Case study of 2007 Mattel toy recall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case study of 2007 Mattel toy recall - Essay Example The result was that the company had to recall the major part of its production as the toys manufactured by the contractors contained toxic components. For instance, its toy Sarge contained high levels of lead, and some other items such as Batman, Polly Pocket and Doggie Daycare contained powerful magnets that could be easily swallowed by children. This paper will analyze to what extent Mattel Inc demonstrated its legal and ethical responsibility while responding to the issue. It will also discuss the role of other parties involved. Finally, the paper will suggest an essential approach for the society to ensure that their children are protected from harmful toys. 1. Evidently, Mattel acted in a responsible way by performing a series of product recalls in 2007. Although the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Mattel’s five initial recalls on August 14, subsequently, on 4th September, Mattel announced the recall of other items that contained lead and harmful magnets (Case study). This was the real indication of the firm’s ethical and social responsibility toward the entire world. At the same time, the incident shows that Mattel must reconsider its outsourcing or international business strategies. Evidently, Mattel did not clearly analyze the risk factors associated with outsourcing business in China. It also failed to forecast the likeliness of â€Å"quality compromise† while choosing Chinese contractors. These strategic flaws cause people to doubt the ethical accountability of the firm as well as the effectiveness of current regulations. Although Mattel’s strategic decision on producing toys in China flawed, the way the firm responded to the 2007 issue was very substantial. Mattel has been very keen on maintaining its public transparency despite certain issues such as that of the 2007 recall. As Lawrence and Weber (2010) point out, in 1997 Mattel developed its own detailed code of conduct and since then, it added i ts genuine effort to comply with the code in every aspect with the extended help from ICCA, an independent audit firm. For instance, the issue associated with Mexican plants, where workers complained that they had to â€Å"stand without a break for eight hours a day,† was immediately addressed by the company in a very reasonable way (p. 104). As per the SICCA report, Mattel Inc in 1997 defined its â€Å"global code of conduct (Global Manufacturing Principles) for its production facilities and contract manufactures†; and the GMP â€Å"covers such issues as wages and hours, child labor, forced labor, discrimination, freedom of association, legal and ethical business practices, health and safety, protection of the environment, and respect for local culture, values, and traditions† (SICCA, 2010). Again, as the case study states, in China itself Mattel had its own facilities and special test labs for testing the quality of the products; and the company had its own sp ecific standards with regard to the levels of lead in paint. Undoubtedly, the company initiated an extensive investigation in â€Å"July after a European retailer found that paint on a Mattel product† (Case study). Moreover, the company never wanted to hide its fault and instead, informed the world that it was earnestly trying to resolve the issue in union with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United States and other