Alternative sources of energy may be more expensive or more difficult to obtain, but the negatives seem to pale in comparison to this generation's responsibility to ensure livable conditions on Earth for future generations.
Given the rocketing prices of gasoline and the prospect that oil and gas resources will be depleted within the foreseeable future, the search for alternative energy sources is indeed becoming an increasingly desperate enterprise (Woloski, 2005). In the meantime, companies competing in the oil and gas industry have enormous sums already invested -- and much more planned -- in a global infrastructure that will not be easily replaced and it is therefore vitally important that effective and timely strategies be developed that can make the most of these resources while the supply of fossil fuels exists while balancing the investment in alternative and renewable sources of energy for the future. Certainly, the changeover would involve a lot of new investment and this might be one way in which currently unemployed people could find work. The changeover might also provide more sustainable employment -- less threatened by the economic ups and downs resulting from, for example, oil price variations. Not surprisingly. trade unions have shown interest in such possibilities. Indeed, some trade union groups were in the vanguard of the notion of committed more resources to the changeover to "socially and environmentally appropriate production," as evidenced by the campaign mounted by trade unionists at Lucas Aerospace in the UK in the 1970s (Elliott, 1997). It was the position of these workers that instead of being forced to rely on defense-related production, they could achieve improved job security through a transition to products and system that were socially needed; in support of this goal, workers formulated their own version of an initiative that they wanted to pursue that included production of wind turbines, solar energy devices, and fuel cells (Elliott, 1997). A number of additional UK trade union groups developed comparable plans of their own in response, as well as their counterparts in the United States where workers likewise introduced their own "defense conversion" approaches to help American society while also benefiting themselves (Elliott, 1997).
Taken together, these initiatives and others being planned suggest that there are a number of benefits to be gained from investment in alternative energy sources, some of which may be realized later than sooner. For companies competing in the oil and gas industry today, the question arises concerning at what point the value of further investments in oil and gas infrastructure becomes prohibitive and investments in alternative energy sources provide superior returns. Strategic decisions made today will therefore have an inordinately pronounced impact in the future, with the right decision providing the outcome that will be needed to survive the energy environment of the future.
Scope of Study
Although the study's scope is global in nature and an examination of companies competing in the oil and gas industries in different countries are used, there is a specific focus on British Petroleum and the United Kingdom.
Rationale of Study
Time is running out and there is no longer room for false starts. The actions taken by oil and gas companies today to identify, secure and extract the remaining supplies of fossil fuels in the most efficient and environmentally responsible manner possible will have long-term effects on the global economy and the lives of billions of people in the future. Likewise, identifying at what point further investments in oil and gas extraction becomes less attractive than alternative energy sources just makes good business sense.
Overview of Study
This paper used a five-chapter format; chapter one introduced the topic under consideration, a statement of the problem, the purpose and importance of the study, as well as its scope and rationale. Chapter two provides a critical review of the relevant and peer-reviewed literature, and chapter three presents the study's methodology, a description of the study approach, the data-gathering method and the database of study consulted. Chapter four is comprised of an analysis of the data developed during the research process and chapter five presents the study's conclusions, a summary of the research and salient recommendations for the policymakers at British Petroleum.
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
This chapter provides a review of the juried, scholarly and organizational (e.g., current company information and market analyses) concerning the oil and gas industry in general and British Petroleum in particular, how regulatory issues affect the strategic policy-making process, and the industry's current efforts to transition into alternative and renewable energy resources....
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