Question

Vice President of Public Relations
You are the most recent addition to the management staff at NFG, having been with the company for just three years. You obtained a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in communications from Florida State University. Prior to working with NFG, you handled public relations at a nonprofit organization for five years. You took this job because you thought it would be a personal challenge to represent a larger, for-profit business. Besides, you were raised in Nebraska, and you are a farmer at heart.
Nearly six months ago, you learned that the company had developed and released a product that has some safety concerns. Most department heads were not concerned about the problem because of a lack of solid evidence that a danger existed. You have been monitoring the situation, although it has not been your highest priority due to recent union negotiations. Recently, the CEO informed you that a corporate meeting is imminent. As the vice president of public relations, it is your responsibility to gain information about public opinion to present to the CEO. As you begin to collect this information, you find disturbing news. Many consumers don’t trust NFG because of its handling of a chemical spill five years ago. Additionally, many rumors are circulating about NFG’s hiring practices.
You know that a single negative event can wipe out a company’s reputation and destroy favorable customer attitudes established through years of expensive advertising campaigns and other promotional efforts. In this situation, you need to minimize the negative publicity yet still address the media. You suddenly wish the company had developed a crisis plan before this happened.
The CEO has called an all-hands emergency meeting at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. You are expected to bring all knowledge of this situation with you for discussion and creation of a comprehensive action plan.

I need help identifying the ethical problem,
collect relevant information
evaluate the information
act or implement
make a decision
consider alternatives
renew the actions

Answer 1

Answering the three questions, student has posed at the end of the case study.

1. identifying the ethical problem
2. collect relevant information
3. evaluate the information

Identifying the ethical problem:

Inspite of reports by the field service manager about potential of accidents due to operating the Turbo Tiller without the guard, management has turned a deaf ear to the concerns.

Collect relevant info:

1) NFG had introduced an upgrade to its flagship product Ultra Tiller called Turbo Tiller to keep up with declining market share

2) Due to the timing of the release with the tilling season, the R&D process was shortened and manufacturing department was pressurized to produce high quantities of products

3) Manufacturing department also required to employ a safety shield design from the Ultra Tiller. It protects user from tilling blades, but is cumbersome to remove in order to clean the product.

4) All product documentation warns against operating the tiller without the shield, and the product itself has three distinct warning labels on it. Modifications are now available that allow for the shield to be removed and replaced quite easily, and these modifications are covered by the factory warranty. However, most owners have elected to operate the Turbo Tiller without the safety shield after its first cleaning.

5) Over the last year, a number of farm animals have been killed by Turbo Tillers being operated without the guard. A seven year old boy required arm amputation after he fell off the till.

6) The above events and other cases like chemical spill and corrupt hiring practices have led to decrease in popularity of NFG.

Evaluate the information:

1) Considering the timing of the release and high pressure to meet deadlines for the manufacturing department, it is highly likely that quality may have been compromised over the quantity. Here, it is important to assess if NFG employs a quality control department to impose periodic quality checks on the products produced.

2) The Turbo shield was a mandatory addition to meet product specifications. Was the design altered appropriately to suit requirements of Turbo Tiller against the Ultra Tiller? Considering that farmers find it cumbersome to re-install the shield once removed, are design alterations required for smoother fit with Turbo Tiller?

3) Although statistically Turbo Tiller is relatively safe to use even without the shield, why has management turned a deaf ear to the earlier reports of accidents before that of the seven year old boy. Was a major accident required to justify the safety implications of the Tiller?

4) How was the case related to the chemical spill handled earlier? Was it buried similarly until it became a news headline or were preventive measures being discussed to avoid such cases.

All the above data should be discussed effectively in the meeting to arrive at the action items and final decision.