs) and on profits from its equity stakes in the TNOCs’ investments.”
When we look at Enbridge’s Line 9 and the pipeline carrying oil substance that it was not initially designed for we can apply the discipline of environmental sociology and dismember the different aspects and analyze them individually to understand how outcomes are produced. Environmental sociology, in regards to Line 9 addresses the social relations between some of the major towns and cities that the pipe runs through and explains how capitalism forms the base of environmental deterioration as financial income and wealth accumulation are often factors that receive more recognition. The familiar understanding of the Line 9 is that the government and city officials declare that it is safely distributing oil, when in reality, when we as sociologists observe and record that it is providing more societal concerns than it is claiming. This can be obtained through an examination of the numerous health affects that are presented through documentaries, such as residents suffering from seizures, and the arrest of a gentlemen who displayed signs of insanity and madness (Line 9, Film). It is at this point where it can be understood that environmental sociology helps us recognize human diversity and the challenges of living in a diverse world through the examination of human behavior and action towards environmental concerns. In the documentary, This Changes Everything, we are shown that fossil fuels are a growing concern that is attracting the attention of local residents who acknowledge that we are all sharing a common atmospheric space that needs attention from all individuals on all different social and economic levels (This Changes Everything, Film). When environmental
While the concept of an individual having responsibility is commonly recognized, modern views have lead to the emerging issue of corporate responsibility. Business Directory.com defines corporate social responsibility as, “A company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates. Companies express this citizenship (1) through their waste and pollution reduction processes, (2) by contributing educational and social programs, and (3) by earning adequate returns on the employed resources.” But such a concept has been much disputed since at least the 1970’s.