Verified Document

Industrial Calamities Can Be Avoided If Companies Respected The Law Essay

Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster Industrial Calamities Can Be Avoided if Companies Respected the Law

Abiding by federal or state industrial laws is necessary since genuine minded legislators have processed the laws and not the profit-minded shark operating as a company executive. Laws provide a framework at which companies should follow. In most cases, laws specify the necessity of appreciating human life. Furthermore, laws provide an equal balancing of social expectations and company objectives. However, some companies have broken the laws. From their illegal actions, different calamities have been experienced in an industrial situation. The commencing research will highlight an example of this company, Massey Energy and its 2010 incidence that led to the perishing of 29 industrial workers. The research will prove that the self-regulation is not ethical as compared to industrial laws set by the government.

What Massey Energy could have done to avoid this tragedy?

Following April 5, 2010 industrial, it became apparent that industrial disaster were incubating. According to the investigation tackled soon after incidence, it became apparent Massey Energy had contravened references stipulated by Mine Act of 1977. The company was operating its activities in a reckless manner. As a result, 29 of 31 coal miners perished in the tragedy. Investigators report specified that the company ventilation system did not meet standard (Lawrence, 2014). This resulted to the piling up of explosive gases. Further to this, Massey Energy threatened workers who raised allegations about the dangerous working conditions. Investigators released over 515 violations of federal and state laws.

To respond to this, Massey should have realized the necessity of improvising safety industrial standards. Pilling of gasses threatened the livelihoods of workers even before the incidence occurred. Ignoring appeals of state or federal stipulation back to back with requests from the workforce can be considered as ethical. Brenner (1994, pp. 307) argues that, explosive gasses are dangerous not only to the workers but even to the community residing around the mine. For this reason, Massey Energy should hire an expert to evaluate the possible causes of poor ventilation. The expert was expected to come up with a detailed report on what to do in order to avoid industrial...

In summary, it essential for Massey Energy to acknowledge ethics stipulated by corporate social responsibility.
Flouting Violations

Profit objectives are the principle reasons why Massey avoided taking safety precautions. Restructuring the company inside setting to allow for safety precautions proved an extra cost that Massey Energy desired to avoid. The act of flouting the violations was something historic as far as Massey Energy is concerned. According to several reports, Massey has been flouting violations by improvising internal rules, which were not consistent and sought to minimize collectiveness of CSR principles. In particular, the HR department ensured that complaints on working conditions were extinguished. Massey periodically violated federal or state industrial expectations by firing concerned employees.

The most serious violation is preceding the accidents were removal of the stoppings. Blankenship rule was the worst in the company. A fifteen-month industrial struggle ensued with different sides fronting possible strikes. The biggest attempt was eroding the UMWA influence and solidifying the firm position in the industrial areas of Appalachian region. Blankenship further violated expectations by buying huge reserves of met coal at unfair prices. Although this did not have direct consequences with the company, it should be noted that this was an earlier indication of CSR violations. The company capitalized on the opportunity presented by the weakened steel economy in building a domestic steel empire. For this reason, authorities were unable close check Massey Energy activities.

Blankenship driven organizational culture

Largely, Massey organizational culture was primarily responsible for the accident. The Mine Safety and Health Administration found that the organization culture caused safety violations. Blankenship goals were centered on favoring increased volume of productions and not safe working conditions. Being the company head C.E.O, it was sad that Blankenship failed to recognize the essentiality of CSR. Blankenship further failed in character and personality. To him, profits were everything that the company should be searching for and not quality of production processes. In 2005, Blankenship was quoted for having said 'If any of you…have been asked…

Sources used in this document:
References

Blindheim, B., & Langhelle, O. (2010). A reinterpretation of the principles of CSR: a pragmatic approach. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2, n/a-n/a.

Brenner, F.J., Brenner, E.K., Brenner, P.E., & Steiner, R.P. (1994). Evaluation of procedures to estimate biomass on surface coalmine lands reclaimed under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Environmental Management, 18(2), 307-315.

Jenkins, H. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility And The Mining Industry: Conflicts And Constructs. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(1), 23-34.

Long, L.A. (2009). History of process safety at OSHA. Process Safety Progress, 28(2), 128-130.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Corporate Social Responsibility in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry
Words: 10268 Length: 32 Document Type: Dissertation

Corporate Social Responsibility in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry An Exploratory Study Outlook of CSR in India History of CSR in India Philanthropy in Indian Society Modern Form of CSR in Indian Society Profile of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry Rationale for Selection CSR Activities by Indian Pharmaceutical Companies Major Influences Over CSR Activities Scope of CSR Activities Comparison of Indian & Western Pharmaceutical Companies This research paper is concerned with the recent practices of Indian pharmaceutical companies in the field of corporate social responsibility. For

PESTLE Analysis Country's Profile Political Perspective Environmental...
Words: 4264 Length: 13 Document Type: Essay

PESTLE Analysis Country's Profile Political Perspective Environmental Perspective Legal Perspective Economic Perspective Cultural and Ethnic Issues Technological Perspective Billabong is a leading name in the apparel industry of Australia. The company specializes in casual wear, wet suits and accessories. This report is intended to analyze the feasibility of setting up a manufacturing facility in Karachi, Pakistan. It is also intended that this manufacturing plant will be used as a regional office and will be used to introduce the

Supply Chain Management Hypothesis Defined Concepts of
Words: 24788 Length: 80 Document Type: Thesis

Supply Chain Management Hypothesis defined Concepts of SCM and the evolution to its present day form Critical factors that affect SCM Trust Information sharing and Knowledge management Culture and Belief -- impact on SCM Global environment and Supply Chain management "Social" and "soft" parameter required for SCM Uncertainties This chapter aims to give an outline and scope of the study that will be undertaken in this work. The study lays out the issues faced by manufacturing organizations when it comes

Piaf, Pam Gems Provides a View into
Words: 46193 Length: 125 Document Type: Dissertation

In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a

Organizational Accountability in Emergency Management
Words: 8646 Length: 30 Document Type: Literature Review

Function #1: Mitigation At this stage, gradual and long-term steps are taken to ensure that disasters do not occur, or that, when they do, they cause minimal damage. Actions at this stage include the identification of hazards, the research of the causes which generate the disaster, the creation of means in which to modify the causes of the disasters, the development of means which reduce the community's vulnerability to the disaster,

Marketing and Economics Agricultural
Words: 18779 Length: 68 Document Type: Term Paper

Origins, History of the IMF The International Monetary Fund was first conceived between July 1-22, 1944, at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The conference was attended by representatives of 45 nations, which were called together in order to plan and lay the groundwork for a cooperative economic framework to solve global financial crises before they occur. One key reason for the conference was to

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now