BP's Handling Of The Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico Was Disastrous.

The role of Public relations in the 21^st Century continues to be an integral part of organizational success. Public relations is defined as the process of maintaining a favorable image before the customers, the public and all stakeholders  through sustainable mutual communication, ethics and values(Heath, 2013). The criticality of PR becomes even so central when a company is facing a crisis that may threaten its relationship with the public. Such was the case with British Petroleum (BP) in 2010, when an estimated 200 million gallons of crude oil were pumped into the Gulf of Mexico. The spillage caused the death of 11 workers, whose bodies have never been retrieved (Freudenburg & Gramling, 2011). On the other hand, the spillage damaged the marine system and despite attempts by the company to wash up the ocean, it is apparent that the impact will be felt for generations to come.

The response of BP’s CEO Tony Hayward left little to be desired as far as responding to the crisis was concerned. The public was disgruntled and the image of the company was greatly tainted. Hayward would go on to be fired after an outcry from several quarters. The Public relations theory and model developed by James Grunig has been applied by several firms when dealing with crises that affect relations with the public. According to his Two-way Symmetric Model, the role of any PR exercise is to dialogue (Grunig, 2013). Grunig argues that PR is an ethical tool whose critical pillars are conflict resolution, negotiation, mutual respect and mutual understanding. Consequently, the end results of the engagement between the two parties are finding a solution that is mutually acceptable. The BP case drew mixed reactions and dissatisfaction since the public, especially the affected families felt aggrieved by the actions of the company in the backdrop of the crisis.

The fundamental blunder made by BP after the disaster was underrating the impact. In an interview with the guardian, BP CEO Tony Hayward downplayed the disaster, terming it as a minor fault (The Guardian, 2010).This was baffling, considering that 11 people had been confirmed dead and the lives many marine animals were at stake. As the face of the company, Hayward failed to live to the expectations of the affected families and even the company itself. The situation was even made worse when a company spokesman downplayed the number of barrels that had been spilled in a day. This brought so much scrutiny into the company’s ethics and the respect for human life and environmental stability. This clumsy response was a direct violation of Grunig’s model. The company severely failed to initiate mutual conversation (dialogue) and respect for its stakeholders.

Recommendations

Another response by BP that further damaged its reputations was shifting the blame to a contracted company (Transocean Ltd).In a statement by the company after the explosion at the oil drilling rig, BP showed reluctance in accepting their mistake (Cherry & Sneirson, 2010).This attempted denial extended to the company’s reference to the disaster as the “Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill”. BP was trying to dissociate themselves from the disaster by deflecting the blame to Transocean Ltd. In this context, BP again failed to toe the concepts of the public relations model by Grunig. By failing to cede responsibility, BP was hindering public engagement and the finding of solutions that are mutually agreeable. The company was essentially trying to close the channels for scrutiny and negotiation with the affected parties.

As the crisis dragged on, BP’s management became elusive. There was scanty information coming from the company’s CEO and the PR team and this further worsened the situation. This portrayed the company as unprepared or disinterested in repairing the already-damaged image. Under communication is detrimental to any PR process, especially when there is a crisis going on (Wilcox et al., 2015). The families of those who died as well as the general public had every right to be updated regularly with authentic and credible information to tone down their anxiety and engage them constructively to find a lasting solution. In the same context, BP demonstrated a lack of preparedness especially in getting the facts right. Several disparities could be cited in the company’s press releases and this created even more tension and lack of trust with the public.

After a series of hearings by Congress, BP undertook to wash up the ocean and compensate all those affected by the spill. Whereas this was inevitable, there were still uncertainties over the amount of damage that had been done on the environment and whether the cleaning exercise would yield a viable solution (Hoffman et al., 2011). On the other hand, there was no clear framework of cushioning the people living around the affected coastline from the residual effects of the spill. BP was accused of putting more emphasis on monetary compensation at the expense of log-term engagement with the publics in stemming down the impact of the spillage. This is an infiltration of the pillars and objectives of effective PR as outlined by Grunig. The feedback drawn from the publics becomes the core driving factor of subsequent organizational processes that are aimed at decisively dealing with the crisis. Any dissatisfaction from the public is a sign of failure by the firm to abide by the culture and ethics of public relations.

Conclusion

The primary step in any successful PR is preparedness (Botan & Hazleton, 2010). As noted earlier, PR is a process whose ultimate objective is strengthening relations with the organization’s publics. Whereas it is almost impossible to forecast the nature of disasters that are likely to occur, it is possible to have the right frameworks in place. A company of BP’s stature has the financial and structural capacity to deal with crises of whichever magnitude. It is recommendable that instead deflecting blame to a lesser known entity, BP would have taken blame immediately and devised ways of taking control (Theaker, 2013). The CEO would have taken personal and collective blame and apologized immediately, rather than being diversional as this escalated the crisis.

It is also recommendable that BP would have had a single response team or individual to avoid inconsistency and contradictions. Consistency is a crucial pillar of effective public communication especially when there is an organizational cum public crisis (Grunig, 2013). The miscommunication between BP and the public would have been averted if either the CEO or the spokesperson would have been in total control rather than both of them. In the face of a crisis, the public wants regular updates and progress in handling the disaster. However, the chances of success diminish when there are conflicting reports emanating from the company.

It is also recommendable that BP would have been available at all times and engage with the public rather than becoming elusive and diversional. Effective crisis management is driven by excellent public relations practices (McWilliams & Siegel, 2011). BP, through their CEO, demonstrated non-commitment in the early days of the crisis and this set the stage for further brand damage. Part of this strategy that can effectively work would have included admission of the mistake and provision of short and long-term solutions that can boost public confidence and trust between the two factions (Newsom et al., 2012).  As the CEO of the company, Hayward was not present at the scene hours after it happened. Instead, he was reported to have been watching a yacht race in England. In times of crisis, the CEO’s presence is vital since it demonstrates responsibility and concern.

Conclusion

The need for effective public relations management is universal for al organizations. Businesses operate in environments where they are in close contact with the people and the environment either directly or indirectly. Along with the business-customer relationships, entities are institutions that are morally obligated to engage with the people through sustainable communication for peaceful co-existence. Consequently, the need for mutual understanding is inevitable. The BP oil spillage is an example of many crises that test the company’s preparedness and compliance with public relations theory and models. At the end of the crisis, the company will be judged on how it maintained positive relationships while offering lasting solutions that are agreeable by the publics. Whichever the severity of the crisis, companies cannot escape from the reality that they have to safeguard their image and even better it by sticking to effective public communication management and practice. This study has shown the faults in response (in accordance to Grunig’s model) and given recommendations that would have averted the PR crisis that followed the oil spill. 

References

Botan, C. H., & Hazleton, V. (Eds.). (2010). Public relations theory II. Routledge.

Cherry, M. A., & Sneirson, J. F. (2010). Beyond profit: Rethinking corporate social responsibility and greenwashing after the BP oil disaster.

Christiansen, A. C. (2002). Beyond petroleum: Can BP deliver. FNI-Report, 6, 2002.

Freudenburg, W. R., & Gramling, R. (2011). Blowout in the Gulf: The BP oil spill disaster and the future of energy in America. MIT Press.

Grunig, J. E. (2013). Excellence in public relations and communication management. Routledge.

Heath, R. L. (Ed.). (2013). Encyclopedia of public relations. Sage Publications.

Hoffman, A. J., & Devereaux Jennings, P. (2011). The BP oil spill as a cultural anomaly? Institutional context, conflict, and change. Journal of Management Inquiry, 20(2), 100-112.

McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. S. (2011). Creating and capturing value: Strategic corporate social responsibility, resource-based theory, and sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1480-1495.

Newsom, D., Turk, J., & Kruckeberg, D. (2012). Cengage Advantage Books: This is PR: The Realities of Public Relations. Cengage Learning.

The Guardian (2010) Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jun/01/bp-response-oil-spill-tony-hayward

Theaker, A. (2013). The public relations handbook. Routledge.

Wilcox, D. L., Cameron, G. T., & Reber, B. H. (2015). Public relations: Strategies and tactics. A. Dodge (Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.