Dealing with a Product-Harm Crisis in a Corporation Essay examples

Within the communications group for Blue Care Network, how the crisis is managed depends on the actual situation. A crisis is defined as, “a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome effective an organization, company, or industry as well as its publics, products, services, or good name” (du Pre, 2014). While the management of the crisis may depend on the situation, the purpose of crisis communication is to, “provide information that allows an individual, stakeholders, or an entire community to make the best possible decisions about their well-being, under nearly impossible time constraints, while accepting the imperfect nature of their choices” (du Pre, 2014). Recently, there was a recall on several different types of EpiPens, which is used for allergic reaction treatment (Horne, 2017). Although this was only one recall, it still needed to be urgently and effectively communicated to the masses. This was a highly important issue because someone’s death could result from this (Horne, 2017). In this situation, the challenge was to make sure that people were notified right away. To inform members, letters and emails were sent out to notify them of the lots (lot number on the EpiPen) that had been recalled (Horne, 2017). In addition to informing them, there were also instructions for what to do, specifically if a member had an EpiPen with the recalled lot number (Horne, 2017). On top of letters and emails, Blue Care Network utilized their online portal to send messages to their member’s accounts as well as making a public announcement through press releases (Horne, 2017). With reaching a mass audience, especially during a crisis situation, it is crucial to make sure the information is correctly understood and interpreted by the

The objective of this case is to understand the importance of crisis management. This case is intended to make the reader consider not only financial implications at the time of the event but the effects on the long term strategies of the organization. Also, the case urges participants to think about the consequences not only on the customer but on those within the organization as well.

Please answer the questions posed at the end of each case study in essay form.  Each essay will be judged on your capacity to present strong, logical discussions that support your conclusions.

During 2009 and 2010, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare recalled tens of thousands of children’s medicine products, including the well-known brands Tylenol and Motrin (Haynes, 2015). The recall was done in response to complaints of particles in the liquid medicines produced by the Fort Washington, PA, facility. McNeil claimed these particles were small metal pieces, which did not pose any safety risks to consumers (Haynes, 2015). The public was unsettled by this revelation of Johnson & Johnson releasing defective products onto the market. After news of the recall, FDA investigators found that the plant had violated the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by not producing according to best industry practices (Haynes, 2015). Additional controversy was created when congressional investigations revealed that private contractors were hired to quietly buy back defective products without the public’s knowledge in a “phantom recall” (Olaniran, Scholl, Williams, Boyer, 2012). Johnson & Johnson ineffectively used crisis communication in the following ways: first, the company was slow to respond to complaints of issues with products and perform the official recall, which led the public to lose trust in the organization; second, it performed a “phantom recall” of defective products without the public’s knowledge, showing it was not willing to be transparent about the situation; third, CEO Bill Weldon avoided commenting on the crisis and sent a subordinate in his

According to Lewis (2006), crisis is “an interruption from previously normal state of functioning resulting in turmoil, instability, and a significant upheaval to a system” (p. 27). In other words, a crisis is a negative predictable or unpredictable event that affects the future trend of individuals, groups, organizations, and government. For instance, pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson had an unpredictable crisis in 1982 with its product Tylenol, which was laced with cyanide and led to several murders in Chicago. The events of this crisis could have changed the perception of Tylenol products. Another example of organizational crisis was the predictable 2012 Hurricane Sandy. Although companies of all sizes expected the Hurricane due to the weather forecasting, some areas in New York and New Jersey were affected worse than others. There were businesses that terminated operations for several business days. In addition to Hurricane Sandy being an organizational crisis, it was also a crisis for many families that lost power in their homes and a crisis for government departments such as FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and other agencies within local and state governments.

Zaremba (2010) points out that “crisis is any unanticipated event, incident, situation, or development that has the potential to damage or destroy your organization’s reputation”. (P.234) This definition indicates two attributes of crisis: unexpectedness and destructiveness, so effective communication is crucial to manage a crisis. The Nuance Group, a successful management consulting company, with a reputation of experienced and highly educated consultants, was facing the crisis brought by its great “reputation”. As a consultancy, it’s their profession to market themselves. A glossy brochure with specific introduction of consultants’ information, which is the highlight of the company’s reputation, is a fabulous method to market

A business that manufacturer’s products or food products is aware that some problems may transpire, such as recalling the product due to various reasons, for example health concerns or for safety reasons. Still a plan, especially a good crisis plan, should be implemented to be able to handle any sorts of problems. Manufacturer companies also need to be ready to communicate to the stakeholders and let them know that they are their priority. However, when a plan is not firmly established, completely ignored or do not take the responsibility for the crisis, the company can jeopardize not only their reputation, but also loose financially, the way Firestone/Bridgestone and Ford Company had to undergo.

Taco Bell’s swift actions by their crisis management team to launch an advertising campaign thanking the people from suing them turned out to be a success for the company and the lawsuit was dropped. Numerous companies have been hit with a crisis over the years, how fast and diligent the organizations deal with the crisis helps in the recovery process. Additionally, crisis management requires more than an apologetic press release, the news goes viral in a matter of minutes, and companies must be ready to respond to adversities quickly and decisively, utilizing all platforms to communicate to the public. Organizations that make mistakes must take ownership of their mistakes and not try to distance themselves from it.

The tragic and apparently intentional crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in the French Alps serves to highlight the many and varied risks organizations have to manage in the face of compliance regulations, both domestic and international, for the protection of customers and their assets.

In the 1982 scenario, the company reacted well. They put the needs of the customers first. However, in 2010, the public and authorities were forced to intervene, raising questions of whether the company harbored concern for the safety of its

The main issues that Gupta’s focus should be on in regards to short term are the allegations from Center for Science and Environment (CSE) that threatens to tarnish the image of the company’s brand, and the survey result of the its consumers. Crisis is inescapable. When it does occur, for the most part, ones’ wish is for it to go away as fast as possible. While it is an uncomfortable dilemma; nonetheless one ought to have a plan in place to reconcile the issue. In this case study Gupta, president and CEO of Coca Cola India found himself in a crisis that could either conquer his company’s animation or redeem its success as the lead in India. According to Dolewski, the element of surprise should be incorporated into the role of managers due to the variation in the amount of a disaster warning. Bearing in mind Gupta had tactics in place in to dealing with desolations that results from crises, it will at least allow company managers to start from a resilient situation. The gift to identify short-term issues in crisis is an accomplishment but having a solution is an entirely different scenario.

What is a crisis management? It is an unexpected crisis that happens on the company that will affect the trust and loyalty of the stakeholder. It can be extremely costly because it will affect the company reputation and brand. For example like financial failure from poor business management, workplace violence, fires, cybercrime, computer viruses, product tampering or union strikes and other external issue like damaged economy that causes from London bombings, terrorists attacks on 11 September and others. The SHRM 2005 report indicates that only 56% organizations created or revised their disaster preparedness plans but 45% did not after the terrorist attacked on

Still unaware of the danger the melamine laced milk was causing to infants, the Sanlu Group continued to purchase the

Crisis is often a very fearful problem for organization around the world. As brand building takes up a very long period, destroying a brand on the other hand only require a blink of an eye. However, each and every organization will have their own module or particular ways to prevent their brand to have negative image in customers’ perception. But because of the unknown future, crisis might arise from nowhere and struck the organization with no mercy and brings the organization to an ending point. Crisis can be devastating as the effect of the crisis its own can sometimes be very hard to calculate as there might be many parties involved.

On 12 September 2008, Sanlu Group, the biggest producer of milk powder in China, rocked the country when it admitted that its infant formula had been contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. China's national inspection agency extended its investigation to other dairy manufacturers across the nation. Shockingly, products of 21 other dairies, including some famous Chinese brands, also tested positive for melamine. Due to consumption of melamine-laced milk products, more than 56,000 infants and young children had become sick and four babies had died from kidney failure by the end of September. The melamine scare also resulted in many countries recalling and banning goods using milk products