Assignment Option 1 Defective Teddy Bear Case
Your company is a wholesale distributor of plush toys. During routine quality testing, you have found that a Teddy Bear you sell is defective. Specifically, the Teddy Bears nose can be easily detached from the body. As a result, there are two dangers to children. One, smaller children could swallow the nose, which is button sized. Two, the sharp pin hooks that attach the nose to the bears body are a more serious problem; these pin hooks pose a health and safety problem for all children, as these can be swallowed or could cause a puncture wound.
This problem only affects bears manufactured in Bangladesh. Other bears manufactured in Mexico, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are not affected. Customers can identify the country of origin by the way the bear is dressed and by other markings. Specifically, each bear is dressed in a vest decorated with the flag of the country in which it was manufactured. In addition, a country of origin label is sewn into the left side seam about waist level.
In total, you have purchased 6,300 of the Made in Bangladesh bears. A total of 3,900 bears are still in your warehouse. Of the remaining 2,400, 600 are still on store shelves and 1800 have been sold. The bears were all sold in Toronto area stores, though these may have been purchased by customers from anywhere in the world. You want customers to return the defective bears as soon as possible. They will be offered non defective bears or a full cash refund.
You are recalling these bears at your own initiative. There have not been any accidents, though you are concerned that a child could be seriously injured if these bears are not recalled as quickly as possible. A Parents Group is demanding that you recall all bears, wherever manufactured, as a precautionary measure.
Negative Publicity Package Elements
Develop a negative publicity package for this situation. The package should, at least, contain the following elements:
A briefing note for senior management that details the problems and the actions being taken to resolve these problems.
A prepared script for your staff who have direct contact with the public either in person or by phone.
A letter to retailers carrying this product telling them of the danger posed, the actions they must take to deal with this problem (e.g., pull the bears off the shelves immediately). This letter should also outline return and retailer compensation policies.
A press release outlining the problem and the action that defective bear owners must take.
An open letter to customers describing what the problem is and how you are resolving it.
A policy to deal with unjustified customer returns. Many times, customers will try to return non defective merchandise just to be on the safe side. You need to articulate what your policy will be in these circumstances.
A letter to the Parents Group.
A communications plan.
You may also want to include a diagram or other visuals to make your document easier to understand.
