...CASE: GS-63 DATE: 09/15/08 UNSAFE FOR CHILDREN: MATTEL’S TOY RECALLS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT We apologize to everyone affected by this recall, especially those who bought the toys in question. We realize that parents trust us with what is most precious to them—their children. And we also recognize that trust is earned. —Robert Eckert, CEO of Mattel, Inc.1 On August 2, 2007, Mattel announced a voluntary worldwide recall of 83 products in its Fisher- Price toy lines, including characters such as Dora the Explorer, and the Big Bird and Elmo characters from Sesame Street. The recall, which applied to approximately 1.5 million toys sold worldwide after May 1, 2007, was due to the use of excessive lead paint.2 Over the next month, Mattel announced six more recalls that covered toys with lead paint, as well as small magnets that could become loose and be ingested by children. In October, Mattel made yet another recall for lead paint contamination.3 All of the toys recalled had been manufactured in China. Two weeks after the August 2nd recall, the owner of the Chinese factory that had used the lead paint committed suicide. This series of recalls attracted widespread publicity, as well as political and consumer concerns that sometimes bordered on hysteria. Newspapers and television networks jumped on the story, interviewing concerned shoppers and showing toys being removed from shelves and parents bringing toys to stores for lead testing. Mattel‟s brand image took a serious...
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...of what we ultimately have the potential to become. According to Velasquez, et.al, (1998), “Virtues are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop this potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues”. Virtue ethics also does not provide guidance on how we should act, as there are no clear principles for guiding action other than “act as a virtuous person would act given the situation.” (2010). In this paper, I will address and define three of these virtues, apply each virtue respectively to the Mattel: GMP case, and describe which normative ethic was the most useful in evaluating the case. Courage, Fairness and Honesty According to Dictionary.com, courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. Courage is being brave in the face of adversity. Dictionary.com describes fairness as being of pleasing appearance, especially because of pure or fresh quality. Fairness is also having or exhibiting a disposition that is free of favoritism or bias; being impartial and just to all parties and consistent with rules, logic, or ethics. Being fair involves treating each individual the same. Lastly, Dictionary.com defines honesty as the quality of the fact of...
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...successful in external communications for business during such times? Compare & contrast two news stories which centre on a crisis for different businesses giving detailed analysis of each communications strategy. This Essay will begin by reviewing crisis definitions and message strategies. Next it will explore translation strategies used by organisations involved in a crisis to communicate with stakeholders. The essay will then consider Ford–Firestone’s tire failure crisis of 2000 as an example of poor crisis management, and contrast toy maker Mattel’s recall crisis of 2007 as an example of successful crisis management. It will first lie out the rhetorical context of each case before embarking on a detailed analysis equating the effectiveness of both firms’ external communications, and in the case of Ford-Firestone, how these might have been alternatively approached in order to avoid detrimental reputational damage. * Fink (1986, from King, 2000) defines an organisational crisis as ‘a situation that can potentially escalate in intensity, fall under close government or media scrutiny, jeopardize the current public image of the organisation or interfere with normal business operations.’ Pearson and Mitroff support this in their ‘five dimensions of a crisis’, explaining that the situation will be ‘highly visible, require immediate attention, have a surprise element, and a need for action’ (Pearson and Mitroff, 1993 from King, 2000). They also outline the five stages of...
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... Background Mattel founded in 1945 is one of the largest toy companies in the world (Fortune, 2008). Although Mattel is a major toy company, there are many unethical issues found. Firstly, Mattel`s products contained lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed (Mauro, 2007). Secondly, Mattel recalled toys frequently as there were five recalls in less than a year (Mattel.com, 2010). Thirdly, the packaging of Mattel`s product contributed to rainforest destruction (Jakarta, 2011). According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), these activities are unethical and violate 3 ethical values including responsibility, honesty and citizenship. Responsibility For responsibility, Mattel failed to accept the consequences of our marketing decision and strategies. Mattel did not recognize their special commitments to vulnerable market segments such as children who may be disadvantaged. First of all, on August 14 2007, Mattel`s product, the ‘Sarge’ cars, was discovered with lead paint and tiny magnets which are harmful and dangerous to children. Although the product was recalled, some of the products which are claimed passed still contain lead paint. However, Mattel minimized the impact of the use of lead paint. In fact, lead is toxic if ingested by children and there is no safe level of lead in them according to Dr. John Rosen, a lead poisoning specialist (Consumer news, 2007). Although the dangers of lead poisoning are hidden and unobservable, Mattel should take the...
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...About Mattel Mattel, “the world’s premiere toy company,” began in Southern California in a garage workshop that manufactured picture frames. When the company started selling dollhouse furniture made from picture frame scraps, they realized the market potential and decided switch to toy manufacturing. In 1959, Mattel created their most popular toy, the Barbie doll. Inspired by paper dolls, Barbie was a three dimensional doll with which “little girls could play out their dreams.” Throughout the decades Mattel has continued to create and market popular toys, (Hot Wheels and He-man) merge with successful manufacturers, (Fisher Price and Tyco) partner with children’s program companies, (Disney, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon) obtain licenses and rights to manufacture popular lines (Cabbage Patch Dolls and Harry Potter merchandise) and acquire other companies (Pleasant Company). Since its conception, the Mattel Company has done a lot to make sure it is considered a trustworthy company for children and the community. The corporation established a children’s charity, called the Mattel Children’s Foundation. In 1997 the company created the Global Manufacturing Principles, making them the first company to create a framework to ensure manufacturing would be conducted through consistent standards on a global level. In 1998 they started a $25 million multi-year donation to the UCLA children’s hospital, which is now called the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA. However, Mattel has not...
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...MATTEL: A Case Study | October 22 2012 | Case study discussion taken from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business “Unsafe for Children: Mattel’s Toy Recalls and Supply Chain Management” | Rob Breakiron Wenyao Ma Alek Shnayder Jiajie Wang | Contents Introduction 2 Why do companies outsource? 2 What were the primary causes of Mattel’s recall problems? Where these the result of outsourcing? 4 What actions were taken by the principals in the case to address the recall problems? Were these the right actions? Why, or why not? 5 What should Mattel do now? What should governments do? 7 How can accountability be better managed in long, global supply chains? 12 Introduction Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), the world’s largest toy company with over $12.5 billion in revenue, has grown from the little toy company it once was and has certainly come a long way since it was founded in 1945. The exponential world-wide growth has not always come without a hitch. In the late 2000’s Mattel was at a crossroads due to a significant toy recall problem, reaching far beyond the bottom line. During this case write up we discuss what went wrong, whose fault it was, and what can and should be done to not only fix the problem, but eliminate the chance of similar problems for Mattel and other firms in the future. Our case study will tackle the following five questions through in depth discussion: 1) Why do companies outsource? 2) What were the primary causes of Mattel’s...
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...Abstract In this paper I will analyze the case study of Mattel Inc. and their Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) and applying it to three different virtue ethics; fairness, honesty and justice. Then I will apply deontology, “always act in such a way that you can also will that the maxim of your action should become a universal law. Public concerns about worker exploitation and environmental degradation arose with the expansion of outsourcing and production in emerging economies where poverty, abundant labor, and need for job creation provided unprecedented opportunities for large multinational corporation (MNCs) to shift production from high-wage countries to low-wage countries. Starting with isolated complaints from civil society organizations, human rights groups, and organized labor in the mid-eighties, the anti-sweatshop movement became a major force by early nineties in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other industrially advanced countries. Global companies were under fire for operating factories with working conditions that violated basic human rights and labor laws in terms of wages and working conditions. Instances of worker exploitation and employment of underage workers were widespread. Mattel was in the middle of all of this and had also taken steps to respond to public concerns with regard to sweatshop-like conditions and worker exploitation in toy manufacturing factories in China and other developing countries. These efforts were quite similar...
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...Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative University of New Mexico http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu Mattel Responds to Ethical Challenges INTRODUCTION Mattel, Inc. is a global leader in designing and manufacturing toys and family products. Well-known for brands such as Barbie, Fisher-Price, Disney, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tyco, Cabbage Patch Kids, and board games, the company boasts nearly $5.9 billion in annual revenue. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, with offices across the world, Mattel markets its products in over 150 nations. It all started in a California garage workshop when Ruth and Elliot Handler and Matt Matson founded Mattel in 1945. The company started out making picture frames, but the founders soon recognized the profitability of the toy industry and switched their emphasis to toys. Mattel became a publicly owned company in 1960, with sales exceeding $100 million by 1965. Over the next forty years, Mattel went on to become the world’s largest toy company in terms of revenue. In spite of its overall success, Mattel has had its share of losses over its history. During the mid to late 1990s, Mattel lost millions to declining sales and bad business acquisitions. In January 1997, Jill Barad took over as Mattel’s CEO. Barad’s management-style was characterized as strict and her tenure at the helm proved challenging for many employees. While Barad had been successful in building the Barbie brand to $2 billion by the end of the 20th century, growth slowed in the early 21st...
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...Environment Case Study Analysis Kaplan University School of Business MT460 Management Policy and Strategy Introduction In 1944, Elliot and Ruth Handler decided to capitalize on the big baby boom that World War II had caused. They went after the toy market and founded the Mattel Brand. They started out simple with a few essential toys such as Barbie and Hot Wheels. The reception was great and their brand of product took off in the toy market. Throughout the years, the Mattel Company saw profits along with facing many hardships. Management changes brought uncertainty and even more hard times to the company as the world’s focus shifted to the quality and safety of products (Teagarden, 2008). Oversight and poor follow-up with Mattel’s overseas Chinese plants and company designs brought this once respectful top of the market toy manufacture to be looked upon in a negative manner amongst their consumers. Mattel’s Recall of Toys from China and Store Shelves July 13, 2007, Jim Walter, Senior Vice President of Mattel’s worldwide quality assurance, brought disturbing news to Bob Echert the CEO of Mattel at the time. After a customary inspection of the Sarge die-cast toy car in Europe, they had found above federal standard levels of lead in the paint of the car (Teagarden, 2008). Bob Echert new trouble was ahead for the company, but had no idea the enormous effect it would have. The Sarge toy car was just the start of the problems that Mattel would face...
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...Unit 4 Mattel’s China Experience Case Study Analysis MT460 Management Policy and Strategy Professor: Dr. Margery Mayer Date: June 18, 2011 In 1944, based in California, Ruth and Elliot Handler founded Mattel after World War II. In the 1950’s, Mattel start advertising on Mickey Mouse Club with their core product being Barbie. Barbie was named after their daughter Barbara’s nickname. In the 1960, Mattel became publicly owned and in 1965, their sales top $100 million the company now qualified as a Fortune 500 company. Mattel is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and marketing of toys and family products across the world. The company's key global brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels, American Girl, and Fisher-Price. The company operates in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. It is headquartered in El Segundo, California and employs 27,000 people. (xplosivestocks.com) The start or recovery from damage done to the well-known brand due to recalls. After paying $40 million dollars in recalls for more than 19 million toys in China, Mattel was in a crisis. Their stock was dropping, lawsuits, media attacks, lost sales, and increased expense of litigation cost. Mattel was now suffering from a tarnished brand name and customer loyalty. Mattel’s challenges included convincing parents that child safety and product safety is more important that revenue, form an alliance with Chinese suppliers and the government to create honorable quality control solutions, improve...
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...| Good Business Ethics | [Type the document subtitle] | | [Type the author name] | | Table of Contents Table of Contents------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Executive Summary-----------------------------------------------------------------2 Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Research Finding #1 Why strong ethical decisions are important to companies. ----4 Research Finding #2 How Ethics affect the bottom lines---------------------------------5 Research Finding # 3 How does a Company Keep Everyone on the Same Ethical Road? ----6 Recommendations-------------------------------------------------------------------9 Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------10 References----------------------------------------------------------------------------11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Business ethics have a strong impact on all companies. When a company is written up for unethical performances the profitability of the company will be affected in a negative way. Every business needs to have a code of ethics that relates to its mission statement. An employee code of ethics does not tell an employee how to handle or micromanage every situation that may arise. A good code of ethics starts with the company’s mission statement. The company can take its mission statement and intertwine the company’s...
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...forested countries with a wide variety of forest types. These forests are rich in biodiversity and unsurprisingly are an important livelihood source for a great number of people. Somewhere between 6 million and 30 million Indonesians are estimated to be directly dependent on forests (Sunderlin et al. 2000). As Indonesia is a developing country, the government is highly dependent on the forestry sector, as well as forestry-related sectors such as agriculture, estate crops, mining and logging. Consequently, during Indonesia’s history, its forests have been continually exploited, meaning deforestation and forest degradation have been inevitable. This paper will emphasize on deforestation caused by various world famous toy manufacturers, such as Mattel, Disney, Hasbro and Lego. The usage of MTH (Mixed Tropical Hardwood) in their packaging means rainforest clearance in Indonesia, since MTH is only pulped at commercial scales in Indonesia, mainly by APP (Asia Pulp & Paper). Not only deforestation is caused, but this deforestation is also pushing critically endangered wildlife like Sumatran tigers toward extinction and making climate change worse. The Producer: APP APP or Asia Pulp & Paper is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. APP has its roots since the 1970s, and with the founder’s close relation to Indonesia’s former president Soeharto, APP’s access to be the pioneer in Indonesia’s pulping industry was very promising. Now, with 14 major companies in...
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...The 2007 Mattel Toy Recall RESEARCH About Mattel Mattel, “the world’s premiere toy company,” began in Southern California in a garage workshop that manufactured picture frames. When the company started selling dollhouse furniture made from picture frame scraps, they realized the market potential and decided switch to toy manufacturing. In 1959, Mattel created their most popular toy, the Barbie doll. Inspired by paper dolls, Barbie was a three dimensional doll with which “little girls could play out their dreams.” Throughout the decades Mattel has continued to create and market popular toys, (Hot Wheels and He-man) merge with successful manufacturers, (Fisher Price and Tyco) partner with children’s program companies, (Disney, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon) obtain licenses and rights to manufacture popular lines (Cabbage Patch Dolls and Harry Potter merchandise) and acquire other companies (Pleasant Company). Since its conception, the Mattel Company has done a lot to make sure it is considered a trustworthy company for children and the community. The corporation established a children’s charity, called the Mattel Children’s Foundation. In 1997 the company created the Global Manufacturing Principles, making them the first company to create a framework to ensure manufacturing would be conducted through consistent standards on a global level. In 1998 they started a $25 million multi-year donation to the UCLA children’s hospital, which is now called the Mattel Children’s...
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...(US, Canada & American Girl) $7.1B Fisher-Price Core Entertainment Other Girls $7.1B Europe Wheels 2013 Gross Sales by Brand Source: Mattel 2013 10-K 2013 Gross Sales by Region 2013 Financials At-A-Glance $7,117.8 $2.58 $7,052.6 12 $6,841.1 11 $2.22 $2.18 13 11 12 13 Gross Sales Source: Mattel 2013 10-K Gross Sales History (in millions) Gross Margin Operating Margin Earnings per Share Total Shareholder Return (TSR) (For the Year Ending December 31, 2013) Mattel, Inc. S&P Source: Thomson Reuters 1 Year 34% 32% 3 Year 28% 16% 5 Year 29% 18% 10 Year 13% 7% 2013 Annual Report MATTEL, INC. For nearly seventy years, Mattel has been inspiring imaginations, fueling the innovative spirit and creating the future of play for millions of children around the world. Today, Mattel, Inc. and its family of companies comprise the world’s largest toy company with a strong portfolio of brands and toys that children and their parents have cherished for generations. Our portfolio includes some of the most iconic toys of all time, from Barbie® and Hot Wheels®, to American Girl®, Fisher-Price® and Thomas & Friends®. Parents trust Mattel to deliver hours of fun for their children, and our shareholders trust us to bring long-term value to their investment. Mattel led the toy industry with $7.1 billion in gross sales in 2013, and had more than $900 million in net income, nearly 30,000 employees in offices across 40...
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...Question 3 Choose a brand where its core product is primarily for kids e.g. The Wiggles, Thomas and Friends, Hello Kitty etc. Write a paper on how it has diffused throughout the product categories and how it has extended to other categories as well. Do a case study of its success (or failure) and how it has changed the landscape of product innovations. For example, Thomas and friends has clothes, stationery, household products, jewellery etc. *** She is a successful independent woman, who lives in a world of pink, where she owns a dream house in Malibu. Every day, she wears high-heels to work, and even runs a fashion chain under her name. For many, she was the influential icon of American culture in the late 20th century. Until now, I dare say that her image is still very potent worldwide. Who is she? Never before has she ever starred in a Hollywood movie or performed at a famous fashion show. Surprisingly, she never exists in real life and she is literally a toy. Yes, it can hardly be any other toy but Barbie. Nowadays, girls can be seen wearing Barbie clothing, using Barbie perfume, carrying Barbie backpacks, and sleeping in Barbie pajamas, not to mention cosmetics, sneakers etc. (Morgenson 1991, 66). Mattel, Inc., the mother company of Barbie, should feel proud of her. Because on average, an American girl has ten Barbie dolls, a British or Italian girl may own seven, while five is the number of Barbie that a German or French girl has. It was Mattel’s purpose and will...
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