Mattel Case Study

The problem surrounding Mattel Inc. is their mismanagement of international subcontractors and vendors and the production of certain toys (the manufacturing process), as well as their inability to adapt their marketing strategy or product to the constantly changing “demographic and socioeconomic trends.” This is supported by Mattel’s legal battle with Carter Bryant and MGA, their forced recall of certain toys that were manufactured overseas, and the increasing rate at which traditional toys are becoming less appealing to today’s young audience. Essentially, Mattel’s mismanagement and oversight lead to violations in terms of ethical and social responsibilities and safety standards.

When the CEO looked at the financial statement for the previous year he found that they had a loss of $256,000 (Rakish et

Mattel is a global toy company that has been around since 1949. They are the company that introduced Barbie and Hot Wheels to the world as well as many others toys. Mattel has license agreements with Walt Disney and Nickelodeon. In

The return on equity ratio for Disney between 2009 and 2010 dropped slightly from .22 to .189. This is a result of a slight reduction in share holder equity and a significant reduction in net income. The drop in ROE could cause share holders to worry, but in this case the reduction is not sever enough to cause panic.

They know that growth is lacking and that in order to survive, DMC must alter course now. Senior leadership needs to determine which market segment to pursue, and how this strategy may or may not affect other areas of the company including, but not limited to: Human Resources, Manufacturing and Distribution. Senior leadership must also be aware that any change in strategy will influence I.T. also. While IT is a broad-minded team willing to offer up technical solutions to advance product development and sales, their budget, as well as other departments has been inhibited over the course of current recession and the inconsistency of returns to the company.

Potential investors examining Caterpillar’s stock’s value will see that Cat outperforms the competition in almost every area concerning stock valuation. Earnings per share is a measure of a company’s net income relative to the number of shares of common stock outstanding. Caterpillar’s earnings per share of 7.40 dominated the industry in 2011. The second best EPS in the industry was 3.91, posted by CNH Global.

To achieve this about 65 percent of its toy manufacturing was moved to Asia where its products could be produced cheaper. In doing so Mattel now has to work within the culture of its manufacturing facilities to ensure healthy and safe operations to its employees. This means that wage, possible child labor, and other ethical issues could arise, thus as stated before the Global Manufacturing Principles were created and implemented.

Mattel, the world’s leading toy and children’s good manufacturer has cultivated a strong portfolio of well known brands and products while being recognized has a highly responsible corporate citizen that makes ethics and safety a priority. The company must build on its heritage, while defending itself from threats. At the same faced with maintaining its market position in the face of many changes in their target market.

Both Nasdaq director independence standards and Corporate Governance Guidelines of Mattel have strict requirements or rules to evaluate and determine whether these directors on the board are independent members in Mattel. In terms of the Nasdaq director independence rules, independent or outside directors are not allowed to participate in any material and pecuniary management activities and transactions as managers or employees. In addition, executive officers and employees who work in a listed company are not able to qualify independent directors, and members who have intimate relationships with other directors or executive officers also cannot be outside directors. However, the Corporate Governance Guidelines determine that members who take part in the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Governance and Social Responsibility Committee are independent with material transactions and executive managements. As a result, there are ten directors on the board in Mattel, and only Christopher A. Sinclair, the CEO of Mattel, is not independent with the exercise of independent judgement and has no evidence to satisfy requirements of Nasdaq’s and Mattel’s director independence standards. In the other words, there are nine outside directors (90%) and one inside director (10%).

Others felt that they should consider Indonesia as a way to take advantage of low labor costs and very attractive exchange rates. Mattel currently operated a plant in Indonesia that produced Barbie® dolls. Montalto had to decide whether Mattel should go forward with the new China plant, build a plant in Malaysia or Indonesia, expand one of the existing facilities, or outsource the surplus die-cast volume through VOA. Company Background Based in California, Mattel, Inc designed, manufactured, and marketed a broad variety of toy products. The company’s core product lines included Barbie fashion dolls, Hot Wheels die- cast toy vehicles, Cabbage Patch Kids, Fisher-Price preschool toys, and Disney toys. Most of these toys were made overseas, primarily in southeast Asia. Mattel had wholly owned manufacturing facilities in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, and Italy. Mattel was founded in 1944 by Elliot and Ruth Handler. Neither Elliot nor Ruth had much business experience or capital, but they both had dreams. The post World War II demographics of a huge baby boom plus a virtually toyless marketplace provided a unique opportunity to gain a place in a growing toy market. Mattel’s first products, simple picture frames and doll house furniture, met with mixed success. The first really big hit was a music box. By partnering with another toy inventor, they developed a music box that could be

In 2111, Prof. Sethi and colleagues disclosed that Mattel Inc. had played a part in, what many would consider, unacceptable business practices (p. 483). Although Mattel took actions to investigate the level to which practices were truly occurring, they had also promised to remediate all noted unacceptable practices. One of the unacceptable business practices that was uncovered was the mandating of certain employee groups required to live in company dormitories and were not permitted to utilize any other options for housing. Was this practice a form of discrimination? In order to decide if the business practice and any alternatives are fair and ethical for all, resulting in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people, the scenario will be run through the EthicsOps.com’s Utility Test.

Known to be one of the largest producers of multi-media content, Walt Disney and Pixar greatly impacted the entertainment industry with the use of three-dimensional generated content. It quickly gained popularity with the release of its animated movies and especially got the attention of children from their sequels. With the growing popularity, the competition in the media industry began to increase. Disney was then faced with a difficult decision regarding its relationship with Pixar on whether they should acquire or not acquire the company.

1. Do you believe that Mattel acted in a socially responsible and ethical manner with regard to the safety of its toys? Why or Why not? What should or could Mattel have done differently, if anything?

MATTEL TOYS RECALL CASE STUDY Product  recall:   On  August  14,  2007,  the  U.S.  Consumer  Product  Safety   Commission  (CPSC)  in  cooperation  with  Mattel  announced  five   different  recalls  of  Mattel's  toys.  On  September  4,  Mattel   announced  three  more  recalls.  Some  were  due  to  the  use  of  lead   paint,  while  others  were  due  to  small  magnets  coming  loose.             On  August  2,  2007,  Mattel's  Fisher-­‐Price  subsidiary  recalled   almost  one  million  Chinese-­‐made  toys,  including  the

The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. Disney is able to create sustainable profits due to its heterogeneity, inimitability, co-specialization and immense foresight. During the late twentieth century, Michael Eisner founded and gave a rebirth to Walt Disney Company. Eisner revitalize TV and movies, Themes Park and new businesses. Eisner's takeover for fifteen years had climbed the revenues and net earnings of the company. It also successfully uses synergy to create value across its many business units. After its founder Walter Disney's death, the company started to lose its ground and performance declined. Michael Eisner became CEO