Courses of Action
Do Nothing
If I were Amora Srinivar, I would choose to sit back and watch as events unfold because my immediate supervisor has no confidence in me. There is nothing that can be disgusting as sharing ideas with someone who undermines your efforts. The supervisor is one of the people who view women as inferior and that’s why he does not handle this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
Ignoring the issue is not the best option but it has been said that when you can’t beat them join them because in this case, I would be fighting a losing battle by trying to solve the problem with people who are not willing to corporate. From the statement in this case, if Amora tried to persuade the supervisor to take action concerning the underlying causes of spillage the conversation would end in insults directed towards Amora by the supervisor. This is because it is certain that her supervisor is one of those people who think they know everything and don’t take suggestions kindly.
Consequently, alcoholism is a major problem in all areas of life and in this corporation, the sailors are used to it such that drinking has become their way of life. Amora’s supervisor is certainly aware of the efforts and the consequences that are needed to deal with these drunkards. First, they would need to be rehabilitated because sacking them would not solve the problem. They should be sensitized about the dangers of oil spills to the environment and this comes with attached expenses to cater to the awareness campaigns and rehabilitations.
Even if Amora decided to ignore her supervisor and partner with the sailors her efforts would not bear any fruit because they are not learned hence they would not see the importance of caring for the environment. Since there are very few knowledgeable sailors if the current ones were sacked to give room for fresh recruitments the performance of the oil corporation would decline because the new sailors would require some time to get acquainted with the new rules and regulations.
Furthermore, she would risk being sacked through incitements engineered by her supervisor. This could be because they don’t get along well as usual in most companies. After all, the seniors see their aggressive juniors as a threat to their position. Even if Amora decided to remain silent about the issue the seniors would come to know about the problem later on because if the spills continue they will capture the attention of other industry players who would push for affirmative action against the corporation.
In case the matter erupted in such a manner she can then inform the seniors that she had tried to discuss the matter with her immediate supervisor but was ignored. At this point, the supervisor would bear all the blame for failing to act accordingly because oil spills are not only a liability to the corporation but also release toxic greenhouse gases that cause serious problems to the environment such as global warming (Chew 35).
Go over the Superior’s Head
Amora can decide to skip her supervisor and move on to the senior administrators because they might give her a hearing and consider her worries. This will not go down well with her supervisor because he might feel that she does not respect his authority. Desperate times call for desperate measures hence I strongly support this course because the issue at hand does not revolve around an individual but the whole world. This is because if she chose to do nothing about the matter the situation could deteriorate and the consequences that will follow could ruin her career as well since responsibility in such cases is collective.
I would approach an administrator whom I get along with and persuade him/her to link me to the people who are concerned with such issues to present my arguments. I would establish an appropriate approach and would never mention anything about my supervisor because I would not want to make it look like I am inciting the administrators about my supervisor.
I would push my argument as a concern about the losses that the corporation has continued to experience due to spillages. I would request a brainstorming session with all the concerned parties including the employees because if I made the suggestions directly I could be victimized by my supervisor and in that case, he could sabotage my efforts in the future in an attempt of implicating me as being incompetent.
In the meeting, I would suggest the rehabilitation of drunkards and the inception of new sailors who would be integrated with the current sailors. I would recommend the enactment of an alcohol policy to ensure that the same problem does not occur in the future. This means that the company would not employ people who indulge in alcohol in the future. Lam explains that this is because cleaning the mess created by the spillage, such as the Exxon Valdez case costs millions of money and also taints the name of the corporation as being irresponsible (237). Moreover, the spillage is a threat to marine life because the plants and animals that reside in water can’t access oxygen which is essential to their lives.
Go Public by Anonymous Leak
This is a risky option because of the administrators came to know that I was the one behind the leak I would lose my job because they expect me to safeguard the interests of the corporation at all times. But then, I can’t afford to remain silent as the corporation continues to benefit at the expense of others. Before I revealed information to any media house, I would make sure that my recent remarks would not implicate me as a suspect who could have leaked the information. This means that before the leak I must remain silent about the issue and create an impression that I don’t know anything about it.
I would choose one of the most renowned media houses such as the cable news network (CNN). I would make sure that they will withhold my details before proceeding with the briefing. The briefing would take place in a secure location where I’m not known. I would also leak the information to the activists because they are best suited for pushing for reforms due to their mobilization skills.
Alternatively, instead of meeting discreetly with the media officials I can prepare audio and video clips and drop them in the suggestion boxes of many media houses as possible. This is the best thing to do because they can’t trace the source of the clips unless they involved forensics which is not possible. After all, this is not a criminal offense.
If I choose to go public, it’s because I would not want the other companies in this industry to go through the same thing. This is because when the issue is televised the other companies will take caution as they would not want to be caught on the wrong side of the law. In essence, I would recommend shipping companies to be cautious about spillages hence they should be made to clear the spillages and pay a heavy monetary fine to encourage other shipping companies to take care of their cargos. The incident that involved Exxon Valdez was an eye-opener hence shipping companies should learn from such mistakes.
Works Cited
Chew, Donald. Corporate Risk Management. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
Lam, James. Enterprise Risk Management: from Incentives to Controls. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.