Evaluation of a Business Code of Ethics - Research Paper Example

So, perfect work ethics mainly initiated and managed by the leaders and management will only ensure smooth functioning for the organization and elevate its image. A foolproof and effective ethical program should be given top most priority and should be incorporated in every aspect of organizational functioning, without exception. So, this article will evaluate the ethical program in the one of the largest corporations of the world, Shell Oil Company In 1833, Marcus Samuel, a London Shopkeeper, decided to introduce oriental shells as fashion in interior design.

Till 1886, the demand for oil was restricted to lighting and lubricants. With the invention of internal combustion engine and the first automobiles, the demand for gasoline arrived. By then the business was taken over by Marcus Samuel Junior and Sam Samuel. In the 1880’s, oil was being exported from Russia to other countries from the ports at Black Sea. Oil was transported in barrels and it consumed a lot of space in the hold of the ship. The Samuel brothers commissioned a fleet of bulk oil tankers for transporting oil.

The Samuel brothers achieved a revolution in oil transporting with the maiden voyage of the first tanker the “Murex” through the Suez Canal in 1892. The brothers initially called their company the Tank Syndicate but later renamed it to Shell Transport and Trading Company in 1897. Petroleum was also being produced in the East Indies, which was a Dutch colony, by the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. With stiff competition from Standard Oil, the two companies joined together to form Asiatic petroleum Company in 1903.

The full merger of the two companies into Royal Dutch Shell Group came in 1907. Today, Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. As per Forbes report (2009), in the year 2009, the Royal Dutch Shell was ranked 2nd largest company in the world, with assets worth US $ 278.44