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Running head: EXXON’S ETHICAL ISSUE

Exxon’s Guide to Ethical Communication

Heather Mueller

Ithaca College

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Exxon’s Guide to Ethical Communication

The key issue presented in the Exxon Case Study is that Exxon communicated in an

unethical manner when its crisis contingency plan failed (McGill & Seeger, 2000, p.177).

Inadequate communication, along with the absence of an effective plan minimizes trust, which is

what oil companies need to avoid if they want to uphold a respectable company image.

Analysis

Companies that work with highly toxic substances often have spills that can be seen as

normal accidents (Cleveland, 2008, par.1). However, if “the company is ill-prepared to handle

the situation,” (Waddock, 2008, p.23) it becomes a considerable crisis. The crisis worsens when

companies provide false statements and do not take responsibility for their actions. When

Exxon’s tanker Valdez spilled 10.9 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince Williams Sound,

Exxon management blamed the Alaskan Coast Guard and the captain of the tanker for the failure

of the crisis contingency plan (Cleveland, 2008, par.1). The plan did not fail because of

irresponsible stakeholders, it failed because Exxon management had a disorganized plan. Exxon

blamed others for the mistakes made by its management and gave false statements stating the

Coast Guard did not complete his part of the plan and that the captain drove drunk, thus firing

him (McGill & Seeger, 2000, p.180). Lying and irresponsibility are two examples of unethical

behavior, and these behaviors led to poor trust and miscommunication between stakeholders.

“Incorrect and misleading statements is helpful to no one,” (McGill & Seeger, 2000, p. 180) and

only makes Exxon’s management appear untrustworthy and worsens the crisis.

Exxon needs a way to truthfully communicate with the Alaskan Coast Guard and its

employees so all emergency plans can be carried out efficiently. With new plans, the oil spill can

be effectively handled so the company maintains an ethical and positive image.

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Solutions

Exxon management needs to develop ethical communication skills to truthfully

communicate with stakeholders. One way Exxon management could develop ethics would be to

follow a philosophical perspective called Deontology. Deontology is the “study of moral

obligations or duty”, and “deontologists evaluate acts regardless of their consequences”

(Murphy, Hildebrandt, and Thomas, 2008, p.312). Exxon management would always tell the

truth if they followed this philosophy (Murphy et al., 2008, p.312). If the management always

told the truth, the rest of the company would become ethical as well because “others in the

organization would observe and model their behavior” (Murphy et al., 2008, p.321). In the event

that Exxon were to experience another crisis, the management should practice Deontology,

allowing them to immediately take all responsibility for the crisis, and not lie or blame others.

With the new philosophy, there would not be any miscommunication, stakeholders would trust

Exxon, and Exxon could uphold its image as a respectable and responsible company.

Another way Exxon can built trust with its stakeholders is with the Stakeholder

Alignment model (EBM, n.d.). This model views’ a “company’s relationships as life-long

partnerships” that are achieved with continuous communication. Exxon needs to show “regard to

the interests of all its groups of partners,” (EBM, n.d.) to built trust. Once trust is built, Exxon

can effectively and truthfully communicate with the Alaskan Coast Guard and its employees.

When companies have common objectives, there is no need for lying or blaming others (EBM,

n.d.). If stakeholders come together on behalf of the company facing a crisis, they can help rather

than getting in the way to resolve the situation (Waddock, 2008, p. 23).

Since “ethics is often a communication issue,” (Murphy et al., 2008, p. 321), Exxon

needs guidance to ensure honest communication. Exxon could work closer with The National

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Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is a “federal agency focused on the

condition of the oceans and the atmosphere” (OR&R, 2005). NOAA has a division called The

Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) that specifically respond to “oil and chemical spills

in U.S. waters and helps the On-Scene Coordinator make timely operational decisions” (OR&R,

2005). OR&R would assist Exxon by leading the team at the spill and working with management

to organize a press release including the company’s ethical values because press releases

“frequently follow an organizational crisis when the crisis calls the organization’s values into

question” (Murphy et al., 2008, p.320). OR&R would help Exxon improve its crisis contingency

plan and would work as a leader to ensure that the plan runs efficiently, so there is no

miscommunication or unethical behavior.

The Chrysler Corporation behaved unethically when the company committed mail and

wire fraud by disconnecting odometers on cars for personal test drives and selling them as new

(Gordon, 1987, par. 3). Top Chrysler official Lee Iacocca immediately arranged a news

conference and apologized for the tampering. He believed “selling damaged cars that had been

repaired as new was dumb'' and that Chrysler had “nobody but themselves to blame” (Holusha,

1987, par.14). By quickly addressing the issue, Mr. Iacocca made the “right ethical decision

regarding corporate wrongdoing” (Murphy et al., 2008, p.309). This allowed Chrysler to retain

strong trust and communication with its customers, therefore upholding the company image.

Conclusion

The course of action that Exxon should follow is to adapt the philosophy of Deontology

and follow the Stakeholder Alignment model, so all communication is continuous and truthful.

Exxon should also work closer with NOAA to ensure its crisis plan runs efficiently. These

solutions will allow Exxon to maintain ethical behaviors, and be seen as a respectable company.

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References

Cleveland, C. J. (2008). Exxon Valdez oil spill. In The encyclopedia of earth. Retrieved

November 26, 2008, from http://www.eoearth.org/article/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill

EBM. (n.d.). Stakeholder alignment. Retrieved November 26, 2008, from

http://www.ebml.co.uk/html/stakeholder_alignment.html

Gordon, A. (1987). Chrysler image in for repairs. Retrieved December 4, 2008, from Newsday,

Inc. Web site: http://www.algordon.com

Holusha, J. (1987, December 15). Chrysler enters no contest plea over odometers. The New York

Times, pars. 1-16. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://query.nytimes.com

McGill A. D. & Seeger M. W. (2000). Ethical Issues in Exxon’s Response to the Valdez

Crisis. In G. Peterson (Ed.). Communicating in organizations: A casebook (2nd ed.). (pp.

177-181). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Murphy, H.A., Hildebrandt, H.W., & Thomas, J.P. (2008). Business communication and the

ethical context. In S. Hamula, K. Kalman, M. Kish, K. Komaromi, & W. Ressler (Eds.).

Introduction to strategic communication [custom text] (pp. 306-327). Hightstown, NJ:

McGraw Hill Primis Online.

OR&R. (2005). OR&R across the U.S. In Emergency. Retrieved November 26, 2008, from

NOAA Web site: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/

Waddock, S. (2008). Stakeholders: The relationship key. In S. Hamula, K. Kalman, M. Kish,

K. Komaromi, & W. Ressler (Eds.). Introduction to strategic communication [custom

text] (pp. 1-39). Hightstown, NJ: McGraw Hill Primis Online.

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