Case Study # 3
''It never occurred to anyone that this would happen…I didn't want to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for the worst industrial accident in history,” Union Carbide Chief Executive Officer Warren Anderson’s response to the accident, (International Campaign, n.d.). So what happened? On December 25, 1984, a gas leak occurred at Union Carbide India pesticide plant located in Bhopal, India. The gas leak affected over 600,000 Indian citizens and lead to over 15,000 deaths, (Taylor, 2014). The cause of the gas leak is still being disputed, but almost everyone agrees that the leak resulted from Union Carbide failing to have the proper safety procedures in place and that their response to the disaster has being in adequate. An analysis of the events reveals that effective leadership requires strong core values and strategic planning.
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How does a major organization not foresee a gas leak as possibly? The Bhopal plant had been inspected two years prior to the gas leak and inspectors found numerous safety violations. Union Carbide was aware of the issues at the Bhopal plant, but choose not to take any further action. The organization was not making a profit at the plant location and cut the plant’s budget decreasing the staff supervising the plant’s safety systems, (Gregg, 2007). The organization’s created apathetic culture that put the bottom line before its employees, the community and the plant. The organization’s allowed the plant to deteriorate to the point it self-destructed, (Ferrell & Fraedrich,