Challenges in the Global Business Environment - Coursework Example

Challenges in the Global Business Environment Challenges in the Global Business Environment Chevron Corporation Overview Chevron Corporation is an American based energy corporation that has vast interests in diverse energy aspects seen to include geothermal industries, gas, oil exploration, refining, production, transportation, marketing and power generation. As a result of its relatively large scale oil production operations, the company is currently ranked among the world’s supermajor oil companies (Chevron, 2014). Chevron Corporation has installed in-place a code of ethics that help to ensure that all the ethical concerns that might potentially arise are well addressed. Some of the most important ethical concerns addressed by Chevron Corporation Code of ethics include: Chevron Corporation’s Employees Ethics Code of Conduct: Chevron Company considers its employees to be its most valuable resource and a huge contributing factor to the company’s success. In relation to its employees code of ethics, Chevron ensures that it provides equal opportunity to all its employees and does not allow for any discrimination. The company respects and promotes the diversity of its employees and ensures that it generates an inclusive environment that serves to help all its employees effectively contribute and participate in towards Chevron’s success (Chevron, 2012). Chevron is keen to ensure that its employees are provided with a good working environment by prohibiting any actual or threatened violence against its visitors, employees or other concerned persons. Anti-Corruption and Anti-bribery: At Chevron Corporation, the bribery of any official is considered to be strictly against the company’s policy regardless of if any refusal to make a bribery payment would result in the loss of a business opportunity. Chevron Corporation recognizes the fact that almost every company is keen to prohibit the bribery of its government officials. In the event that any payment or gift is to be provided to either a public or government official, the corporate compliance or compliance coordinator must first provide approval (Chevron, 2012). Preparation of Accurate Internal Records: Chevron’s Corporation requires that all its records and books be prepared in an honest and accurate manner by both the accountants and the various company employees that are tasked with the responsibility of submitting job logs, time sheets, expense reports and measurements. These books and documents should always be well supported with valid, complete, auditable and accurate records of the transaction in question (Chevron, 2012). Comparison of British Petroleum PLC and Shell Global Ethical Codes of Conduct Employees Ethics Code of Conduct: Both BP plc and Shell Global have set in place ethical codes of conduct that are designed to help in the creation of ample working environment for their employees. In its ethical code of conduct guide, BP plc points out that it considers people to be one of its greatest strengths and that it values the diversity of both thought and people. BP aims to ensure that everyone working at the company is accorded fairness, dignity, respect and never receives any unfair discriminating treatment. BP plc does not in any way tolerate any form of harassment extended to its employees, suppliers, customers, contractors or anyone else who might happen to have transactions with the company (BP, 2012). Similarly to Chevron Corporation and BP plc, Shell Global has also established a code of ethics that seeks to create an optimal work environment for its employees. Shell Global seeks to ensure that all its various employment related decisions are entirely based on all the relevant qualifications, performance, merit and other job related factors. It strongly insists on not tolerating any unlawful discrimination that is seen to pertain to employment. Shell is also insistent on taking a non-compromising stance in its insistence on not tolerating harassment. The company insists that it will not tolerate any conduct, behavior or action that is found to be hostile, humiliating or intimidating to other persons (Shell, 2010). Anti-Corruption and Bribery: In their respective codes of conduct, both BP plc and Shell global stress on the fact that they do not tolerate any form of corruption on their part. In its code of ethics PB plc indicates that it does not in any way engage in corruption or bribery in any form be it in the public or in the private sector, it also notes that the company strives to comply with all the regulations and laws that prohibit corruption and bribery (BP, 2012). On the other hand, Shell Global indicates that it does not tolerate any insider dealing money laundering, fraud or market abuse. It considers facilitation payments to be bribes and as such these payments must never be paid by Shell Global’s employees and representatives (Shell, 2010). Record Management: BP plc encourages its employees to never make any misleading or deliberate entries in the company’s records, reports, documents or expense claims. It encourages, employees to report any concerns that they might have pertaining to the validity of any financial process, entry or information that they suspect to be misleading. BP plc also insists on its employees never attempting to try and influence other persons to act in a manner that would compromise the overall integrity of the company’s financial reports or records (BP, 2012). While its ethical code as pertains to records management is not as extensive as those developed by both Chevron Corporation and BP plc, Shell Global also considers its records to be valuable company assets and insists that these are managed in a proper manner. Shell Global insists on having all its records persevered regardless of whether there happens to be anticipated or actual litigation action against the company, an investigation or even a regular tax audit (Shell, 2010). By adequately addressing these ethical concerns, the organizations will be able to promote the overall credibility of the companies in question. The concerned companies will also ensure that they are able to make well-informed business decisions and actions. Failure to address these ethical concerns can have adverse legal repercussions for these companies. The companies can also stand to potentially tarnish or lose their credibility if they fail to enforce these ethical concerns. To ensure that Chevron Corporation’s code of conduct is able to remain relevant, the company should ensure that it constantly revises this code of conduct so as for it to reflect the current industry practices, standards and any changes in both the local and international trade laws that might be affecting it. Chevron corporation could also implement a policy where employees are encourages to make contributions to either amend or add to sections of the ethics code of conduct so as to make it more relevant. Chevron Corporation believes that its objective of meeting the world’s energy demands is closely aligned with its preserving of a healthy safe and clean environment. To this end, Chevron Corporation invests in various programs designed to help in reducing energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Chevron also strives to conserve biodiversity in by ensuring that it avoids or reduces any potential harm to the more sensitive habitats, species and ecosystems. These measures can be seen to be quite effective in helping Chevron Corporation manage environmental issues. However, Chevron should try to intensify its efforts at promoting the use of renewable energy (Chevron, 2014b). In order to embrace and incorporate emerging technological advances and thus be better places to improve its business offerings, Chevron Corporation constantly scans the entire globe for companies that might have developed any pioneering technologies that could potentially yield additional financial and strategic value for Chevron Corporation, the company then purchases these innovations and incorporates them into its systems. Chevron Corporation is also keen on investing in companies that are developing innovations that could help Chevron in improving its financial returns and business offerings (Chevron 2014c). Chevron Corporation could face a number of technological challenges such as difficulties in extracting oil from the tough new frontiers such as the Arctic. Other key technological challenge might also include the extraction of oil from oil sands as the more conventional source of oil continually diminish as well as the challenges of drilling oil in very deep underwater locations such as the Gulf of Mexico. To tackle these technological challenges, Chevron can try to form joint ventures with research companies to develop effective, new and innovative ways of extracting sand oil and drilling the deep underwater locations. Chevron Corporation could also develop technologies that would be able to withstand the challenging conditions at the Arctic so as to help facilitate the mining of oil in the arctic region by the company (Chevron 2014c). Chevron Corporation has engaged in the lobby strategy of attempting to halt Equador’s trade agreement as a result of the potential $27.3 billion legal suit that had been filed against Chevron by over 30,000 Ecuadorian indigenous people over the destruction of the rainforest. Texaco, which is owned by Chevron, had dumped oil extraction byproducts in unlighted pits that have since sipped into the local rivers and streams. This resulted in a proliferation of diseases and infections among the indigenous people of the rainforest. Large tracts of rain forest have also been affected by the disease and both the trees and animals have died off. The lobby effort adopted by Chevron is not appropriate as a result of the fact that Chevron currently owns Texaco. This makes the environmental degradation in the Ecuadorian rainforest its direct responsibility (Jagger, 2013). Global Citizenship Efforts by Chevron Corporation include the company’s investment in a large number of renewable energy projects that include both biomass and solar energy productions as well as investing in efforts to try and reduce greenhouse gases emissions. and these efforts are seen to be quite effective at helping the company accomplish its goals as they are seen to be well tied in with its efforts of preserving a healthy, clean and safe environment; these goals are also seen to be closely tied into to Chevron Corporation’s sustainable development goals (Chevron, 2014b). References BP plc. (2012). Our Code: Its what we believe in. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/code-of-conduct/bp_code_of_conduct.PDF Chevron. (2012) Business Conduct and Ethics Code. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.chevron.com/documents/pdf/chevronbusinessconductethicscode.pdf Chevron. (2014a). Company Profile. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.chevron.com/about/leadership/ Chevron. (2014b). Environment. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.chevron.com/corporateresponsibility/environment/ Chevron. (2014c). Chevron Venture capital. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.chevron.com/ctv/ctvi/ Jagger B. (2013). Ecuadorian Victims Struggle for Justice Against Chevron. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bianca-jagger/ecuador-chevron -case_b_4098800.html Shell Global. (2010). Code of conduct. Retrieved on 22 Feb 2014, from http://s06.static -shell.com/content/dam/shell/static/aboutshell/downloads/who-we-are/code-of -conduct/code-of-conduct-english2010.pdf Read More