Unit 37 – Business Ethics
Task 4b – Explain concerns in task 4a, and suggest measures that could be taken to improve
corporate responsibility.
The families of those who died on board, were injured, or lost their jobs:
The largest issue in the Deepwater disaster would be the loss of life. This is because the deaths of
the 11 workers could have been avoided if the management had listened to the staf. t is reported
that some workers claimed the rig was leaking weeks before the explosion, as well as some reportng
feeling pressure building up before the explosion. This can be seen as a major issue especially for the
families who lost loved ones as this cannot be reversed, while more oil can be discovered by BP. The
reason it is worse is because a human aspect of anything is worse than that of an animal or an
object, as people ponder what if’s of the actons.
A memorial service for the fallen took place in Jackson, Mississippi, more than a month afer their
deaths. n this, Transocean’s CEO, Steve Newman, told atendees they ‘are now a community that no
one wants to be a part of’, while reportedly ‘holding back tears’. There was litle media atenton
untl then due to the contnued oil spilling into the ocean, and due to the men originatng from
around the golf, not one locaton. This would be a concern for communites in which the people died
as they would feel that oil was more important than the human aspect of the disaster.
Polluton of the coastline and ocean:
This was a large issue primarily because the oil that leaked as a direct consequence of the explosion
on the Deepwater, as well as the leaking oil as a result of the well being incorrectly closed, which led
to a total of around 3-4 million barrels of oil being released, about 40,000 barrels per day, making
this the largest US oil disaster in human history. The polluton of the coastline led to a sharp
reducton in tourism in the golf, as well as fshing communites also sufering from a ban in fshing
due to fsh being killed because of the oil in the water. Animals were also beginning to mutate, with
animals born with smaller gills to protect from the oil, restrictng their breathing abilites. People
around the coastline fled a law suit against BP claiming they sufered from sickness related to the oil
in the air and water. However, the claim dropped through, as experts couldn’t accurately pinpoint
the source of their sicknesses. The lack of tourism, fshing and illness cost coastal communites
hundreds of thousands of dollars, however, hotels reported record number of rooms rented in the
following couple of months, possibly due to the clean-up efort going on.
Wildlife killed in the disaster:
n the August afer the spill, it was reported that 20% of Bluefn tuna had been killed, with heart
defects being found in larvae of some Bluefn tuna and some other fsh, with around 4000 birds, 500
sea turtles, and 200 dolphins also being killed, reported from seeker.com. biologicaldiversity.org
reported that 82000 birds, 600 sea turtles and 26000 sea turtles were killed or harmed as well as
signifcant coral damage, which stll hasn’t recovered in 2016. However, some fsh species showed
signs of blossoming due to the increased numbers of oil digestng microbes. One oyster family in
Southern Louisiana reported a yield of 60% less fve years afer the incident.
Task 4b – Explain concerns in task 4a, and suggest measures that could be taken to improve
corporate responsibility.
The families of those who died on board, were injured, or lost their jobs:
The largest issue in the Deepwater disaster would be the loss of life. This is because the deaths of
the 11 workers could have been avoided if the management had listened to the staf. t is reported
that some workers claimed the rig was leaking weeks before the explosion, as well as some reportng
feeling pressure building up before the explosion. This can be seen as a major issue especially for the
families who lost loved ones as this cannot be reversed, while more oil can be discovered by BP. The
reason it is worse is because a human aspect of anything is worse than that of an animal or an
object, as people ponder what if’s of the actons.
A memorial service for the fallen took place in Jackson, Mississippi, more than a month afer their
deaths. n this, Transocean’s CEO, Steve Newman, told atendees they ‘are now a community that no
one wants to be a part of’, while reportedly ‘holding back tears’. There was litle media atenton
untl then due to the contnued oil spilling into the ocean, and due to the men originatng from
around the golf, not one locaton. This would be a concern for communites in which the people died
as they would feel that oil was more important than the human aspect of the disaster.
Polluton of the coastline and ocean:
This was a large issue primarily because the oil that leaked as a direct consequence of the explosion
on the Deepwater, as well as the leaking oil as a result of the well being incorrectly closed, which led
to a total of around 3-4 million barrels of oil being released, about 40,000 barrels per day, making
this the largest US oil disaster in human history. The polluton of the coastline led to a sharp
reducton in tourism in the golf, as well as fshing communites also sufering from a ban in fshing
due to fsh being killed because of the oil in the water. Animals were also beginning to mutate, with
animals born with smaller gills to protect from the oil, restrictng their breathing abilites. People
around the coastline fled a law suit against BP claiming they sufered from sickness related to the oil
in the air and water. However, the claim dropped through, as experts couldn’t accurately pinpoint
the source of their sicknesses. The lack of tourism, fshing and illness cost coastal communites
hundreds of thousands of dollars, however, hotels reported record number of rooms rented in the
following couple of months, possibly due to the clean-up efort going on.
Wildlife killed in the disaster:
n the August afer the spill, it was reported that 20% of Bluefn tuna had been killed, with heart
defects being found in larvae of some Bluefn tuna and some other fsh, with around 4000 birds, 500
sea turtles, and 200 dolphins also being killed, reported from seeker.com. biologicaldiversity.org
reported that 82000 birds, 600 sea turtles and 26000 sea turtles were killed or harmed as well as
signifcant coral damage, which stll hasn’t recovered in 2016. However, some fsh species showed
signs of blossoming due to the increased numbers of oil digestng microbes. One oyster family in
Southern Louisiana reported a yield of 60% less fve years afer the incident.
