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Perhaps you remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 or saw the “Deepwater Horizon” movie released in 2016? This was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters the United States ever experienced

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Perhaps you remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 or saw the “Deepwater Horizon” movie released in 2016? This was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters the United States ever experienced.

In his book, James Chiles points out that the advancing technology described in Chapter 7 of our textbook makes possible the creation of machines that strain the human ability to understand and operate safely. (Daft, 267.) As you read this case, please ponder Chiles’ idea of “system fractures’ to understand what happened and consider whether this catastrophic failure was preventable.

Some ideas to think about are how BP’s history and culture shaped decision making on the “Deepwater Horizon.” How did the political and regulatory environment affect decision-making by BP and its partners? Why did so many employees – engineers, managers, rig workers - feel it was appropriate to take such significant risks? What were the most significant of the many flawed decisions made by BP and its partners? How do you assess Tony Hayward’s leadership in the immediate aftermath of the crisis? How could he have managed the crisis more effectively?