THE BP OIL SPILL IN MEXICAN GULF 2010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

THE BP OIL SPILL IN MEXICAN GULF 2010 - Essay Example A crisis refers to an undesirable and unfortunate position that a business finds itself in, and which poses a great threat to the organization (Benoit, 1995). The value of communication in any company is very important, and this importance cannot be understated. The major concept of this work is crisis management, and will employ a special focus on the BP oil company, and the oil spillage crisis of 2010. It shall take keen interest on how well, or otherwise, the crisis was handled by the company. Two theories are important in this work. First is the structural function systems theory which provides an in depth insight in crisis management. It implies that those companies that have a very effective information and communication model are more likely to succeed in crisis management (Lightstone and Driscoll, 2008). The second theory, the diffusion innovation theory, which is a widely applied theory, helps to structure the framework of this work, theoretically. It shows how businesses co mmunicate and disseminate information through specified networks, or after a period of time which results to consistency (Hooghiemstra, 2000). Accounting theories lay great value in communication, and sets up assumptions, methodology and frameworks, to ensure timely, reliable, efficient and consistent information (Islam and Deegan, 2010). The crisis that BP found itself in was a great test to the company’s reputation, which has taken many years to build. The case The case study chosen, in this context is about BP oil spill in the Mexican Gulf in 2010. BP Ltd has operation sin over eighty companies. Statistics reveal that in 2012, it was the fifth largest company in terms of market share, and has over 87, 000 employees globally (BP, 2010). According to this report, on the morning of 20th April 2010, there was a huge explosion at the Macondo Prospect. A drilling rig had exploded, which resulted to the death of eleven people and seventeen others being injured. This was the worst marine accident in the oil industry, which put the reputation of the company at stake. The BP Company addressed the issue through several press releases, interviews, updates via new media including Facebook and Twitter and also through their annual financial report. The use of these means can be attributed to several accounting theories including the stakeholders and legitimacy theory, the systems oriented theory and the positive accounting theory, which will be discussed in the methodology section. Data After the accident, the company CEO, Tony Hayward, was interviewed by several media houses. In the interview, he consoled the family of the bereaved and the injured. The company also issued press releases regarding the accident. The press releases thereafter were released after a period of time, and each of it gave updates about the accident. For instance, between the day of the accident and the beginning of the year 2011, the company had released about thirty or more press release s on the same issue (Landau, 2001). New media has also boosted communication. The company therefore took its chances and continued to communicate via Facebook and twitter, updating all recent developments and photos of the progressing work. The other disclosure vehicle chosen was the annual report of 2010. In this, the chairman, Carl Henric Sanberg addressed the issue. In the same report, there is a summary of the accident, and a detailed explanation of what has been done, and what continues to be done (BP, 2010). The vehicles chosen for corporate analysis in this particular crisis were effective, though not fully. Methodology The