200 Villagers Houses Burnt Down Again Near Barrick Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea - Essay Example

200 Villagers’ Houses Burnt Down Again Near Barrick Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea Background/context On June 6, residents of the Wingima village located near Barrick’s Porgera Gold mine were evicted by the Papua New Guinea police Mobile Units, and houses of more than 200 villagers were burn down as a result (Global Research, 2014). All this has occurred without previous warning and eviction notices. Despite the efforts of the Porgera Landowners Association (PLOA) to resettle the community and to restrain the State from burning the houses, the National Court of Papua New Guinea has not undertaken measures necessary for protecting local citizens and their property (Global Research, 2014).

This behavior of the national court is known to be a result of Barrick Limited request. 2. The expected impact on the companyThe expected impact on the company as a result of such unethical behavior will have severe impact on the company’s reputation, sales and stock prices as it has violated human rights of the citizens of Papua New Guinea and also demonstrated lack of environmental responsibility. However, this extent of this impact depends on the extent of public awareness and international community/communities about this issue.3. Ethical concerns/issuesBarrick Gold Corporation cannot be considered as an ethical corporation as it has violated the human rights of the villagers of Papua New Guinea and also has failed to do business in environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.

Barrick Gold operates its but Porgera subsidy as a joint venture with the local government. It is possible to suggest that actions undertaken against the local citizens of Porgera village were initiated solely by the government of Papua New Guinea, however, it doesn’t relieve the company from ethical responsibility. 4. A competitive analysisOne of the competitors of Barrick Gold is Sumatra Copper & Gold plc. This company has established a detailed Code of Business Conduct, which covers “a wide range of business practices and procedures” and sets up guiding ethical principles for all employees and managers of the company (Sumatracoppergold.com, 2014).

Also, the company seeks to minimize the environmental risks at the company’s sites and comply (Sumatracoppergold.com, 2014), while Barrick Porgera Gold mine obviously fails to do so, despite its claims (Barrick.com, 2014).5. Addressing the problemIn order to address the problem there should be undertaken some serious measures and initiatives. First of all the company has to adjust its financial plans to the sustainability principles, which pursue not only economic benefits, but also social and environmental benefits.

Thus, the company has to adjust the whole strategy to become socially and environmentally responsible global citizen. While there are some claims on the corporate website of the company regarding its sustainable responsibility, there is obvious contradiction based on the recent news (Barrick.com, 2014). The company should introduce the code of ethics, where all of the potential ethical dilemmas should be clearly identified. Also, the company has to address the problem and try to recover its position in the eyes of public.

In order to do this, the company has to state about its ethical behavior and focus on sustainable development. Also, in order to minimize the negative consequences to the company’s reputation Barrick Limited should provide new houses for the people and give compensation to those who suffered from the raid of Papua New Guinea (PNG) police Mobile Units on the 6th of June and address the issue in media releases and international press.References:Barrick.com, (2014). Barrick Gold Corporation - Company.

[online] Available at: http://www.barrick.com/company/default.aspx [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014]. Global Research, (2014). 200 Villagers’ Houses Burnt Down Again Near Barrick Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea. [online] Available at: http://www.globalresearch.ca/200-villagers-houses-burnt-down-again-near-barrick-gold-mine-in-papua-new-guinea/5386691 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014].Sumatracoppergold.com, (2014). Sustainable Mining| Environmental Responsibility| Environment - SUM. [online] Available at: http://www.

sumatracoppergold.com/environment [Accessed 30 Oct. 2014].