Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 4

Strategic Management - Essay Example which British Petroleum is a leading name requires expenditure of large sums on huge projects that are technically sophisticated and demand a certain managerial depth. Thus, British Petroleum has achieved its growth as a result of sound managerial decision making over the years in all facets of its business. This brief essay presents a discussion of some of the more interesting strategy aspects that confront the company in the present global business environment. British Petroleum Plc, or BP, had its origins as the former Anglo – Persian Oil Company in the early 1930s (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008, â€Å"BP PLC†). The name of the former Anglo – Persian Oil Company was changed into British Petroleum in the year 1954 and later in the year 1998, BP merged with the Amoco Corporation of the United States to join the ranks of the largest oil companies in the world. Clearly, British Petroleum has a long history and much experience in the petroleum business. However, the economic environment in which BP has to operate is constantly changing and this means that this company has to have the right approach to strategy if it is to remain at the leading edge in its industry sector. Operating profits for British Petroleum exceeded US$ 20 billion in the year 2007 and this means that the firm not only applied a very substantial amount of capital in its operations, but also generated substantial profit in an industry that can be expose d to substantial operating risks (British Petroleum, 2008, â€Å"Financial Report – 2007†). Although profits look healthy for British Petroleum and the world has witnessed record prices for crude oil in the year 2008, it has to be appreciated that this company also encountered some problems which had a negative impact on its operations and safety record in the year 2007 (British Petroleum, 2008, â€Å"British Petroleum Strategy Presentations†) and (Wikipedia, 2008, â€Å"BP). The company faces new challenges as a result of sector inflation, rising