Nicholas Tancredi
Northern Arizona University
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010
POS-581
Professor Smith
Summer 2015 Semester
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 2
Abstract
This paper will discuss the detailed accounts of the BP (British Petroleum) oil spill that occurred
on the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and the drastic effects that the oil had on wildlife, the water, the
land, as well as the political and financial upset caused by BP, especially BP CEO Tony
Hayward during the time of the oil spill. This paper will illustrate the breakdown in crisis
communication, crisis management, no emergency management planning, as well as poor
strategic planning on the part of BP and Tony Hayward. Additionally, this paper will illustrate
how true the words of Yogi Berra are, when he said, "We made too many wrong mistakes"
(Corbell, 2015). Moreover, this paper will discuss the author’s views on leadership, crisis
communication, planning, and humility within public and private organizations.
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 3
The Crisis
On April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, a BP "gas release and subsequent explosion
occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig working on the Macondo exploration well for BP"
(BP, 2014). Eleven people died because of the explosion, and others were injured (BP, 2014).
"The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank, and hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of
Mexico before the well was closed and sealed" (BP, 2014). The accident involved a well
integrity failure, which was followed by a loss of hydrostatic control of the well, and was
followed by a failure to control the flow from the well with the blowout preventer (BOP)
equipment, that allowed the release and subsequent ignition of hydrocarbons (BP, 2014).
Ultimately, the BOP emergency functions failed to seal the well after the initial explosions (BP,
2014). Moreover, 50,000 barrels of oil a day or in total 780,000 meters cubed ended up polluting
and killing more than a thousand marine wildlife animals (Eastwest PR, 2012).
While the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was a tragedy, the bigger tragedy
was the fact that BP CEO Tony Hayward acted just as if he was not liable at all, and really did
not want to be bothered with the responsibility of dealing with the press either. It was the fact
that Hayward felt so much pity for himself, by saying "What the hell did we do to deserve this"
(Owen, 2010)? It was the famous line he delivered on May 31st of 2010 stating, "I want my life
back" (Owen, 2010). Hayward also tried to deny and make the oil rig explosion seem less worse
than it was by stating on May 14th that, "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big Ocean. The amount of
volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume"
(Owen, 2010). He followed that up with his May 18th speech by saying, "I think the
environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest" (Owen, 2010). He also
showed arrogance and insensitivity by saying "I'm a Brit, I can take it" (June 4th), and also on
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 4
May 31st, he stated, "I don't feel my job is on the line" (Owen, 2010). As Owen stated, “Wakey,
wakey Tony: you are not only the most reviled person in America, your job and your company is
on the line (2010).
In addition to the sloppy handling of the Deepwater Horizon rig exploding, it was also the
organizational cultural that Tony Hayward sanctioned, which consisted of extreme risk-taking,
ignoring expert advice, overlooking warnings about safety issues and hid facts as well. BP’s
failure to the disaster with sufficient speed and attention was a direct consequence of this flawed
culture (Corkindale, 2010). Additionally, from their Harvard Business Review Article, Managing
Risks: A New Framework, Kaplan and Mikes state that when Tony Hayward became CEO of BP
in 2007; he vowed to make safety his top priority. Among the new rules he put into place, were
the mandates that all employees use lids on coffee cups while walking and refrain from texting
while driving. Three years later on his watch, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf
of Mexico, which caused the worst man-made disasters in history (2012). A U.S. investigation
commission attributed the disaster to management failures that crippled “the abilities of
individuals involved to identify the risks they faced and to properly evaluate, communicate, and
address them” (Kaplan and Mikes, 2012).
Management Failures & Blunders
With the vast media advisors and public relations professionals that BP has on staff, they
made the mistake of trying to spin their way out of this crisis rather than tackling it head on.
Tony Hayward should have realized, or been advised that there are some crises that cannot be
spun. Instead, Hayward has done an unknown amount of damage to BP’s reputation with his
gaffes and apparent inability to understand public reaction to his comments. He appeared weak,
petty, defensive and lacking a grip on what really going on with the situation. It was not
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 5
surprisingly that he moved aside to make way for Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, whose
seriousness is unquestionable, but who also appears equally clueless in the spotlight (Corkindale,
2010).
The blunders of BP echo the same blunders of the financial CEO’s in 2008 that
bankrupted their companies, laid off thousands of employees, and almost killed the economy. In
the 2011 film Margin Call, many employees of an unnamed US investment bank are laid off
during the 2008 financial crisis. One of those employees is Eric Dale, portrayed by Stanley Tucci.
Eric Dale, a senior risk analyst who has been working on some troubling figures is let go from
the company, and suggests to one of his employees that he look into the figures a little more.
Eventually, his employee Peter Sullivan, portrayed by Zachary Quinto, discovers that the
company is losing money fast, and could be bankrupt very quick (Chandor, 2011). The CEO of
the company John Tuld, portrayed by Jeremy Irons, has a survival-of-the fittest mentality, and
will do whatever it takes to save himself and his enormous wealth (The Shed Online, 2012).
However, while Tuld seems confident when he makes his screen appearance, it’s only after an
emergency meeting in the middle of night with senior employees trying to put together a plan to
save the company, his employees do not see eye-to-eye with what Tuld wants to do. Eventually,
Tuld becomes nervous and his stress level rises. He ultimately gets his way, and his employees
spend the day selling bad shares and stocks just to try and stay in business (Chandor, 2011). This
is the same kind of mentally that Tony Hayward embodied. He plays it tough on the outside by
saying "I'm a Brit, I can take it", to saying, “I want my life back” (Owen, 2010). This is
essentially John Tuld in a nutshell.
Moreover, people that are in power may feel like they are high and mighty for quite
sometime. Although, when something does not go their way, panic sets in, and their “high and
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 6
mighty” mentality goes away real quick. In some of the same contexts to Margin Call (2011), the
2010 Australian thriller, Wasted on the Young, actor Oliver Ackland portrays Darren, who is
considered “the nerd” by most including his “cool brother” Zack, portrayed by Alex Russell,
rapes a fellow student Xandrie, portrayed by Adelaide Clemens at a high school party one night.
As the story goes on, Darren and Xandrie are seen as friends, and in one scene of the movie,
Zack has his friends beat up Darren, and many students at the school just stand and watch. Zack
says to Darren while he is on the floor after a bad beating, “When you’re really far above people,
you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone for anything” (Lucas, 2010). The mentality of Tony
Hayward and John Tuld is clearly seen here. In the next scene Xandrie is seen pointing a gun at
Zack, but he does not her seriously. He makes her feel bad enough that she kills herself in front
of a large crowd of students at the school. At the end of the film, Darren gets revenge on his
brother for what he did to him and Xandrie. He ties his brother up, points a gun at his head,
records what he is doing live, and broadcasts it to students at party, and lets them decide on what
should happen to Zack (Lucas, 2010). Essentially, Darren is letting “the media” make the
decision as it “normally” does on various criminal cases, as well as other cases relating to riots
and rebellion against police as seen in the news lately. Although in the case of what Darren does
to Zack, Darren acts as “the media” that exposed BP CEO Tony Hayward for what he really is; a
coward. This just goes to show that most of the time, the villain does not win, even if Hollywood
depicts that the villain wins, or is applauded by the audience. In the case of Tony Hayward, he
did not win in the eyes if the public, residents of New Orleans and Louisiana, or the United
States.
Dr. Peter Drucker once quoted, “Arrogance is being proud of ignorance” (Corbell, 2015).
Obviously, this was not meant for the BP oil spill public relations debacle. The results of this
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 7
debacle go down in a case study for worst practices in crisis management. BP did not realize it,
but they created a PR situation synonymous with herding cats. BP had to clear up two problems
– its oil mess and tarnished image (Corbell, 2015). Even with all its efforts, BP was not in the
eye of the media, and when it had been, it was not a pretty picture. BP offered $5,000 to potential
plaintiffs not to litigate in anticipated lawsuits (Corbell, 2015). BP has neither been seen as
compassionate or aware of their social responsibility, nor did BP either “appear to roll up the
proverbial sleeves to work with government to minimize the ecological damage” (Corbell, 2015).
It is apparent that BP CEO Tony Hayward did not take the oil spill as seriously as he
should have. In responding to a question about BP’s safety record in an interview with ABC’s
George Stephanopoulos, Tony Hayward stated, “I think we’ve made enormous strides as a
company in the last three or four years with a remorseless focus on safe, reliable operations, Ah,
this wasn’t our accident. This was a drilling rig operated by another company. It was their
people, their systems, their processes. We are responsible not for the accident but we are
responsible for the oil, dealing with it and cleaning the situation up” (Corbell, 2015). Again,
Hayward is shifting the blame on another company. Yes, it was the other company’s people,
systems, and processes, but shifting blame at a time when people lost their lives, water life was
polluted, the Gulf of Mexico was drenched in oil, this was not the time for Tony Hayward to
make himself look good. As Thomas Paine said once, “These are the times that try men's souls”
(Goodreads, 2015), and Tony Hayward did not pull through for BP, or for the rest of the United
States. He was put to the test and failed horribly.
The problem with Tony Hayward was that he did want to be bothered with putting a
“battle-tested” crisis management or crisis communication together. Relying on crisis
management plans that would not work for a mass scale event such as the Deepwater Horizon
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 8
explosion and oil spill is acting irresponsibly. When discussing the management of strategy risks,
Kaplan and Mikes state that, “Each approach requires quite different structures and roles for a
risk-management function, but all three encourage employees to challenge existing assumptions
and debate risk information” (2012). They also state that “one size does not fit all”, and runs
counter to the efforts of regulatory authorities, as well as professional associations to standardize
the function (Kaplan & Mikes, 2012). In addition to a “one size does not fit all” issue, the chief
danger from putting risk managers in line with the rest of the organization is that they become
more of deal makers, rather than deal questioners (Kaplan & Mikes, 2012). Essentially, keep
crisis and risk managers separate from being part of the “general management”; they have a very
specialized job. This is what BP Executives and CEO Tony Hayward really had to focus on.
Formulating a Crisis Communication Plan
Crisis communication was defined by many researchers in various ways, and is related to
managing the outcome, impact, and public perception of a crisis (De Wolf & Mejri, 2013, p. 49).
Crisis communication has also been defined as an organization’s response to a crisis situation in
an attempt to lower the damage to the corporate image, and can be summarized as a process of
information collection, information processing, decision making, and information distribution of
data needed as a necessary component to address a crisis situation to both internal and external
stakeholders (De Wolf & Mejri, 2013, p. 49). Additionally, in current day, risks are now very
high during and after a crisis occurs and crisis images, stories and spreading information tend to
move faster and faster. This is especially true, because “BP’s oil spill occurred in the world of
24/7 news, blogs, tweets, status updates and niche-media” (Mulkern, 2010). Crisis
communication nowadays plays a central role in effective crisis management and has increased
in importance in the last decades (De Wolf & Mejri, 2013, p. 49). As Bob Kenney, principal at
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 9
Context Marketing, a consulting firm that advises on consumer behavior states, “Its so
immediate today. To read the blogs, the visual imagery is much stronger and more frequent and
unrelenting” (Mulkern, 2010). How true!
In establishing an effective crisis communication plan, an organization must take a few
things in mind when putting together a plan. These tips are a part of crisis communications
checklist, which is something that I can agree with, because of my experience working with
social media as Marketing and Public Relations Chair at Barry University as an inductee of Delta
Epsilon Iota (DEI) Honor Society, as well as the college where I received my Bachelor’s Degree
in Public Administration. They consist of: (1) Accept and Involve Stakeholders as Legitimate
Partners, (2) Listen to People, (3) Be Truthful, Honest, Frank, and Open, (4) Coordinate,
Collaborate, and Partner with Other Credible Sources, (5) Meet the Needs of the Media, (6)
Communicate Clearly and with Compassion and (7) Plan Thoroughly and Carefully (De Wolf &
Mejri, 2013, p. 50).
There are also ten additional steps to implement as well. The first seven steps mentioned
should be undertaken before the crisis occurs. These ten steps can be used within the
organization, and consist of: “(1) Identifying the crisis communications team, (2) Identifying the
spokespersons, (3) Spokespersons Training, (4) Establishing notification systems, (5) Identifying
and knowing stakeholders, (6) Anticipating crises, (7) Developing holding statements, (8)
Assessing the crisis situation, (9) Identifying key messages and (10) Riding out the storm” (De
Wolf & Mejri, 2013, pp. 50-51).
De Wolf & Mejri state that, “It is clear that BP has not prepared a crisis communication
plan. As a matter of fact, the former BP CEO Tony Hayward recognized in an interview to a
Money Program on BBC 2 that “BP’s contingency plans were inadequate” and that BP “was not
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 10
prepared” for the Gulf oil disaster and “was making it up day to day” in early stages” (De Wolf
& Mejri, 2013, p. 52). Hayward also stated that BP was not prepared to deal with the media
scrutiny over the Deepwater oil disaster, and felt that he had been “demonized an vilified” (De
Wolf & Mejri, 2013, p. 52).
If Tony Hayward and BP executives had just started to take some time day-to-day to
prepare a crisis management and communication plan in the event of a large scale emergency
such as the Deepwater oil disaster, the situation would still be bad, but not to the extent that it
came to be by not having any organized contingency, crisis, communication, or management
plan. Again, I state that as someone who has experience using social media professionally, it
would not be hard for me to come up with a crisis communication plan that would “save the face”
of BP, if I was a role such as a Crisis Communication Manager position. At least I would be
someone who has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to coordinate a mass communication plan,
and along with my writing ability, I would also have been able to write up a press release and
internal notification to internal BP employees letting them know about the current situation, and
what needs to be done concerning the oil spill cleanup. As Dr. Peter Drucker stated, “Leadership
is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher
standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations” (Kruse, 2012). This is
such a true statement, seeing that BP employees had no one to raise their vision, performance, or
even personality. If the executive climate is downtrodden, the overall company climate will be
downtrodden as well, and that is sad, especially for a large company such as BP.
My Thoughts as a Leader
From the 1776 pamphlet series American Crisis, Thomas Paine quoted, “I love the man
that smiles at trouble: that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection”
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 11
(Goodread, 2015). I like to think that in a crisis situation, I would be able to pull that strength
together to remain calm in face of criticism, media bashing, as well as the uncertainty of my
fellow employees. I will say that when I first started as a Medical Photography Intern at the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in West Palm Beach, Florida, I was the type of person who
did not want to “get out of his shell.” I did not want to work with other people in the sense of
having to interact with patients as I had to for my internship. However, as time went on, I “came
out of my shell”, and started to become friendlier with the patients, and saw that if I treated them
like human-beings, they really were receptive, especially if I started conversation with them;
photography was often the subject of our conversations, because most patients were impressed
by the photography studio, and would share their own stories about photography.
I started at the VA at a troubling time. I started in March of 2014, and two months into
my internship, the VA scandal broke on the news stating that forty patients had died at the
Phoenix VA. I read the news articles, watched media reports online, and heard the lies about VA
employees, knowing first hand how hard VA employees worked, seeing the long hours they put
in, only to care for the men and women that fought for our country. It was the portrait painted by
news media that made it sound as if VA employees did not care about patients, that they were
lazy, incompetent, and distracted. These lies were all untrue about every single employee that
worked at the VA, but when something in an organization goes wrong, the whole organization
looks bad, but when leadership and organized crisis communication planning is in affect, those
emergency planning methods could trump those lies, and could literally “shut the media up” if
those in charge possess the bravery, writing skills, and “people skills” to divert the lies
perpetrated by the news media. The VA still lives by the words of President Abraham Lincoln
today, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan” (U.S.
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 12
Department of Veterans Affairs), and yes, the VA also lives by the words, and will always live by the
words outside each VA Hospital, The Price of Freedom is Visible Here
(U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). Leadership may change and dwindle, but good people will always
go above and beyond to help one in need.
Leadership is everything in times of crisis, and while every single BP employee is
certainly not to blame, just as every VA employee was not to blame, it is essential for the
leadership heads to step-up during these difficult times, and put hope back into the organization.
Tony Hayward did not step-up, nor did he give any hope to any BP employees. He tried to divert
the problem, saying that it was not his fault. He told a news cameraman to “get out of out there”,
complaining that he “wanted his life back”, and went to watch his yacht race while oil spews into
the Gulf. Because of these actions, Hayward became the most hated man in America (De Wolf &
Mejri, 2013, p. 53). This is not how a leader acts in time of a crisis, and because he chose to act
as a coward, he has smeared BP with a large black mark that will not go away. Julius Caesar
famously quoted that, “Cowards die many times before their actual deaths” (BrainyQuote, 2015).
I am sure that Tony Hayward has “died many times” since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and
his sloppy job of not preparing for something of this mass intensity.
The one thing I have learned, especially in a time of crisis, is to not panic, and remain
calm as a leader who can get the public, emergency employees, and well as the press and media
to over estimate the amount of damages or deaths, especially in large-scale tragedy. The person
in charge may not have all of the answers, and well, it would really hard to have all of the
answers, especially since the damage could be so bad. The September 11th 2001 attacks n the
Twin Towers, the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, the Columbine High School Shooting in
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 13
1999, the Massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007, and the main topic of this paper, The BP Oil Spill
in 2010.
These tragic events pushed the boundaries of leaders, where some leaders have rose up
above the call of duty, or like Tony Hayward, crumbled and cowered “in a corner.” Famous
singer and member of the Rat Pack Frank Sinatra sang a song called I Whistle a Happy Tune,
that simply means, if one does not know what they are doing in a time of crisis, act like they do,
and do not panic in times of trouble, and it goes like this: “Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head
erect; And whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect I'm afraid; While shivering in my shoes, I
strike a careless pose; And whistle a happy tune and no one ever knows I'm afraid; The result of
this deception is very strange to tell; For when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well; I
whistle a happy tune, and every single time; The happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not
afraid; Make believe you're brave, and the trick will take you far; You may as brave as you make
believe you are” (Lyrics Freak, 2015). Some may find this funny, others may say this is cliché,
but just remember these words of Ol’ Blue Eyes, and when if those of you reading this may be in
the same situation of one of the people in charge of the disasters above, just remember to whistle
a happy tune.
Crisis & Social Media Communication
As Jo Owen states in his article BP Oil Spill Crisis Management: How Not to Do it, when
faced with a disaster, there are a few simple rules to follow that consist of: Recognizing the
problem early, because denial is bad; Move to action fast: analysis and the blame game can come
later, if ever; Over-react, if necessary. Insurers know that a claim dealt with costs less than a
claim dealt with slowly. Do whatever it takes to fix the problem at hand, and show empathy with
people on the wrong end of things: don't go all introverted and play the victim card, just as BP
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 14
CEO Tony Hayward did by saying, "I want my life back." Over Communicate, especially with
the key stakeholders (2010). As Owen states, "It is staggering that a huge company in a crisis-
prone industry could handle a crisis so badly (2010). Additionally, Owen also states that much of
the blame was attached to BP CEO Tony Hayward, and the only reason for not firing him today
is so that he can take all the heat and then a new CEO can start with a clean slate. On the other
hand, his gaffes are now putting the whole business at risk, and it is time for him to go (2010).
This is of course before Hayward was replaced as BP CEO.
When it comes to a good crisis communication plan, it is always a good idea to be honest
about the problem at hand, and not try to push it to the side as BP CEO Tony Hayward did. This
oil spill became the most discussed crisis communication examples within many organizations,
especially in the education field of PR, because BP failed to answer the top three strategies of
crisis management (Eastwest PR, 2012). The three key strategies include responding to crisis
immediately, taking responsibility and solving the crisis. There are however some tips that PR
Practitioners can learn from BP’s attempt to recover from the oil spill, which include that fact
that they used social media as their main platform of interaction with the stakeholders, which
included the public and journalists. They uploaded pictures of the cleaning process and outcome
of the leakage, and also created a live feed video for stakeholders on what BP is doing to rectify
the pipes of the oilrigs that burst (Eastwest PR, 2012). Crisis PR expert Lehane also stated that,
“Being accessible is the type of thing the public does look for from a corporate entity in this type
of situation” (Eastwest PR, 2012).
It was a very good call by BP to interact with the public through a social media network
to recover from this crisis. However, even today, BP is still finding it hard to recover from the
crisis but they have learned their lesson well and are taking actions to restore their image and
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 15
reputation (Eastwest PR, 2012). The most important thing to remember in crisis management is,
“one can never plan a crisis to strike but it is important to always be prepared” (Eastwest PR,
2012).
My Crisis Communication Plan for the Deepwater Oil Spill
Ready.gov is an emergency preparedness site that gives guidance from the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), for specific threats, such as storms, hurricanes, preparing for natural
disasters, and even manmade threats. Ready has prepared a crisis communication plan that
encompasses who the information about the crisis needs to go to, specific messages that need to
get out to specific people involved in the company or organization, as well as the resources for
crisis communication. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, BP could have simply
followed the information given on ready.gov, in order to get an idea of what they needed to be
doing to prepare for a large-scale incident such as an oil spill. If I were the CEO of BP at the
time of the oil spill, or if I was working in a PR position, I would have taken the following steps:
Contacted the proper audiences to communicate the crisis that happened, including, but not
limited to:
Customers
Survivors impacted by the incident and their families
Employees and their families
News Media
Community–especially neighbors living near the facility
Company management, directors and investors
Government elected officials, regulators and other authorities
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 16
Suppliers (list from Ready)
The next part of the crisis communications plan would consist of each audience getting
specific information about how the crisis would affect their order, job, safety, or community. I
would use script messages to communicate with each audience, which would be used to address
specific concerns about a customer’s order, such as, “When will I receive my order?” “What will
you give me to compensate for the delay” (Ready)?
Pre-scripted messages need to be prepared using information designed during the risk
assessment. The risk assessment process should identify scenarios that would require
communications with stakeholders as well. There may be various scenarios, but the need for
communications will relate more to the impacts or potential impacts of the incident:
Accidents that injure employees or others
Property damage to company facilities
Liability associated injury to or damage sustained by others
Production or service interruptions
Chemical spills or releases with potential off-site consequences, including
environmental
Product quality issues
Probably the most important part involved in crisis communications is the resources that
are necessary to do the job effectively. As someone who has worked as an intern at the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in West Palm Beach, Florida, part of my job was making
sure that employees had the proper supplies that they needed, as well as ordering supplies from
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 17
the warehouse, including putting in work orders. Ready describes resources for crisis
communications, some of which that I used while working at the VA. They consist of:
Telephones with dedicated or addressable lines for incoming calls and separate lines for
outgoing calls
Access to any electronic notification system used to inform employees
Electronic mail (with access to “info@” inbox and ability to send messages)
Fax machine (one for receiving and one for sending)
Webmaster access to company website to post updates
Access to social media accounts
Access to local area network, secure remote server, message template library and printers
Hard copies of emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications plan
Site and building diagrams, information related to business related to business processes
and loss prevention programs, such as: safety and health, property loss prevention,
physical and information/cyber security, fleet safety, environmental management and
product quality
Copiers
Forms for documenting events as they unfold
Message boards (flipcharts, whiteboards, etc.)
Pens, pencils, paper, clipboards, as well as other stationary items
It was quite hard to believe that BP did not prepare any of these items for a crisis
communications plan, seeing that specific industry is constantly at risk for a crisis. At the VA, I
was a Medical Photography and Program Support Intern, where I had to know about biological
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 18
cleanup, such as using disinfectant and wearing gloves, which as described by Ready as
environmental management. I did this on the Medical Photography side, but on the Program
Support side, where I was doing more clerical work, I answered phones, directed calls, orders
office supplies, used a fax machine, sent and received emails, used a copier and printer, as well
as printed and laminated posters. This experience at the VA gave me the skills to work in a crisis
communication position as someone who orders supplies and relays messages to the proper
people.
When it comes to having access to social media accounts, I have also have experience doing
this as well, since I held a volunteer position as Marketing and Public Relations Chair for
Delta Epsilon Iota (DEI) Honor Society when I was a student at Barry University. I set up the
Linked In page, and managed the Facebook page as well. I also put a PowerPoint presentation
together for one of the DEI meetings to. Moreover, when I took Emergency Management and
Public Planning electives at Barry University, I was the PowerPoint Coordinator who was
responsible for taking the research found in my groups, and designed an organized PowerPoint
for the class project. I also designed PowerPoint presentations while I was an intern at the VA as
well, which would qualify me for being a Crisis Communications Manager at BP during the time
of the oil spill.
As a Crisis Communications Manager, I would also be able to utilize my writing skills
when posting messages about the incident on social media, including the news media,
stakeholders, and most importantly, to the people that work for me, so messages flow clearly
throughout the company. This is what BP was not doing. While they did a good job of utilizing
social media, they did a sloppy job of preparing for a major incident that would take months to
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 19
clean up and fix, and two years of paperwork and settlements. After all, take a lesson from
Benjamin Franklin, as he famously said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail” (Goodreads, 2015).
SWOT Analysis & Lean Six Sigma (What I would have done)
One very important thing to remember when trying to prevent a crisis, or problem from
arising in any organization, whether in the public or private sector is putting together a SWOT
analysis. A SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This
simply means that an organization looks at what strengths they have, what their weaknesses are,
what opportunities they have for advancement and growth, and what threats face them, and in a
crisis situation, what crisis would arise as a threat in the future. A website called strengthening
nonprofits.org specializes in crisis management and crisis response plans, states, a SWOT
analysis “is best done with a group of key employees, volunteers, or supporters of your
organization. Special attention should be paid to the weaknesses and threats you identify.
Examine those threats and weaknesses to identify which crises are most likely to confront your
organization” (strengthening nonprofits.org).
Once a list of possible crises has been put together, the group should then brainstorm
what would happen to the organization if the crisis would actually take place. The cost in terms
of money, assets, reputation or the well-being of staff, clients, and volunteers would need to be
established. How would these effects be minimized or mitigated? It is important to ask these
questions, as they will start the process of formulating a crisis response plan (strengthening
nonprofits.org). Additionally, forming a crisis management plan needs to encompass a group of
people, or team, that specializes in certain jobs and responsibilities for a crisis response plan. The
crisis management team needs to consist of:
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 20
Decision maker: For most organizations the decision maker is the default decision maker
is the executive director. It would also be a good idea to have a back-up decision maker
as well, in the event that the executive decision maker is involved with other duties
(strengthening nonprofits)
Spokesperson: This person is the face of the organization, and is responsible for
presenting careful attention to the press, as well as other public organizations
(strengthening nonprofits)
Internal Communications Manager: This individual is someone with a good sense of who
will be affected by the crisis should be accountable for making sure that the internal
communication component of the crisis management plan is executed and that staff,
volunteers, and other key players with any information they may need (strengthening
nonprofits)
A SWOT analysis would have greatly benefited BP even before the Deepwater oil rig
explosion happened. However, someone at BP was neglectful, and in turn, the crisis that
happened on April 20th turned into a disaster, and put a black mark on BP and Tony Hayward.
Dante Alighieri once said, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their
neutrality in times of moral crisis” (Brainy Quotes, 2015). This quote holds great truth when it
comes to how BP and Tony Hayward handled the BP oil spill. It is a real shame that a company
such as BP messed up so badly, considering the fact that they have many tools at their disposal
for this sort of crisis.
In addition to putting together a SWOT analysis as a Crisis Communications Manager for
BP, I want to leave you with something that I learned at the VA. It’s called Lean Six Sigma, and
it is being practiced by many federal agencies now, but was first developed by the private sector.
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 21
Just before the VA scandal came out in the media in May 2014, I took a White Belt class in Lean
Six Sigma given at the VA, and could see this working for BP, which would have had helped the
company in the first place.
“Lean six sigma is an approach focused on improving quality, reducing variation and
eliminating waste in an organization. It is based on the concept of combining two
improvement programmes, Six Sigma and Lean Enterprise” (Furterer & Elshennawy,
2005, p. 1179).
Lean Six Sigma can enhance the efficiency of processes, better deliver the quality of
service to citizens, as well as lower the costs of providing these services. These tools have
streamlined the processes and lowered the time to finish the financial processes (Furterer
& Elshennawy, 2005, p. 1181).
While organizing a Six Sigma initiative, one needs to be prepared to make significant
improvement in performance based on innovative thinking. Concepts of incremental
improvement must be taken out of the Lean Sigma Six plan, because having a less
innovative mindset blocks creativity, and foils any hope of a creative initiative to
transform an organization (Gupta, 2005, p. 17).
Overall, Lean Six Sigma is a tool for innovation among public and private sector organizations.
When used in an innovative fashion, Lean Six Sigma can aid public and private sector
organizations through times of crisis, disaster, and hardship. As the American Society of Quality
states, “Todays innovation leader skillfully balances all the competing demands of innovation
change initiatives: determining how much or how little structure is needed in any particular
situation or with which group of employees; knowing what tools to use in each situation, and
understanding the consequences of applying various tools and strategies in different situations;
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 22
knowing where to reach a proper balance between the blue-sky and practical; And the necessary
mix of disruptive innovation and incremental innovation” (2010, p. 6).
Essentially, a leader needs to know when to act, what is a practical decision, what
decisions they need to be making at that particular time, when their limits are, how creativity to
use at a certain time, and when to pull out, and go back to the drawing board. It is also important
to remember one thing, and this goes for any organization, but in this case, especially BP. Being
prepared is everything, and as Kaplan and Mikes state, “ A firm’s ability to weather storms
depends on how seriously executives take risk management when the sun is shining and no
clouds are on the horizon” (2012). Basically, practice all the time for a crisis or disaster to
happen; it can only be done for the situation turns into a crisis, and when force-pounding
hurricane winds are not breaking the door. My father taught me “No thought leaves the mind if a
thinker.” Prepare for everything, because some of some of the most violent acts of violence,
terrorism, and nature have happened. Again, prepare for everything!
Conclusion
This paper discussed the lack of crisis management and planning when the Deepwater oil
rig exploded on April 20, 2010 off the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the sloppy job that BP CEO
Tony Hayward did when it came to showing any concern for happened. Hayward showed
cowardice and fear when it came to showing responsibility for why the rig exploded, or why
there was not a crisis management plan in place either. The other concern raised by
communication professionals, was the fact that there was no crisis communication plan in place
for such a large scale incident, and a company as large as BP should have had one, considering
that BP is in an industry that revolves around risk. Communications Professor Timothy Sellnow
from the University of Kentucky stated, “From a public relations standpoint the story got away
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 23
from them and became one of science and became one of consistent and persistent failures”
(Mulkern, 2010). In the process, BP failed to show compassion for people early on (Mulkern,
2010), and that was mostly due to the fact that Tony Hayward was CEO at the time. A
company’s culture stems from the leadership that is in charge of the company, and given the fact
that Hayward stated multiple times that he “wanted his life back”, he chose to play the victim
card as Moneywatch author Jo Owen states (2010). When Tony Hayward stated that “he wanted
his life back”, Owen stated, “The eleven workers who were killed in the disaster would also like
their lives back please, Tony” (2010).
The second part of this research paper asked what I would do if I were in charge of a
situation similar to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and I took the part of a Crisis
Communication Manager, in which I would put my social media and writing skills to good use,
and would write up press releases and internal memos to BP employees letting them know of the
current situation, and what we are going to do about it. My experience as Marketing and Public
Relations Chair for Delta Epsilon Iota (DEI) Honor Society when I was a student at Barry
University, would help me greatly when posting updates on our social media pages, as well as
what to say to members of the press. Additionally, I would use my enhanced social skills gained
while working as a Medical Photography Intern at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to
make the press releases that I write not sound so institutional, but make them clear enough to
reach the general public, and let them see that BP is practicing some type of humility, and not
just telling people “what they want to hear.”
The third and most important part to what I would do as Crisis Communications Manager
is communicate heavily with company executives, and emphasize that they need to show people
that they really do care by being on the “front lines” just as George Washington did when his
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 24
troops went into battle. General Washington would not them go in alone; he always led the
charge, no matter the impending danger that was ahead. Strong leadership is vital in a large-scale
crisis such as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploding, and water that is being contaminated at
the same time. Playing the victim card or the blame game is not a wise decision, as it looks bad
in the eyes of employees, the press, the public, and most importantly, the people that are directly
affected by this tragedy, especially to the families of the eleven employees who lost their lives on
that fateful day in April.
Leadership is not a game, and neither is a stable and proven crisis communication plan,
especially in the oil and manufacturing industries where a crisis is seen on a normal basis.
University of Washington Communications Professor Kathleen Fairbanks stated, “BP never had
a plan in place for the worst case scenario or they would have put it in place. I don’t think it’s a
question of money….They absolutely don’t know what to do at all” (Mulkern, 2010). There can
be no excuse for not having a crisis communications plan in place, seeing that this is the 21st
century, and people expect information to be available at a second’s notice. Crisis management is
vital to private organizations and government agencies; I know this from working at the VA,
where in May 2014, the media was bashing the VA for the deaths of forty veterans, and made
them look like they did not know what they were doing, however, the VA had a crisis
management plan and PR people on staff; ready to put out a statement to the press. At least VA
executives did not sit by, and let the crisis progress as BP did.
While it is not easy for public or private executives, and employees for that matter to get
over a large scale crisis in a company or government agency, it is important to remember that the
situation will pass, but how it gets handled will forever be remembered. I leave the reader with a
poem by a famous Poet of Michigan Edgar Albert Guest, who in this poem says that in times of
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 25
trouble, don’t give up; keep fighting, or as the famous line goes, “Goonies never say die”
(Donner, 1985)!
See It Through – Edgar Albert Guest
“When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it’s vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don’t let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!
Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you’re beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don’t give up, whate’er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!”
(Poetry Foundation, 2015)
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 26
References
American Society for Quality. (2010). Fresh Thinking on Innovation and Quality. pp. 1-9.
Received: 25 May. 2014.
BP. (2014). Deepwater horizon accident and response. Received: 20 June. 2015.
BrainyQuote. (2015). Dante alighieri quote. Received: 21 June. 2015.
BrainyQuote. (2015). Julius caesar quote. Received: 22 June. 2015.
Chandor, J.C. (2011). Margin Call. [Motion Picture]. Courtesy of: Before The Door Pictures.
Corbell, T. (21 April. 2015). BP crisis management, pr misfires – a case study. Received: 20
June. 2015.
Corkindale, G. (28 June. 2010). Five leadership lessons from the bp oil spill. Harvard Business
Review. Received 19 June. 2015.
De Wolf, D & Mejri, M. (March-April 2013). Crisis communication failures: The bp case study.
International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics. 2 (2). pp. 48-56.
Received: 19 June. 2015.
Donner, R. (1985). Goonies. [Motion Picture]. Courtesy of: Warner Brothers Pictures.
Eastwest PR (26 June. 2012). Social media crisis management: The bp oil spill. Received: 20
June. 2015.
Furterer, S., & Elshennawy, A. K. (2005). Implementation of TQM and Lean Six Sigma Tools in Local
Government: a Framework and Case Study. Total Quality Management, 1179-1191. doi:
10.1080/14783360500236379. Received: 30 May. 2014.
Goodreads. (2015). Benjamin Franklin Quotes. Received: 20 June. 2015.
Goodreads. (2015). Thomas Payne Quotes. Received: 20 June. 2015.
Goodreads. (2015). The Crisis by Thomas Paine. Received: 20 June. 2015.
Gupta, P. (2005, August). Innovation: the Key To a Successful Project. Six Sigma Forum Magazine, pp.
13-17. Received: 25 May. 2014.
Kaplan, R.S. & Mikes, A. (2012 June). Managing risks: A new framework. Harvard Business Review.
Received: 25 June. 2015.
Kruse, K. (16 October. 2012). 100 best quotes on leadership. Forbes. Received: 22 June. 2015.
Lucas, B.C. (2010). Wasted on the Young. [Motion Picture]. Courtesy of: WBMC.
Lyrics Freak (2015). Frank Sinatra – I whistle a happy tune lyrics. Received: 27 June. 2015.
Mulkern, A. (10 June. 2010). BP’s pr blunders mirror exxon’s, appear destined for record book.
New York Times. Received: 20 June. 2015.
Crisis Management & Communication: A Detailed Case Study of the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Tancredi 27
Owen, J. (11 June. 2010). BP oil spill management: How not to do it. Moneywatch. Received: 19
June. 2015.
Poetry Foundation. (2015). See it through. Received: 22 June. 2015.
Ready. (05 November. 2012). Crisis communication plan. Received: 20 June. 2015.
Strengthening nonprofits. (n.d.). Preparing for crisis. Received: 20 June. 2015.
The Shed Online. (11 October. 2012). Margin Call (2011). Received: 20 June. 2015.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). The origin of the va motto: Lincoln’s second
inaugural address. Received: 21 February. 2015.