Putting crisis management in to practice - BP

Crisis management

Putting crisis management into practice is never a process that a company wants to implement. By implementing it, it means they've had to deal with an unpredictable event that threatens to harm not only the organisation, but its stakeholders and the general public. But BP have just found themselves in the position where they need to be putting crisis management in to practice.

Since an explosion on 20 April, which killed 11 people, a BP oil rig in the Mexican Gulf has been spilling vast quantities of oil into the ocean - covering an area bigger than the size of Washington state. Estimates state that near-enough 17,000 barrels a day have been gushing into the ocean, causing devastation to the area, and leaving BP's reputation in tatters.

BP has seen €28 billion wiped from its market value and besieged CEO Tony Hayward is all too aware that his head is on the chopping block.

This morning has seen BP shares fall 15.7 percent in early trading in London, due to fears of the rising costs BP are liable for due to the spill. The fall in shares leaves them standing at 1997 levels.

BP shares plunged on Thursday as pressure mounted on the oil giant over the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster with a meeting between President Barack Obama and relatives of 11 workers killed on the Deepwater Horizon rig.

So far, the company has spent around US$1.43 billion attempting to stop the leak, and on compensation.

Fueled by 24/7 media coverage of oiled birds and tides of toxic crude washing up on US shores, American public anger is growing and Obama's administration is under increasing pressure to hold BP accountable for the biggest oil spill in US history.

BP takes action

Now BP has put crisis management in to practice, and in a bid to control some of the disastrous publicity they're getting. The UK company has bought the 'oil spill' search string in Google.com through AdWords, and purchased the same phrases through Yahoo.

This means next time an internet user user types in phrases such as 'oil spill' and 'oil disaster' in Google.com, the first response in the search results will be a link directing to BP's micro website which is dedicated to disseminating information on how it has handling the crisis on the ground.

A BP spokesperson here said this initiative was just to ensure that all stakeholders could easily find what the company was doing to overcome the oil spill crisis and also made it easy for affected parties to place their claims. "It is also for people to sign up as volunteers," said a company spokesperson, Business Standard reported.

Apart from taking some help from Google.com, the BP website has undergone a complete facelift, with links to every possible aspect of the oil spill crisis. Several remotely-operated vehicles are used to provide real-time feed of the oil spill and attempts to cap the spill.

BP need to take action urgently as their image continues to slide. In the days of social media, no company is safe from ending up with a badly damaged brand.

As my fellow editor for the Business Management Europe magazine, Julian Rogers stated, "Crisis management has significantly intensified with the emergence of online forums, blogs and social networking sites."

Tony Hayward thwarts crisis management

Tony Hayward has hardly helped with the crisis management though. Hayward, and BP in general, initially downplayed the spill, stating on 17 May that the environmental impact of the Gulf spill would likely be "very very modest" and calling the spill "relatively tiny" in comparison with the size of the ocean. By 27 May, Hayward had apparently changed his assessment, calling the spill an "environmental catastrophe" in an interview with CNN.

Hayward has stated that his job might be at risk as a result of the spill, saying "we made a few little mistakes early on." Hayward received criticism for various statements he has made during the spill, including telling a camera man to "get out of there" during a photo-op on the shores of Louisiana. On 30 May, Hayward told a reporter "we're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused to their lives. There's no one who wants this thing over more than I do, I'd like my life back."

BP may be putting crisis management in to practice, but while Hayward is at their helm, is it going to do any good?

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

Related News:

Heads up - CRM - Business Management Europe |Executive pay continues to rise

|From crisis to control: Full command of financial close processes |The human factor

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: