Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business - Research Paper Example Exxon which is now comes under the brand name of Exxon Mobil was once the worlds largest oil company. It captured 50 percent of the market share and was considered as the largest growing oil company in the world. This was until the debacle struck and the company's crisis management came under extreme criticism and disparagement. In 1989, while the Exxon Valdez oil tanker was on its way to California, the ship ran aground on the Prince William Sound and began spilling oil in large quantities. This was a catastrophic event and could only be taken better care of provided action was taken immediately. This was a large crisis for the company and needed instantaneous action and management in order to control, if not cease, the damage that was occurring with the passage of time. It is said that the accident occurred due to the overdose of alcohol consumed by the captain of the ship and other crew members who were responsible for the docking the ship and avoiding it to run aground. The event that occurred could be taken care of if there was some instant action implemented to control the leakage and avoid the environmental damage. However, the major factor that aggravated the media and the general public was the way the company handled the situation. (The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill) The efforts that Exxon took to control the damage were slow, but the reactions and dealings that they had in response to the damage they cause were even slower. There were a number of factors that caused Exxon to create a negative impact over the community and affect their public relations so greatly that it would permanently dent their standing and status among the general public. Time is of the essence in cases of crisis and that is what is considered as the fired error that the company made. It is argued that if the company had taken quick steps, it could have made better attempts at resolving the loss whilst the weather was under control as after days of the oil spill the weather worsened re sulting in damage that was almost doubled. Moreover, the chairman of the company made no attempts in visiting the site of accident and taking control which caused uproar in the public blaming the company for being laid back and careless over the incident and showed that the company did not consider the issue important enough to involve the high level management. it was although, claimed by the chairman that there was nothing he could do personally by going there and it would just waste time. This was one of the major reasons that caused a negative public image as in events of crisis it is important for the company to take initiative and show that they are concerned, alarmed and worried about the damage caused. Throughout the event, Exxon kept away from the media and the press. This was another cause for the bad public relations that it created. The company did not disseminate any information to the public initially except for in a remote town of Valdez and when it did it was critici zed for being contradictory, underestimated and often false information. Moreover, Exxon ignored taking the responsibility of the action and damage caused. It held the federal officials responsible for the hindrance in containing the spill while after 10 days of the incident the company ran an advertisement in the newspapers apologizing for the loss but still not taking any responsibility for it. This