Activity 1: Article Summary
Winning, D. (2020, September 11). Poor communication helped lead to the CEO’s departure at Rio Tinto. The Wall Street Journal . https://www.wsj.com/articles/poor-communication-helped-lead-to-ceos-departure-at-rio-tinto-11599839970
Effective communication is critical in organizations, as seen in Rio Tinto ’s case. The mining company, which carries out its operations in Australia, destroyed caves of archeological importance, despite some of its employees’ awareness about the caves’ cultural value. This summary details how a communication breakdown at Rio Tinto caused three executives to lose their jobs after investors demanded accountability within the organization.
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Rio Tinto attempted to unearth more than one billion dollars ’ worth of iron ore by laying explosives at the Brockman 4 mine. The mine was located near a pair of ancient rock shelters, which would be destroyed by the resulting blast. Rio Tinto’s corporate relations chief officer alerted the chief executive officer (CEO), Jean-Sebastien Jacques, of a “potential issue” at the mine. However, when Mr. Jacques followed up the issue, Chris Salisbury, Rio Tinto’s iron-ore head, failed to disclose the site’s archeological and cultural importance. Mr. Jacques claimed that he only found out about the site’s cultural significance after the caves were blasted on the evening of May 24.
There was a communication breakdown at Rio Tinto between the CEO and his team. The breakdown led to the destruction of ancient caves of cultural and archeological importance, which hurt the company’ s reputation. Investors demanded accountability, which led to all three company executives losing their jobs. Rio Tinto faced a backlash from investors, lawmakers, and indigenous groups for failing to respond promptly to environmental and cultural concerns. The ensuing outcry prompted the review of the law under which Rio Tinto received approval to conduct an activity that would destroy the caves.
Rio Tinto admitted to Australian lawmakers that it failed to engage with traditional landowners around the Juukan Gorge site. According to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) indigenous group, the Juukran rock shelters contained numerous artifacts, such as grinding and pounding stones. The artifacts indicated that the caves had been occupied by humans more than 46,000 years ago. When archeologists removed some of the artifacts in 2014, they recommended further excavations. The PKKP found out about the planned mining operation near the caves on May 15 when the company had already laid the explosives.
According to Rio Tinto ’s chairman, Simon Thompson, after the archeological work was completed in 2014, the company’s system stopped recognizing the Juukan area as an active heritage site that ought to have been preserved. Additionally, changes in personnel between 2014 and 2020 led to a loss of awareness about the caves’ cultural and archeological significance. Mr. Thompson admitted that these events resulted from a systemic failure that the company was eager to fix.
Alt hough workers and technical staff at the site had been aware of the threat to the Juukan caves before May 21, Mr. Salisbury claimed that he became aware of the threat on the said date . The iron-ore head called an emergency meeting, during which he advised lawyers to prepare for a possible injunction tabled by the PKKP. The team considered removing the explosives, which had been in the ground for more than a week. A technical report revealed that attempting to remove them using a suction truck risked setting some off. Out of the 382 holes, workers were only able to remove 8 holes. Additionally, they lost the detonator and the booster, which meant that the holes had been live. Therefore, the fate of the caves was sealed when the explosives were loaded on May 13.
The article concludes that the mining industry should learn from Rio Tinto’s case. On August 24, Rio Tinto released an internal review that detailed a framework for change. It detailed how heritage issues should be escalated to decision-makers. Rio Tinto also appointed a senior independent director to improve the investor and community engagement. The changes Rio Tinto made to the executive team were critical to regaining trust with investors and communities.
Activity 2
Qualifications and Expertise of the Author
The author ’s qualifications and expertise are not stated in the article. However, there is a link to the author’s biography provided at the beginning of the article. David Winning is a reporter in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). He is the Bureau Chief at WSJ and at Dow Jones Newswires in Australia and New Zealand, where he oversees editorial coverage across all asset classes. Winning has more than fifteen years of journalistic experience, and he has led numerous teams of reporters across the globe (“David Winning reporter, the Wall Street Journal,” n.d.). Therefore, Winning has authority in the issue.
Writers Attitude Towards the Issue
The writer ’s attitude towards the topic is formal and objective. Winning used long and complex sentences to describe the issue (“Style, diction, tone, and voice,” n.d.). An example is the description of the backlash that resulted from the destruction of the caves (Winning, 2020). Additionally, Winning wrote in the third person point of view to distance himself from the subject matter. He avoided portraying any of the people involved in the scandal in any favorable or negative light. He addressed most sides of the issue, including the roles that Rio Tinto’s executives, the communities, investors, and lawmakers played. However, Winning failed to address the workers’ and technical staff points of view. He did not describe any attempts to communicate their knowledge about the caves’ cultural and archeological significance to the company’s senior leaders (Winning, 2020). Moreover, the article was not biased since it was written by a professional journalist, whose chief responsibility is to avoid it. Additionally, there is no evident relationship between the author and Rio Tinto or the indigenous groups.
Influence of the Article
The article changed my perception of the importance of effective communication within organizations. I expected a large organization like Rio Tinto to have formal systems and policies that guide communication procedures, yet such a monumental communication breakdown occurred. Had Rio Tinto been aware of the magnitude of the potential consequences, it would have prevented such an incident from occurring in the first place. The events detailed in the article also helped me appreciate the importance of being proactive as an employee or leader in any organization. Though the workers and technical staff at Rio Tinto were aware of the threat to the Juukan caves, none spoke up (Winning, 2020). If one of the employees had volunteered the information before the explosives were laid, the unfortunate destruction of these caves would have been prevented.
The article also helped me appreciate the role of community and employee engagement in operating an organization, which were the two chief areas where Rio Tinto failed. Had the company involved the community in decision-making about the planned excavations, it would have gained insight into the issue. Rio Tinto would have objectively considered all the potential mining sites and the consequences related to each site. It would have supported informed decision-making, which would protect the company’s reputation. The company did not perform a thorough stakeholder analysis, which would have identified all stakeholders and their power and influence on the issue.
Reading the article also changed my perspective about the importance of preserving sites of cultural and archeological significance, where I developed an interest in protecting these sites. It helped me appreciate the role that government agencies should play in monitoring and regulating mining companies. Rio Tinto singlehandedly destroyed a culturally significant site. Organizations and communities should collaborate to protect these places. Additionally, protecting culturally significant sites should be part of corporate social responsibility programs, especially in the mining industry. Governments should also develop and implement policies that deter the destruction of culturally and archeologically important sites, such as fines and penalties.
References
David Winning reporter, the Wall Street Journal . (n.d.). The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/news/author/david-winning
Style, diction, tone, and voice . (n.d.). Wheaton College. https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/services/writing-center/writing-resources/style-diction-tone-and-voice/
Winning, D. (2020, September 11). Poor communication helped lead to CEO’s departure at Rio Tinto. The Wall Street Journal . https://www.wsj.com/articles/poor-communication-helped-lead-to-ceos-departure-at-rio-tinto-11599839970
