Torben explains how recent crises at BP have made for an enrichening case.
“It is a very rewarding feeling that so many people think the case can be a useful tool for teaching and learning purposes,” said Torben.
Torben continued: “The case spans across all parts of a large organisation from the boardroom and executive suite to the many individuals working in various operating entities. They are all important decision-makers that will influence outcomes – positive and negative – often in extreme and unexpected ways.
“That is also what the case is about, and it shows how the pressures in decisions at all levels of the organisation matter can influence both the company itself as well as its surroundings.
“The case captures a fascinating set of circumstances in a highly complex global industry as is often observed in reality.”
Learning from organisations’ mistakes
“A few years ago, I was travelling to different parts of the world with the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) to promote good risk governance practices,” added Torben.
“We used a very neat Ivey case on the Texas City Refinery incident that led to major executive changes in BP at the time, and which spurred many interesting discussions with our audiences.
“However, the truly fascinating thing is, that another incident, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which was different but in many ways comparable to Texas City, occurred only three years later, despite all the apparent efforts devoted to circumvent these kinds of events from ever happening again.
“So, the case illustrates how difficult it is to make organisations follow the intended direction despite the good intensions.”
CBS’ commitment to the case method
He explained: “The case was supported by the Copenhagen Business School as part of its commitment to the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME), which provided the means to engage a really smart and capable CBS student to research and co-author the case.
“This support enabled us to write what we considered a significant story to be fascinated by and to learn from. It reflects the devotion of CBS to develop good teaching material for business students.
“Indeed, the case has been used with undergraduate, graduate and executive audiences, with equal success, because it is so versatile and speaks to the real challenges of managing and governing a large organisation in a turbulent and competitive global setting.”
The need for published sources
Torben concluded: “In truth the managers and executives at BP were subconsciously influenced by their established common beliefs – like we all are – and hence they would not necessarily be truthful witnesses to describe and explain events.
“Hence, all the material and information used in the case derive from publicly available press releases, news agencies, industry journals, newspaper articles and public hearings widely referenced and cited as sources.
“Although being familiar with some of the senior figures, the case is solely based on a diversity of public news reports.
“The purpose was not to illustrate good or poor management, which would defeat the purpose of learning, but rather to bring to life and illustrate as objectively as possible why it is so difficult to make things happen the way we want them to despite good intentions. That is something many business students at all levels find intriguing and worth their consideration.”
About the authors
Torben Juul Andersen is a professor of Strategy and International Management with the Department of International Economics and Management at Copenhagen Business School.
e tja.int@cbs.dk
Christine Bang Andersen was a research assistant at Copenhagen Business School when the case was written. She was trained as a Military Linguist and Officer with the Danish Defence and is currently pursuing Security Studies at Georgetown University.
e c.bangandersen@gmail.com
Who – the protagonists
Where?
Torben Juul Andersen and Christine Bang Andersen
Just rewards