LEADERSHIP CHALLNGES A CASE STUDY OF BP OIL
INTRODUCTION
Leadership can be defined as art of managing people. The leader has skill and capability to handle catastrophe and move from financial situation to societal issues. Leaders of large cooperation’s and organizations always make vital decisions and anticipate good outcomes in attaining the goals the goals of the organization. The decisions to ensure that they solve a looming or existing problem in the organization. The leaders usually focus on making right decision which are understood all workers in order to produce a good outcomes(Erez,et al, 2012). The leadership team usually tend to focus on leading than managing, this is done to ensure that the emerging problems or crisis are solved in good time. The current research will center on BP oil leadership and its connection with the crisis management.
. Leadership have significant responsibility in nurturing effective job or organization performance. For example, workers who understands the association among company’s performance and goals and beliefs of the organization, will always put more efforts towards the organizational goals. Leadership is the organization’s backbone which helps it to build a strong culture. Leaders are commonly articulate company’s culture by building the values, prompting good member behaviour as well as reinforce punishment and recompenses. However, in modern world, the company usually work to create a team which acts their main step in overcoming the crises which might damage the organization’s life.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Dekker, and Pruchnicki. (2013). defines leadership as capabilities of a individual that can influence group members to attain a goal. Thus, the competences and abilities which a leadership establishes to affect team of workers to attain a vision or set of goals, moreover, leadership is concerning duplicating with transform and vision creation for inspiring people..
Leadership and Decision-making in an organization
It is well understood that dealing with disaster in a positive way needs a deep knowledge of the business cultural environment as well as its features, and the ethics and values of the society around the region of operational. This pushes the researcher to discuss ethical leadership and decision-making(Mejri, and De Wolf,2013).
Decision-making in serious crisis situations is very important. The crisis management procedure calls for management team to make sound and wise decisions, in order to successfully exit crisis and ease its impacts. This might clarify why decision-making regularly needs considerable knowledge and expertise. In fact, main characteristics of an exceptional leader is their capacity to make the right decisions during crisis, therefore timing of making these judgements is vital to their efficiency and success. Leaders must not jump into conclusions or make quick decisions during crises, particularly when the nature of the disaster does not need a rapid decision-making and interference process. A good leader therefore should not cave to pressure during crises( Houck and Oliver, 2010).
Leadership during crisis situations has become a vital issue particularly after the April 20th 2010 BP Oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. The emerging crises calls for a leader who have a vision,caring and good communication skills(Dunne,2014). Moreover expertise, empathy and providing experiences with an ability to lead are also necessary for leaders to handle disaster situations . Task-oriented leadership features are have been established to be more useful and effective in managing crisis (BP report,2019).
Successful Leadership in an organization
Leadership is the most important element of organization during crisis because, this is due to the fact that effective organisational leadership: creates a personal development, feeling of cohesiveness, as well as higher degree of approval amongst those performing the work; on the other hand it offers an predominant vision and direction, an association with the surroundings, a healthy system for creativity and innovation, and also act as resource for stimulating the organisational culture (Dunne,2014).
Crisis leadership efficiency depends majorly on the firm which is accountable for building a good atmosphere for leaders to work in. A competent and highly experienced leader will still face challenges when it comes to crisis management in case there is no good support from his/her co-workers and in situations where the teams are poorly designed and disorganised(Mumley, pg 32, 2019). .
Clear responsibilities
Building clear responsibilities in a firm will guarantee that shortfalls and gaps are evaded and replication of work is prohibited. Creating clear duties will also safeguard that during the incidence of crisis all internal business politics are eradicated.
CASE STUDY BP OIL
British petroleum abbreviated as BP OIL is a British which was established in 1909 under the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The biggest shareholder in this company is the British government .BP explores oil around content of America and has found numerous crude to sources which has helps build its supply capacity .The company currently operates in 31 nations with a total net income of $9.58 billion(2018) .
The company has faced numerous crises in its operations and leadership . In April 20th 2010 BP oil was involved in worst ecological disaster in its history of operation. Deep -water Horizon oil rig in USA exploded and caused 11 deaths, while wounding 17.The accident led into spillage of 4.9 million oil drums in the Gulf of Mexico(BP report,2019).
The National Oil Spill Commission was formed by US President Barack Obama which established that lack of communication, poor management and a number of deadly mistakes led to needless risks being taken. Although the company had faced other unintentional oil spillage in during its operations in different areas. The most negative issue was the mishandling of public issue by the company’s top leadership team which caused public commotion, resignation of the company’s top leadership and raised a local problem into global problem and cost company $42 billion.
The emphasis of BP OIL case study is not on a technical causes or rather it about leadership activities during the crises, consequences and styles of BP’s company leadership and leadership challenges before, in the course of as well as after the catastrophe and how these challenges have transformed BP company to date(Mumley, pg 17, 2019).
Mission of the Organization
The BP Oil company leaders were moving forward to attain the company’s which claims that;
1.BP wants to be recognized as a great company — competitively successful and a force for progress.
2.We have a fundamental belief that we can make a difference in the world
3.We help the world meet its growing need for heat, light and mobility.
4. We strive to do that by producing energy that is affordable, secure and doesn’t damage the environment.
5. BP is progressive, responsible, innovative and performance-driven.
Leadership Styles (BP )
Participative leadership
Participative leaders values pinions of all group members. The members of the group get enhanced job satisfaction and also offered an opportunity to improve their leadership abilities. The company has considerable experience in suppliers, and provision of the micro-financing training local population and capacity-building, . Its West Papua, Indonesia the company always offers participatory decision-making concerning the indigenous people as well as their relocation(BP report,2019).
The current BP oil company manger Bernard Looney substitute operating power to his management team, who acted as mini CEO in different areas CEOs, the team was made up of 250 managers who were instructed to sign an yearly performance contract which set out high productivity and profit targets. Bernard then held the team members personally answerable(BP report,2019).
One of the key advantage of participatory leadership style is that it promotes development of surplus leaders who also can work in the firm in coming time. Because leaders who approve this style boost active participation of every member of the team ,individuals often are capable of expressing their innovation and exhibit talents and abilities.
BP OIL COMPANY LEADERSHIP CHALLNGES AND ISSUES
The problems being debated are the leadership problems at BP Company and how the leaders apply their talents to overcome these crises.
Leadership Problems
Denial of wrongdoing
We have witnessed several cases of denial of wrong doing among BP top management team, this has been witnessed in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico crises . There first reaction during crises is always to deflect responsibility that the problem is not on BP’s accountability as the drilling work in rig was sub-contracted to another company. Even with revelation about the absence of vital safety measures in place, permit violations, failing to follow US government safety procedure, BP’s leadership team still claimed that they were not on the wrong side.
Full expose would have been the best strategy in such a disaster instead of declining to accept accountability instead, the company made a big mistake to convince authorities of the problem rather than handling it professionally . The CEO damaged the company’s name by taking defensive path and his failure to understand public response to his remarks particularly under the world media limelight and professionals. In Oct 19th 2019, BP has also been criticized for its choice of leadership after replacing Bob Dudley who had worked in the organization for 40 years by a junior leader named Bernard Looney has been termed as unprofessional by insiders, in this case too the company denied any wrong doing (Maresh,etb al,2010).
Non-Functional organizational culture
It has been noted that the company lack of an operational structure in its oil filed operations where the experts with technical knowledge need be offered the power to make the operations decisions; this has largely affected safety routine during crises. In the vital moments it can be hard to identify who is in control in the area, this led to inactivity instead of good decisive actions which can limit the damage .The senior employees are not given clear responsibility.
Lack of accountability
BP management team has been known to avoid taking accountability . The company has a group of managements team comprised of 250 individuals who are employed to run the daily task of the company, this pulls pressure off the management team .Also during the inquiries into the 2010 oil calamity, it was exposed that the BP staff and the sub-contractors did not have well defined responsibility, clear communication and shared goals .When the gulf of Mexico accident occurred blame was distributed between three companies. It was also established that regulatory agencies including government had ignored some regulations which had permitted dangerous operations to continue(Mumley, pg 12, 2019).
Conclusion
The BP’s response to the crises
has been poor due to bad leadership in the company. During crises which the
company has faced. The BP has shown slow first pre-crisis reaction, minimalizing
the acute disaster through foot-dragging on company’s good recall, a poor
communication with the members of public about the issue in chronic crisis phase, and little concern and compassion for customers badly affected by the services
or goods throughout the crisis resolution. Today, BP company is working on advertising and
marketing campaigns and also changing
their leadership style to reassure the members of public that it has taken full
accountability for the economic and environmental disasters. Additionally, the company has focused on green energy to
reduce such crises these actions and decisions are helping to reinstate BP company’s
worldwide reputation
References
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Mejri, M. and De Wolf, D. (2013). Crisis Management: Lessons Learnt from the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill Oil. Business Management and Strategy, 4(2), p.67.
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WPSU (2017). Case Study: BP Oil Spill. [online] Pagecentertraining.psu.edu. Available at: https://pagecentertraining.psu.edu/public-relations-ethics/ethics-in-crisis-management/lesson-1-prominent-ethical-issues-in-crisis-situations/case-study-tbd/
