Introduction
Businesses need to be able to present a good mental image in their current and potential consumers eyes. Historically, this has been done by offering a good product at a fair price. Times have changed- consumers now also require a business to be mindful of others and the environment while presenting a cutting-edge product. In 1997 Benoit (as cited in Dutta and Pullig, 2011) stated that when something comes to threaten the public opinion of a business (aka “Brand Crisis”), that business only has limited options such as “denial, reduction of offensiveness, and corrective action”. From the consumers view point, business ethics (i.e., virtues) appears to have a short and/or long game. The Mattel organization had several embarrassing missteps in the late 90s that led them to act quickly and decisively as a means to restore their customers view of them and their products (Sethi, Veral, Shapiro, & Emelianova 2011).
Background
Mattel Inc., one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world, encountered a double-edged sword in 1997 when a news report was released that they were not the wholesome and decent company they led their consumers to believe (Sethi et al 2011). The company had a need to produce innovative toys at competitive prices, while still making their shareholders a …show more content…
Sethi and his colleagues wrote a paper on this topic. Sethi had firsthand knowledge of the details that transpired since he was one of the key players in Mattel’s clean up initiative (2011). He described when people found out how employees were treated in the outsourced countries they were outraged. Mattel was being accused of participating in child labor violations, utilizing sweat shops environments, and several other questionable virtuous infractions in the manufacturing process of their toys (Sethi et al 2011). The company had to take action and fast - they would need more than words to retain their place at the top of the toy industry food chain along with their
Businesses need to be able to present a good mental image in their current and potential consumers eyes. Historically, this has been done by offering a good product at a fair price. Times have changed- consumers now also require a business to be mindful of others and the environment while presenting a cutting-edge product. In 1997 Benoit (as cited in Dutta and Pullig, 2011) stated that when something comes to threaten the public opinion of a business (aka “Brand Crisis”), that business only has limited options such as “denial, reduction of offensiveness, and corrective action”. From the consumers view point, business ethics (i.e., virtues) appears to have a short and/or long game. The Mattel organization had several embarrassing missteps in the late 90s that led them to act quickly and decisively as a means to restore their customers view of them and their products (Sethi, Veral, Shapiro, & Emelianova 2011).
Background
Mattel Inc., one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world, encountered a double-edged sword in 1997 when a news report was released that they were not the wholesome and decent company they led their consumers to believe (Sethi et al 2011). The company had a need to produce innovative toys at competitive prices, while still making their shareholders a …show more content…
Sethi and his colleagues wrote a paper on this topic. Sethi had firsthand knowledge of the details that transpired since he was one of the key players in Mattel’s clean up initiative (2011). He described when people found out how employees were treated in the outsourced countries they were outraged. Mattel was being accused of participating in child labor violations, utilizing sweat shops environments, and several other questionable virtuous infractions in the manufacturing process of their toys (Sethi et al 2011). The company had to take action and fast - they would need more than words to retain their place at the top of the toy industry food chain along with their