Oil company executives are a particular breed. The role seems to demand a certain cragginess. Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, neither looks nor sounds like Jock Ewing. This was a handicap in BP’s response to the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. He made the initial mistake, which has haunted the company’s response, of assuming the leaking well was an operational matter. If it had been, he would have been the perfect candidate to lead the response. But the Macondo well exposed corporate failure on a scale that would have ended any chief executive’s career. Res ipsa loquitur. It is inevitable that he should take responsibility.
石油公司高管是一个特殊的族群。这个角色似乎必须要经历一定的磨难。英国石油(BP)首席执行官唐熙华(Tony Hayward)的长相和腔调都不像乔克•尤因(Jock Ewing)。这是BP应对墨西哥湾灾难中的一个缺陷。他犯下的最初的错误，是想当然地认为油井泄漏是一个操作性问题。这个错误一直困扰着公司的应对过程。如果这真是一个操作性问题，那么他本应是领导应对过程的最佳人选。但Macondo油井暴露出的公司问题，足以终结任何一位首席执行官的职业生涯。事实不言自明。他不可避免地要承担责任。