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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS
Communication Arts Department

REACTION PAPER: JOHNSON & JOHNSON AND EXXON VALDEZ

Submitted by:

MARK ABELARD ARIAS BAUTISTA

Submitted to:

Prof. ROEL S. RAMIREZ, APR

July 12, 2012

1/9 I. Background Information/ Additional Perspectives
Johnson & Johnson: Tylenol Tylenol known as a kind of pain reliever also known as Acetaminophen and it may be used even without physician’s prescription. This pain reliever became controversial when an issue involving seven death people, cyanide, and Johnson & Johnson broke out on September 1982. In print, more than 125, 000 stories appeared describing the said issue. Johnson & Johnson is well-known industry in terms of health, medical devices, biological studies and pharmaceutical field. Way back on1960’s , Tylenol ended the almost a score dominance of P&G’s Crest toothpaste after being recognized as biggest-selling item in drug, food, and mass merchandising outlets. Focusing with the 1982 Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol issue, many business analysts predicted that the said issue would be detrimental for Johnson & Johnson’s perception from the public. In print media alone, 125,000 stories published regarding the Tylenol issue. Due to that eventuality, Johnson & Johnson decided to recoil the product within just six months to reclaim 30 % of the market. In spite of being sensational, suspects 2/9 had not been caught. Good thing for Johnson & Johnson was they able to adopt the principle of “consumer first, before anything else.” giving emphasis on the welfare of their consumers. In that view, the Tylenol issue did not put them to death but to credibility and eligibility to the eyes of the public.
Exxon Valdez The controversy regarding the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 10 million gallons of crude oil on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. The said incident resulted into environmental devastation seducing the international media to describe Exxon Corporation as the scoundrel. Due to lack of preparation and hesitation to deal with the media, Exxon Corp. was not able to clean their reputation for a week. Many viewed their company negatively. As a result, their CEO and Chairman Lawrence G. Rawl was criticized and blamed by the public. For an instant, during their shareholder’s meeting on May 1989, demonstrators gathered outside the hall together with the angry stockholders. Many of them are asking Rawl to resign and others suggested that he must donate some portion of his salary to clean-up the affected water.

3/9
Additional perspective:

II. Situational Analysis
Johnson & Johnson: Tylenol The controversy of Tylenol by Johnson & Johnson can be linked to the following matters: 1) Economic: The said issue covers economic, because Johnson & Johnson as we know is a corporation or an entity which may lose (through means of liabilities) or boost more capital (through the 4/9 flow of profit). By maintaining and saving the public confidence means protecting their prospect profit and provided capital. Aside from that, it talks about rebounding of products which caused lose for company because it is impractical to transport the recoiled products. 2) Social: The said issue is societal in nature. It affects people in such manner, where in the public alarmed with the cyanide infection in Johnson & Johnson Tylenol product. Based on history, Tylenol is one of the most in-demand products during that time. 3) Legal: For sure if we look at the statutes of United States, poisoning is not allowed or in any manner it is prohibited. As they investigate for justice against the suspect who did the said detrimental routine, they used the law enforcement upon their action. The things mentioned above were the situational analysis regarding the John-son & Johnson Tylenol controversy. It simply proved that the said case was categorized by different dimensions. However, using that determinants , they were able to save their reputation and regain it.

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Exxon Valdez The oil spill controversy made by Exxon Valdez can be linked to the following matters and dimensions:
1) Environmental: This is the most fitted dimension to be applied in Exxon Valdez’s case study. Since it is oil spill, there is body of water affected.
2) Economic: Aquatic resources are one of essential need for fishery sector. Losing those resources may result to degradation and deprivation of right to livelihood among fishermen.
3) Political: Public presumption is a form of political agenda already. It can influence the particular prime mover or a leader. In Socio-political Psychology, once the person or argument is dissonant, many leader or celebrity wants to promote themselves by getting their sympathy.

III. Implications/ Consequences/Parallelism/ Values Both cases are critical and unequal. One quite observable with Johnson & Johnson was their “rescue mentality”, using that expression , it implies the following:

6/9 a) They admitted promptly their problem with their products. By means of recoiling the product and public conducting of investigation, they maintain their reputation. b) `Proper utilization of media by conducting press conference and television shows appearance. c) Offering reward for investigation and punishments among the suspects. d) Product innovations done by using the triple-sealed packages making the Tylenol more secure and less expose to poisonous agents and the like. In over-all, Johnson & Johnson used smart and ethical public relation strategy because of the following justification: i) Consumers’ oriented relation – They increased their concern for the welfare of their consumers by focusing on their needs and not putting them to eminent danger. ii) Media possession – As what I’ve said in the preceded statement, proper utilization of media were used by meeting the press people and allowed them to be the news subject. Being a news subject 7/9 for an affected entity may help to uplift the company’s reputation. In contrary to the case above, Exxon Valdez took a left-hand Public Relations strategy. They used their silence as form of their strategy. They thought that silence may kill the issue. They too much relied on the basis of the human cliché, “Less talk, less action; Less mistake.” Since, they hide information, public presumes that they are really guilty or reliable with the problem. It resulted to “fire explosion.” Fire explosion means flaming the issue or simply sensationalism. As they used the low-profile approach made them worst, when there are many campaign from some politicians and media to consumers to cut-off their patronage to Exxon credit cards, Exxon received around six thousand cut-up cards, out of the seven million that were in use. As what the hand-outs directly indicated: “ Exxon failed to follow “Disaster Communication Rule # 1: Quickly takes charge of the news flow and give the public, by way of the news media, a credible, concerned and wholly committed person.” They waited for a month after they gave their

8/9 response and they presume themselves as irresponsible or innocent using the phrase, “I don’t know.” Another wrong action made by Exxon’s CEO Lawrence Rawl was the usage of representative to Alaska to discuss the matter on oil spill. Why he did not the one who appeared at Alaska since he is the highest or the supreme in the company. It made their company less concerned with the pollution problem.

IV. Conclusion Therefore, I conclude that Johnson & Johnson took the necessary measures to save their company’s reputation rather than Exxon Valdez who was being naïve in their reputation by disregarding the Disaster Communication # 1. V. Personal Learnings/ Insights Two clichés appeared to the two cases, “Honesty is the best policy” and “Silence in the midst of social problem is a sin.” I learned that immediate action should be performing without any hesitation like what Johnson & Johnson did in the person of their Chairman James Burke. They became 9/9 honest with the defect of the Tylenol products. Their honesty seems to be appeared as good practice, because it is a form of attribution or respect to their consumers. However, they did not admit that they were wrong by searching the suspect. In Public Relations, it is a mandate to have an immediate action to be performed and necessary person to resolve the issue. Not like what Exxon Valdez did was so precarious, when they became silent until the issue became bigger and bigger. They avoided to speak up and to clear up regarding with the controversy bringing them to suspicion limelight. Furthermore, they did not use proper authority to talk with the other party (Alaska) by not bringing their CEO talked to the said party face to face to settle the problem as soon as possible. I learned that Public Relations really coincide with mass media (Internet, Broadcast, and Print). We cannot deny that the said entity especially the broadcast is the one who is responsible for public perception and we must utilize it as what provided by the law.