In this part of my task I will be focusing on the ethical concerns facing communities in where BP operates. To do this I will list the possible ethical concerns facing communities for BP and then explain and describe each ethical concern. I will then focus on what BP could do to improve their corporate responsibility. * Describe the ethical concerns facing communities in which your selected business operates. Because of BP’s recent disasters, there has been a list of ethical concerns facing communities against BP.

Since BP has operated recently very negatively releasing harmful oil into the Gulf of Mexico damaging a large quantity of the wildlife inside the Gulf i. e. fish. In addition, the oil spill has also caused damage to the surrounding of the Gulf of Mexico including the beaches and property of some of the local residents. This can be seen as an ethical concern to BP as it has affected the lively hood and environment of the local community surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Another ethical concern facing the communities could be the pressure groups who are protesting against damage to the environment.

An example of a pressure group could be, Friends of the Earth UK. This particular pressure group is a campaigning organisation that inspires solutions to environmental problems which thus gives the opportunity for people to live a healthier life since it stops serious environmental damage. Therefore this obviously clearly tells us that it will be an ethical concern for BP because they have already done damage to the environment numerous times e. g. the oil spill and factories being blown up, and so consequently gives pressure groups like Friends of the Earth UK the opportunity to protest.

http://www. greenphase. co. uk/organisations. html The tourism of the Gulf of Mexico and general public are more ethical concerns for BP as these people have been majorly affected from the oil spill. The oil spill has reduced and practically stopped tourism in the Gulf of Mexico because the tourist’s main attraction was the beach but however it is now covered and destroyed with a layer of oil. The general public are simply disgusted with the tragedy of the oil spill and as a result has greatly reduced the reputation and public image of BP.

Reports from Sky News say ‘Before then, it spewed more than 4 million barrels of oil into the sea, damaging coastlines along the US Gulf Coast, killing wildlife and damaging the livelihood of fishermen and others are relying on tourism. One more ethical concern for BP facing its communities could be the legal complications.

Since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the US state of Alabama it’s considering suing for its damages caused to the Gulf and ocean. The US state of Alabama specifically said “We are suing them for the amount it will take to make Alabama whole. ” This is such a negative concern for BP because as well as all the financial matters, BP’s reputation will also drop. Sky News US correspondent stated that, ‘There’s a huge amount of legal complication and difficulty now facing BP’ this clearly lets us know the different types of ethical concerns and communities facing BP.

What measures could be taken to improve corporate responsibility? Corporate responsibility is simply when a firm achieves success by taking and considering into account all the ethical values and environmental factors which may arise for them, in this case BP.

Corporate responsibility involves minimising the chance of negative activities i. e. the oil spill and maximising positive actions. There are plenty of measures that could be taken by BP to help improve the corporate responsibility of their business. Since there has been more than one disaster caused by BP there are numerous measures BP should consider taking to improve their corporate responsibility. One measure that could be taken to improve BP’s corporate responsibility could be to undertake test runs and plan ahead for large business operations like the transportation of oil.

If BP is able to take this measure then it will prevent the accidental disasters such as oil spill because BP will have planned and practiced time and time again to deal and thus prevent the possible situations that could encounter. Of course this measure does not mean that there will be no chance of a disaster but it will definitely greatly reduce the chance of a disaster because BP will plan and practice the large operations which mean that they would be more ready for the actual real operation.

These are all the beneficial points about using this measure, obviously these measures are meant to be used to benefit BP which it would however; every measure which would be taken to improve their corporate responsibility would most likely have some drawbacks. Some of the drawbacks if BP were to actually do this measure would be that it will be very expensive. Since this measure involves the business, BP, planning and practicing large operations time and time again it will cost money to keep using the supplies and also to pay the employees with a higher wage to keep them motivated.

Another vital drawback for carrying out this measure would be that it is very time consuming. As it involves practicing large activities such as the transportation of oil time and time again it means that time will be consumed much more than usual because the employees who would normally be doing another duty may well be have to be used for the practicing and planning of a large operation, this may also mean that BP will have to employ more workers.

Another measure BP could take into consideration for improving their corporate responsibility could be to simply increase, enhance and provide a longer period of time for training employees to increase their experience which would also help BP to prevent disasters like the oil spill or the Texas factory explosion 2 years ago.

To do this, as well as providing the employees with more training sessions, BP would also have to grant the employees with a slightly higher wage, a decent pension and lastly bonuses to simply motivate the employees which therefore would help BP run operations more smoother and responsibly, consequently this would most definitely allow BP to succeed in the long term.

Obviously this is another crucial measure which could affect BP very positively however it will have some risks, it will cost more and more workers may be needed on the other hand if businesses like BP wish to recover from disasters likes the recent oil spill or simply want to be successful they must take risks even though this is not a major risk it will benefit BP vitally in the long term. One more measure BP could take to enhance their corporate responsibility could be to be more aware of adverse weather conditions that may occur during the transportation of oil or simply transactions/transportations.

Even though it wasn’t the weather conditions that cause the oil spill but was a methane bubble which reacted with the chemicals, the weather conditions may play a bit role when undertaking operations over the waters. It’s important that BP plan up ahead before transactions over the waters, even though they haven’t had crucial disasters due to the weathers they may be thinking that it isn’t a big deal and thus not pay much attention anymore to the weather but it is very important for BP to not forget the possible encounters that may arise.