Tylenol Murders of 1982

When J&J realized that their Tylenol capsules caused the deaths of four Chicagoans, they immediately initiated a recall of all Tylenol products, and spread the news by any means possible. Cars with sirens and loudspeakers drove through the city and suburbs of Chicago, urging residents to throw away any Tylenol capsules they might have. Schools were contacted, and they instructed students to bring all Tylenol products to the school nurse. News flashes were initiated to warn people of the Tylenol danger as well, and all stores were instructed to remove Tylenol products from their shelves. Removing the products was a gutsy move, not only because it was dangerous to the company by recalling so much products, but there was also a fear that the killer

Tylenol, an over the counter prescription product from Johnson & Johnson, was one of the top brands in the analgesic market. Within the company, it was also a large income earner that commanded nearly 15% of the company’s total profits. That being the case, the 1982 crisis was not only a big blow to the brand, but also to the company as a whole. The crisis jeopardized the company’s existence; putting at risk a multi million investment which the investors had a lot of faith in. Irrespective of whether the crisis was due to malicious acts from ill motivated criminals or not, the company had to act swiftly to counter the legal issues which were ensuing and mitigate huge impending losses. It was really a trying moment for the top management of Johnson & Johnson and more so to the CEO, James Burke, who faced the toughest test of his managerial career during this time. Though the crisis was amicably solved, there were some legal issues that were imminent and some valuable lessons learnt from the episode.

The company must act by performing good deeds” (EMAN 630, slide 9). It was obvious that Johnson and Johnson did more than talking but performed good deed, such as keeping communication channel open to the public, engaging media profession, aiding police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in locating the responsible party, and dealing with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Johnson and Johnson’s Tylenol scare, n.d). Tylenol crisis has demonstrated how effective public relations are in time of organizational difficulties, challenges or

The market for acetaminophen was growing at a rate of 5:1 to that of aspirin. Studies had shown that the side-effects from acetaminophen were less than aspirin. Bristol-Myers could have used the change in consumer consumption pattern and the shifting demand between the 2 analgesic variants as a means for positioning Datril using an effective campaign strategy.

She would be one of seven people to die suddenly after taking the respected over-the-counter medication, as the so-called Tylenol murders spread fear across America.

In late 1975, due to competition, Tylenol lowered its price and heavily marketed its product. By 1981, Tylenol increased its revenues from $50 million to $400 million. It was the most popular off the shelve medication that people used. Its market share was about 37% and for Johnson and Johnson, it accounted for about 17-18% of net earnings. For Johnson and Johnson, it was one of the most popular product that they produced. However, during late 1982, hospitals in Chicago area received around 700 calls from people about Tylenol due to medical emergencies. There were also reports that many people had died due to the medicine.

As CompCARE and its parent company enjoyed record profits and PharmaCARE’s stock price approached $300 per share, reports started filtering in that people who received AD23 seemed to be suffering heart attacks at an alarming rate. The company ignored this data and continued filling large orders and paid huge bonuses to all the executives and managers, including Allen, who, after being named “Employee of the Year,” was beginning to miss production schedules due not only to his staff’s increasing use of sick leave, but also his own health issues PharmaCARE sold CompCARE to WellCo, a large drugstore chain, just weeks before AD23 was publicly linked to over 200 cardiac deaths. Both PharmaCARE and WellCo saw their stock price plummet.

Johnson & Johnson used authoritarian decision making to proactively alert the consumer of the error. Retailers, doctors, and the public were immediately alerted about the deaths and the situation that was at hand (Kochanny, 2015). Johnson & Johnson management was forced to pull 31 million bottles nationwide costing more than $100 million was swiftly pulled from shelves; in addition, they inspected factories where the product was manufactured (Kochanny, 2015). In essence, the leadership at Johnson & Johnson responded quickly and effectively to the crisis. The way leadership handled the response save the organization from the damage that was brought upon them. Johnson & Johnson took a very dramatic, yet effective leadership approach that did not attempt to mask the problem, which allowed the organization to rebrand

Mr. Burke was an extremely virtuous man who displayed unwavering integrity in the face of incredible challenges. The character and rectitude of Burke was likely the saving grace for Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol tragedy. Sadly, there have been recalls and admissions of criminal behavior by Johnson & Johnson since the departure of Burke (Treviño & Nelson,

James Burke quickly assembled a seven-person team and informed them that their top priority was “how to ensure safety” and once that was taken care of then “how to save the Tylenol brand”. This crisis was the first time Johnson & Johnson started to proactively engage the media and help write the story of what was actually occurring. Johnson & Johnson chose to recall all Tylenol products nationally, stopped production and media and issued statements broadly to warn the country of the immediate dangers. The issue was identified as product tampering after the product had shipped to the retailers. The Tylenol capsules had been laced with significant amounts of

Although Johnson and Johnson was a big company at the time of the Tylenol crisis, the company has never faced a complicated problem as the one that Tylenol was affronting at the time. In addition, there were no evidences or records of any other similar problem, neither in the pharmaceutical industry nor in the food industry. The lack of background on that kind of situation represented at the time a big challenge for the company.

Johnson & Johnson should have recall the products. If Johnson & Johnson not doing anything they are going to losing many of their customers, suppliers, stockholders, and etc. Johnson & Johnson CEO was open to the public and trying to recall the products back. The company was trying to resolve the crisis and making people understand. I think, many of Johnson & Johnson customers are being careful with the product even though they reintroduced the the extra-strength Tylenol and had fixed the problem. Their would be many customers who used Tylenol are being careful with the product after Johnson & Johnson reintroduced. I believe, company should have alarm their customers and have recalled the bottles which was at

Markel, Howard. "How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way we consume medication." PBS. PBS, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2017.

It was not the first time his company had been subject to slander and it would not be the last. However, these types of articles always managed to cause a lasting sense of utter irritation. He despised the writers behind these fictitious tales of gossip. When it came to Kennedy Enterprises, it was a true rarity when newspapers reported anything that pertained to the actual truth. This particular article focused on KE pharmaceuticals 'Kennedy pharmaceuticals tied to almost 20,000 deaths' the paper had reported. It went on to explain how individuals who used an anti-inflammatory medication developed by KEP were experiencing increased risk of stroke and

Johnson and Johnson has a bandages line called, Band-Aid, Tylenol medications, Johnson and Johnson baby products, Neutrogena skin and beauty products, clean and clear facial washes, and Acuvue contact lenses to name a few. Johnson and Johnson is also a part of the Dow Jones industrial average, and is listed among the big fortune 500. In 2015 alone Johnson and Johnson worldwide made $70.1 billion in sales alone. Johnson and Johnson is a popular company that many families trust and love. The objective of the company’s market is to maximize profits, to help the shareholders. Johnson and Johnson objective is to lower their prices on their products and limit their need for customization for their manufactured products except maybe for packaging changes. Johnson and Johnson has adopted a new approach early in the 1990s, called a decentralized approach. The approach they believe helped improve their company and the wat things are run. Their purpose in the business is to care for the health and the well-beings of others around the world. Johnson and Johnson has achieved both economics of scale as well as economics of scope. The company’s products are sold in more than 175 countries worldwide and its revenues accumulate to 24.6 billion worldwide. The company also has more than 29,925 internet domains which helps sell their products as well as increase the revenue growth.