Case: BP Texas City

Muhammad Mohsin

Section A
Marketing MBAII

Question 1
In my view what happened in British Petroleum was a problem of ethics rather than a problem of
safety systems. In the whole article it is mentioned that the company has worked and improved
on the individual safety measures. It is also mentioned that there was no proof that the leadership
was consciously and intentionally taking actions or making decisions which put other lives at
risk. It was part of the culture of carelessness which resulted in the incident which was
unethically yes but it was more of the faults of the safety systems.
Question 2
Well yes there is no doubt that such rules and regulations are made so that the problems faced by
BP Texas City were avoided. But in the case there seems to be a presence of a culture where it is
acceptable to have deficiencies in preventive maintainenece. But the company did improve after
some incidents happened and followed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
standards and it is improved on the personalized safety measures and misinterpreted that the
improving personal injury rate in an indication of acceptable safety performance. It did not focus
on the overall company safety process so that is why the companys problem continued
throughout the years.
Question 3
After the deaths the company started improving the personal safety measures and which is why
OSHA inspections failed to look at the big picture. They could not find out that the problem was
the overall safety of the workplace which included the obsolete machineries too and not just the
personal safety measures. So although the personal injury rate was reduced, the big problem was
always there.
Question 4
The most important step is to provide a leadership over the whole safety process which will
ensure compliance with the safety regulations which are usually ignored in the current
organizational culture. Secondly they should replace their obsolete machineries and wipe them
out because these are the main part of a petroleum factory and similarly dangerous as well. And

thirdly they need to change the mistrusting environment and culture within the organization and
open way to a positive, trusting and open environment which a proper safety culture requires.
Question 5
Baker panel had identified all the crucial areas and also provided remedies to overcome safety
risk in the organizations. According to my own view, I would also advise BP management
leadership to emphasis on safety requirements as it is not the responsibility of only health and
safety department but its natural responsibility enforceable to everyone in the management. I
suggest that BP should offer incentive such as monetary or nonmonetary reward system to
promote safety measures in the organization. Leaders are the role model for the employees and
hence the top leadership should execute and promote safety needs of every employee.

Question 6
The strategic aim of the company for the past ten years or so has been to reduce costs and
increase profitability and due to this the company reduced its budgets and were cut to the human
resource department to which lead to gradual deterioration of the safety t the British petroleum
refinery. This says a lot about how the strategic aim of a company specially the human resource
management which is linked to the employees. Whatever the strategic aim of the company will
be the human resource management functions would have to change accordingly.