Ethics: Tylenol Recall Case of 1982 Developing high-quality business ethics is a crucial step in avoiding, resolving and preventing ethical problems. If companies focus on exceeding the standard expectations for ethical situations, they will be more likely to hold on to their current customers and might even attract new clientele. The Chicago Tylenol Recall is the perfect example of how the corrective actions a company takes may be able to save the reputation and restore the image it has worked hard to create. Johnson & Johnson was faced with a situation that was not necessarily theirs to blame. Someone, that was not associated with the company, had been tampering with the over-the-counter medicine. However, Tylenol took certain measures to illustrate to their consumers they were a trustworthy company that cares about their customers’ safety. The methods Johnson & Johnson used to handle the crisis had both positives and negatives, but overall, the company was able to regain the company’s image and become one of the most popular medications.
1. History and Background of Case In 1982, Chicago was hit by a string of deaths caused by tainted cyanide-filled capsules of Tylenol. Someone had been filling Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide and returning them to drug-store shelves (Tift and Griggs). By October of 1982, seven people had been killed by the poison-laced capsules (Meadows). This caused a wave of panic in the city, state, and country as it involved an extremely common household drug as well as causing a number of other incidents involving poisoned over-the-counter medication. This is what eventually led the Food and Drug Administration to enact anti-tampering policies and the passing of the Federal Anti-Tampering Act of 1983, which made it a crime to tamper with “packaged consumer products” (Meadows). To this day the murder goes unsolved. With the recent recall of Children’s Tylenol products, we are all reminded that we always must use over-the-counter medications with caution and be sure that all tamper seals are un-tampered with before using them.
2. How Johnson & Johnson Handled the Situation The deaths of these seven people caused by ingesting cyanide laced capsules of Extra-Strength Tylenol plunged Johnson and Johnson into an unimaginable organizational crisis. Yet the way in which the crisis was handled has become the gold standard by which all crisis management is now measured (Murray, Shohen, 15). Johnson and Johnson excelled at both crisis management and crisis communication during the Tylenol tampering incident, a remarkable feat considering the company did not have a formal crisis plan in place at the time of the murders (15). What Johnson & Johnson did have was a corporate credo that guided all organizational activities and decision-making (Fisher, 100). The credo begins simply with “our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services” (“The Top 10 PR Endeavors”). The desire to put public need before corporate need is the reason why Johnson & Johnson was able to survive a crisis that many thought would lead to the company’s demise. James Burke, CEO of Johnson and Johnson, assembled a strong strategy team to launch the response to the tragedy. Although the public and media did not fault Johnson & Johnson for the deaths after the FBI declared the poisonings an act of terror, consumer confidence in Johnson & Johnson needed to be restored (Murray, Shohen, 15). To that end, Burke went on the offensive and as a precaution, recalled thirty-one million bottles of Tylenol, ran full page advertisements discussing the crisis, set up toll free hotlines to answer questions and personally appeared in television ads and interviews to inform the public on what Johnson & Johnson were doing to control the situation (Murray, Shohen, 15). The public and media responded positively to Johnson & Johnson’s efforts because of Burke’s insistence on transparency in dealing with the crisis. When sales of Johnson & Johnson products began to decline, the company began an aggressive rebranding campaign. It introduced triple-safety-sealed tamper resistant packaging, sent sales representatives to make personal presentations to healthcare providers, distributed samples of Tylenol tablets to physicians to give to patients and began to offer free product coupons to consumers (Murray, Shohen, 18). This multi-faceted response to the crisis ensured that Johnson & Johnson and the Tylenol brand would successfully weather the crisis and remain a trustworthy and responsible company in the eyes of the public.
3. Positives About the Measures Taken Johnson & Johnson was certainly facing a crisis with the Tylenol brand and took important steps of crisis communication that lessened the damage to the brand and quickly restored its image. DiSanza and Legge note that two goals should be considered when applying crisis communication strategies. The first is to alleviate the human suffering and the second is to look to corporate survival but only after the first goal is achieved (263). The makers of Tylenol did exactly this. As Robin points out, “They removed the product from the market and bought back unused portions in order to protect the lives of their customers” (146). This allowed Johnson & Johnson to accomplish goal number one of alleviating human suffering and began the process of reaching goal number two while still considering the first goal. One strategy followed to this end was to accept responsibility for the problem, even before a cause was known. Snyder et al. note, “The company showed that it was willing to put the safety of consumers before any discussion of liability. It took responsibility via advertisements in newspapers and widespread television communication, and set up toll-free hotlines for consumers to call, disseminating over 450,000 electronic mail messages” (371). This act, to take responsibility for the problem without regard for the cost to the company, likely resulted in positive thoughts about the company. Another step that the makers of Tylenol took to ensure the survival of their brand while still considering the public’s safety was to take corrective action in future sales with new tamper-evident packaging. Once it was evident that the company itself was not directly responsible for the poisonings, they maintained indirect responsibility in that the product packaging, which they could control, could reduce or eliminate future occurrences. After the incidents, Kitchen notes, “Tylenol was then re-launched using innovative tamper-proof packaging and offering free replacements for disposed-of products” (26). Johnson & Johnson’s actions, while having a large upfront cost to the company, ensured the long-term success of the Tylenol brand by acting quickly to accept responsibility for the problem and to correct the problem, all while putting the public’s safety first.

Works Cited
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