BP

Changing the CEO at BP: It won’t make a difference, except where it will

July 27, 2010

Tweet For the past 90 days and counting, we knew this day was coming. You didn’t need an Irish bookmaker to tell you that Tony Hayward’s tenure as CEO of BP was coming to a close. Any organization facing a crisis like the BP Oil Spill would be likely to replace the guy at the […]

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Fronting for “the Man”: Can BP disarm our anger by using a Black “Teddy-Bear” Spokesperson?

June 24, 2010

Tweet [Trigger alert: This post is about racism.] There is no more incendiary question than the implicit and unspoken question that often follows the promotion of non-white and/or non-male employees: Did s/he get the job because s/he’s qualified, or did s/he get the job because s/he’s (fill in the diversity criterion here)? Corporate American is […]

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BP’s Bravest Brandividual: What could be motivating Darryl Willis?

June 22, 2010

Tweet If you’ve been paying attention to BP’s “Making it right” newspaper advertising, or if you’ve seen BP’s recent television advertising, you’ve seen BP’s new Brandividual Darryl Willis. Aside from Tony Hayward, BP’s walking PR disaster CEO, Darryl Willis is the only person with a name shown by BPs own advertisements as being in charge […]

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BP’s Beyond Petroleum: Hypocrisy, or caught in the act of learning?

June 17, 2010

Tweet Some people actually believe(d) that BP was making an authentic effort to move “Beyond Petroleum”. I was quite surprised to discover this early in June, in conversation with an organizational change consultant who specializes is sustainability change. This consultant explained that, in contrast to other energy companies that he had worked with, BP was […]

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Authentic CSR: Should Dawn publicize its involvement in Oiled Bird Rescue?

June 10, 2010

Tweet Procter & Gamble and its Dawn Dishwashing Liquid are the targets of criticism and cynicism for their efforts to help the International Bird Rescue Research Center save birds who have been wounded by BP’s Oil Spill. While I’m quick to criticize any organization that promotes its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts when all they […]

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Could BP have avoided the Gulf Oil Spill if it had more Women Executives?

May 26, 2010

Tweet How much has the paucity of women executives at BP and the overall gender imbalance in BP’s managerial ranks contributed to the Gulf Oil Spill? I’m betting that had there been more women in the executive ranks at British Petroleum, more women (especially from inside the Company) on BP’s Board of Directors, and more […]

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Reputation, Beyond Authenticity

February 1, 2009

Tweet We’re delighted to feature a guest post from Mignon van Halderen, an expert on Organizational Reputation Management. Mignon is Assistant Professor at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University. At RSM, Mignon works in the Corporate Communication Centre where she combines teaching and applied research projects within the fields of Reputation Management and […]

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