The Tylenol Crisis
The Tylenol Crisis took place in October of 1982, when it was reported seven people had died in Chicago from taking Tylenol Extra Strength that had been laced with cyanide. Tylenol was the leading pain-killer medicine in the United Stated at the time and was facing a tremendous crisis in these events. It was found the products had been tampered with and the unknown suspects had put 65 milligrams of cyanide into capsules, which was more than 10,000 times the amount needed to kill a person. (Susi 2002) The tampering of the product took place after the bottles had been placed on the shelves. The suspects removed the bottles, placed cyanide in the capsules, and returned the bottles to the shelves. After the media reported the …show more content…
This plan of action will also help prevent future crises and improve effectiveness of prevention, as well as a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. (Lussier & Achua, 2016) The following are the steps we need to take to prevent and address a business crisis:
• Risk Identification- The team at Johnson & Johnson must start planning pre-crisis to identify the worst cases scenario, incidents that would have severe consequences on people, the organizations financials, and or image. The “what-if’s” need to be identified and realistic incidents and situations thought of. (Lussier & Achua, 2016) o In this case, we have all of the above. There was harm to the public when our product was tampered with and poisoned, leading to the death of seven people. Also, the image of the company was slightly tarnished in the incident, as well as the financial burden faced when recalling 30 million bottles, and the loss from stopping advertising production and use in the amount of $100 million. ( Susi, 2002) o First steps are to address the public through our partners in the media. We need to alert the public not to take any products that are Tylenol and to return them to the place they were purchased for a full refund. At which we will need to replace and recall from the …show more content…
o Strengths to change all aspects of Tylenol, keep the name in good standing with consumers and provide a higher standard in the industry.
• Crisis Prevention- Having a drill to deal with this type of crisis responsiveness is key to the Pre-Crisis prevention. The use of SWOT information provided will help alert the organization of potential threats. The crisis team can then reassure the organization that we will be better prepared to handle a crisis (Lussier & Achua, 2016) o Using the SWOT information we will come up with a drill to run through as if a real crisis has happened again. o Provide a 1-800 number for consumers to respond to inquiries from customers concerning safety of Tylenol. They also establish a toll-free line for news organizations to call and receive pre-taped daily messages with updated statements about the crisis. (Rehak, 2002)
• Crisis Management-The best way to make manage a crisis is through the practice of dealing with one. How aware the organization is in dealing with it, how effective we communicate the plan in place, the quality of our plan and effectiveness of our leadership team will gauge the ability to deal with a major
The Tylenol Crisis took place in October of 1982, when it was reported seven people had died in Chicago from taking Tylenol Extra Strength that had been laced with cyanide. Tylenol was the leading pain-killer medicine in the United Stated at the time and was facing a tremendous crisis in these events. It was found the products had been tampered with and the unknown suspects had put 65 milligrams of cyanide into capsules, which was more than 10,000 times the amount needed to kill a person. (Susi 2002) The tampering of the product took place after the bottles had been placed on the shelves. The suspects removed the bottles, placed cyanide in the capsules, and returned the bottles to the shelves. After the media reported the …show more content…
This plan of action will also help prevent future crises and improve effectiveness of prevention, as well as a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. (Lussier & Achua, 2016) The following are the steps we need to take to prevent and address a business crisis:
• Risk Identification- The team at Johnson & Johnson must start planning pre-crisis to identify the worst cases scenario, incidents that would have severe consequences on people, the organizations financials, and or image. The “what-if’s” need to be identified and realistic incidents and situations thought of. (Lussier & Achua, 2016) o In this case, we have all of the above. There was harm to the public when our product was tampered with and poisoned, leading to the death of seven people. Also, the image of the company was slightly tarnished in the incident, as well as the financial burden faced when recalling 30 million bottles, and the loss from stopping advertising production and use in the amount of $100 million. ( Susi, 2002) o First steps are to address the public through our partners in the media. We need to alert the public not to take any products that are Tylenol and to return them to the place they were purchased for a full refund. At which we will need to replace and recall from the …show more content…
o Strengths to change all aspects of Tylenol, keep the name in good standing with consumers and provide a higher standard in the industry.
• Crisis Prevention- Having a drill to deal with this type of crisis responsiveness is key to the Pre-Crisis prevention. The use of SWOT information provided will help alert the organization of potential threats. The crisis team can then reassure the organization that we will be better prepared to handle a crisis (Lussier & Achua, 2016) o Using the SWOT information we will come up with a drill to run through as if a real crisis has happened again. o Provide a 1-800 number for consumers to respond to inquiries from customers concerning safety of Tylenol. They also establish a toll-free line for news organizations to call and receive pre-taped daily messages with updated statements about the crisis. (Rehak, 2002)
• Crisis Management-The best way to make manage a crisis is through the practice of dealing with one. How aware the organization is in dealing with it, how effective we communicate the plan in place, the quality of our plan and effectiveness of our leadership team will gauge the ability to deal with a major