BP p.l.c.[3][4] (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".[5][6] It is vertically-integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has major renewable energy activities, including in biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind power.
BP has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has 22,400 service stations worldwide.[7][8] Its largest division is BP America, which is the biggest producer of oil and gas in the United States and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.[9][10][11] As at 31 December 2009 it had total proven commercial reserves of 18.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.[12] The name "BP" derives from the initials of one of the company's former legal names, British Petroleum.[13][14]
BP's track record of corporate social responsibility has been mixed. The company has been involved in a number of major environmental and safety incidents and received criticism for its political influence. However, in 1997, it became the first major oil company to publicly acknowledge the need to take steps against climate change, and in that year established a company-wide target to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.[15] BP currently invests over $1 billion per year in the development of renewable energy sources, and has committed to spend $8 billion on renewables in the 2005 to 2015 period.[16]
Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Oil giant BP has received a stinging attack on its corporate culture, leadership style and cost cutting by one of the frontrunners to succeed Lord Browne as the company's chief executive.
Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive for exploration and production, made the comments to an end of year meeting of his division which were reported by a third party on the company's internal website. In a piece headed "Hayward shares candid views on 2006", he said: "We have a leadership style that probably is too directive and doesn't listen sufficiently well. The top of the organisation doesn't listen hard enough to what the bottom of the organisation is saying."
He continued: "The mantra of 'more for less' says that we can get 100pc of the task completed with 90pc of the resources; which in some cases is okay and might work, but it needs to be deployed with great judgment and wisdom. "When it isn't, you run into trouble."
BP today insisted that Mr Hayward's comments related specifically to his own exploration of production division and not to BP as a whole. Mr Hayward's remarks come after a difficult year for BP, which is facing a criminal investigation as well as inquiries by regulators and Congressional investigations into its maintenance record amid allegations that the company neglected its infrastructure for years to boost profits. The company had to shut down almost half its oilfield at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska after it emerged that pipes were dangerously corroded.
In addition, BP's trading operations face criminal and civil investigations into whether the company has purposely manipulated the crude oil, petrol and propane markets. Mr Hayward said: "The frontline operations teams, I think, have lived too long in the world of making do and patching up this quarter for the next quarter, rather than really thinking about how we are going to maintain a piece of equipment for the next 30 or 40 years."


BP's (BP) CEO Tony Hayward is the type of executive who makes his public relations staff grab a fistful of antacid tablets (or perhaps a shot of whiskey) every time he opens his mouth. No one ever knows what thoughtless or inappropriate remark he'll make.

Before the sinking of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, Hayward's often blunt and honest commentary was considered an asset. But now that he's regularly hitting the airwaves regarding BP's cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, his off-the-cuff style is seen as anything but an asset.

A Faux Pas Pileup

Here are some of Hayward's more cringe-worthy quotes:
"What the hell did we do to deserve this? (said to fellow executives) (New York Times, April 29)
"We are going to defend the beaches. We will fix this." (Wall Street Journal, May 3)
"We will only win this if we can win the hearts and minds of the local community. It's a big challenge.''(Financial Times, May 13)
"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." (Guardian, May 14)
"Yeah, of course I am" (when asked if he sleeps at night) (Forbes, May 18).
Daniel Gross of Slate does a great job of dissecting Hayward's blunders. At one point, he singles out a series of misused metaphors, which include his quote in the Financial Times. Hayward, Gross writes, is "apparently unaware that 'hearts and minds' is a phrase forever identified with the debacle of the Vietnam War."

None of this is completely lost on Hayward, who admits that his job may be in jeopardy. However, he doesn't feel as if his job is under any immediate threat. "I don't at the moment," he told the Guardian. "That of course may change. I will be judged by the nature of the response."

Breaking Basic Rules

So far, that response isn't going over too well. Crisis communications experts say Hayward's communications style has become a detriment to the company, which is already facing lawsuits and is on the hook for billions of dollars in damages.

Michael Cherenson, the head of Success Communications Group of Parsippany, N.J., says Hayward is "breaking some of the basic rules of reputation management" by being arrogant and confrontational. "He is actually doing the opposite of what he should be doing," he says. "He is spending most of his time talking rather than listening. At the end of the day, a reputation is about credibility and expectations. [Hayward] is certainly not meeting the expectations of the public or being credible."

BP is also underestimating how important pictures are in telling the story. "We have not seen Mr. Hayward take off his jacket," says Gene Grabowski, a senior vice president at Levik Strategic Communications. "We have not seen him roll up his sleeves and physically help out in any way. In strategic communications, you must control the pictures."

Company in Need of a "Problem Solver"

Up until the oil spill, Hayward's blunt leadership style was mostly admired and was one of the factors that helped him become CEO. He took over the helm from Lord John Browne, a media-savvy man who was dubbed the "Sun King." Browne's departure from the company, however, was anything but sunny. BP's reputation had been tarnished by a 2005 accident at its refinery in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 workers and left 170 injured. and again, in 2006, after leaks were found at its pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Browne's career came to an end amid a scandal in which he admitted to lying to a court about his relationship with a gay man. Browne was being charged with misusing company funds in order to support his partner.

When Hayward, who earned his PhD in geology at age 22, took over the reins, the press embraced him for his candor and willingness to speak his mind. Shortly after getting appointed as CEO, Hayward stunned employees by accurately telling them that their operational performance was "terrible." In February, the Guardian gushed that Hayward was a "straight-talking oil explorer, who is said to still enjoy the occasional triathlon." The Times (UK) headlined a May 4 story about him: "Tony Hayward, a beer and burgers boss who can 'think with his heart'." When he was named CEO in 2007, the BBC spoke of his willingness to criticize his own company and what some considered "his disarming smile and informal manner."

Hayward might have been the right man for the job following the turmoil of Browne's tenure. But, as Cherenson notes, the position of BP CEO is changing. "Now, we are looking for a problem solver," Cherenson says. "His role has changed, but he has not changed with it."
BP’s leadership style criticised by company executive
In today’s oil & gas news, Tony Hayward the most likely successor to Lord Browne, has criticised BP’s leadership style. saying it has been “too directive and doesn’t listen sufficiently well,” and he also criticised BP’s attempts to “get more for less”, saying: “The mantra of ’more for less’ says that we can get 100 percent of the task completed with 90 percent of the resources; which in some cases is okay and might work, but it needs to be deployed with great judgment and wisdom.”Obviously the comments by Tony Hayward were not were made in an article posted for BP employees on the company intranet on December 11 seen by the business dailyarticle was not for external use.
BP’s leadership style criticised by company executive



The head of exploration and production at British oil giant BP has criticised the company’s leadership style on BP’s internal website, the Financial Times reported. Tony Hayward, seen as the most likely successor to BP chief executive John Browne when he steps down in 2008, made the comments in an article posted for BP employees on the company intranet on December 11 seen by the business daily.



“We have a leadership style that probably is too directive and doesn’t listen sufficiently well,” Hayward said.”The top of the organisation doesn’t listen hard enough to what the bottom of the organisation is saying.”

BP’s leadership style criticised by company executive
The head of exploration and production at British oil giant BP has criticised the company’s leadership style on BP’s internal website, the Financial Times reported. Tony Hayward, seen as the most likely successor to BP chief executive John Browne when he steps down in 2008, made the comments in an article posted for BP employees on the company intranet on December 11 seen by the business daily.



“We have a leadership style that probably is too directive and doesn’t listen sufficiently well,” Hayward said.”The top of the organisation doesn’t listen hard enough to what the bottom of the organisation is saying.”



He also criticised BP’s attempts to “get more for less”, saying: “The mantra of ’more for less’ says that we can get 100 percent of the task completed with 90 percent of the resources; which in some cases is okay and might work, but it needs to be deployed with great judgment and wisdom.”



“When it isn’t, you run into trouble.”

BP has in recent months run into a series of high-profile problems, such as the enforced closure of half its Alaskan oil field due to severe corrosion along its pipeline there, and a fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery.



“The front-line operations teams, I think, have lived too long in the world of making do and patching up this quarter for the next quarter, rather than really thinking about how we are going to maintain a piece of equipment for the next 30 or 40 years,” Hayward said.



According to Hayward, BP has “quite a lot of work to do” in terms of ensuring safety for its plants, equipment and processes are at the desired level.



He added that the oil giant has to cultivate stronger relationships with local politicians, regulators and other important people in countries where it works: “We need to be part and parcel of the society in which we operate.”



“When the bad times came, there weren’t too many people standing around defending us or trying to help us through tough times.”

BP has in recent months run into a series of high-profile problems, such as the enforced closure of half its Alaskan oil field due to severe corrosion along its pipeline there, and a fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery.



“The front-line operations teams, I think, have lived too long in the world of making do and patching up this quarter for the next quarter, rather than really thinking about how we are going to maintain a piece of equipment for the next 30 or 40 years,” Hayward said.



According to Hayward, BP has “quite a lot of work to do” in terms of ensuring safety for its plants, equipment and processes are at the desired level.



He added that the oil giant has to cultivate stronger relationships with local politicians, regulators and other important people in countries where it works: “We need to be part and parcel of the society in which we operate.”
 
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