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Defective Product Recall or Repair

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Defective Product: Recall or Repair

November 13, 2014
Within the past several months, automobile manufacturers and baby care product industries have been recalling defective products to save the life of their consumers. Consumer safety is regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an agency that strives to “protect the public from hazardous consumer products” this includes children and families (USCPSC, 2013, p. i). In unit one the discussion related to a defective memory chip; in unit two we deal with yet another defective product, in which a lead engineer saw the need to correctly deal with a defective fuel-line component. Product safety standards have been the number one concern for all businesses from automobile to toy manufacturers. In this scenario, Minnie discovered the defective fuel-line component; unfortunately, there are some risks associated with the company continuing to sale the product even if the product will cause little to no harm to consumers. In addition, the company will face some risks if management decides to recall the product. It is the responsibility of the management team of the manufacturer to recall or notify everyone involved about the defective product - this includes consumers. Soon as Minnie notified the management that the fuel line may potentially cause harm to consumers, swift action needed to be taken to prevent any further harm and save the company’s reputation and brand name.
Therefore, if the company decides to continue to sale or recall the defective product there are some risk in doing so. For instance, if the company decides to recall the product there are cost involved: actual recall cost, lost customer cost, the cost to rebuild the company’s damaged brand name. On the other hand, if the company continues to sale the defective product; the company faces the possibility of third-party liability costs and possibly all of the aforementioned costs as well (Lippincott, 2008). Third-party liability costs are fees paid due to legal suits, these cost can be paid out to consumers, vendors, and other personnel who are actually hurt by a defective product (Lippincott, 2008). In addition, since the brand name is the most valuable asset or aspect of a business next to human capital it could take years for the company to rebuild its brand name. This means the company will spend more money and time to rebuild its brand name if it continues to sale the product. In addition the company will spend more time to replace the defective product with a new product.
The stakeholders involved would be everyone within and outside the company; these are the individuals who have an overall stake in the company’s profit and bottom line (Lippincott, 2008). In other words, the individuals who are involved in the overall business processes that include production, promotion, and utilization of the product will be affected (stakeholders) (Lippincott, 2008). The ethical responsibilities that both the company and Minnie has include notifying the consumers, their suppliers, distributors, the CPSC and they should also notify their employees so they will know how to handle the recall and not sale anymore defective fuel-line components. In addition, in steps should be taken to prevent any potential liability risks. On the other hand, the decision to repair the system should be considered if they have all the necessary parts to fix the defective product. If the product cannot be repaired the company can perform a recall and just pay the associated cost; it may be cheaper to perform this step than just creating a new product or risking the loss of customers and other costs.

References
Lippincott, K. M. (2008, September 15) Managing the risks of a defective product. Occupational Health and Safety. Retrieved from http://ohsonline.com/articles/2008/09/managing-the-risks-of-a-defective-product.aspx
U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2013, June 14). 2012 Annual report: To the President and Congress. Retrieved from United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, Maryland, Agency Reports website: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/About-CPSC/Agency-Reports/

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