Research Paper On Metal Whistles

Submitted By gowings19kp
Words: 1839
Pages: 8

Memo I would like to address the issues of the metal whistles in light of new information on traces of lead found in the product. As you know, the amount of lead included in the whistles was slightly above the U.S. legally acceptable limits for children ages 7 and younger. Shipment was scheduled to go out to schools in South America by the end of the week, just before the beginning of the school year. I see three possible alternatives to address the problem regarding the whistles. The first possibility is reproducing and repackaging all of the whistles before they are shipped out to schools in South America.
I arrived at this alternative because, although it is costly, I feel that this would be an ethical solution to the problem. Lead poisoning in children can cause anxiety, neuropathy, mental retardation, fatigue and even death. We pride ourselves on our relationships with our customers. Making this decision would prove that we will stand behind our products and that the safety of our consumers is in the forefront of our minds. Furthermore, it will show that we will take responsibilities for our mistakes by taking the right steps to remedy the situation. The advantages of this alternative are as follows. Showing that we will make right on our word and correct any mistakes we may makes sends a powerful message to our customers. Another advantage is that we are putting the safety of our consumers and the relationship of our customers at the forefront of our mind. The disadvantage of course is that the whistles will probably ship after the beginning of the school year begins. Furthermore, we will take a $100,000.00 loss.
The financial consequences of this alternative would equate to a large profit loss for the company. We would remedy the potentially unsafe situation by reproducing the toys without traces of lead, so therefore, the company would cover all bases and there would be no legal implications. We would be making the right decision ethically as well as legally. We would not send the toys out with traces of lead, to be used by innocent children. Even though the small traces of lead would probably do no harm, sending out the whistles with traces of lead would be unethical.
The second possibility would be re-packaging the whistles and stating on the package that the toy can only be used for ages 8 and up. At the same time, whistles could be reproduced for children age 7 and under. I selected this method because of the facts presented. At present, our whistles tested above the legally safe U.S. limits for children ages 7 and under. By packaging the whistles for children ages 8 and older, we are able to use the same whistles, save on reproduction fees and still be marketing the toy legally. The main advantage to this method is that we will not have to reproduce the toy for grades 3 and older, and we will still be able to ship to the schools in South America before the beginning of the school year. The disadvantage to this alternative is that kindergarten, first and most second-grade students would be unable to use the whistle, meaning that we would have to reproduce the whistles for these grades. The advantage to this method, however, is that the company would save on reproduction costs by only having to reproduce the whistles that will be used for lower elementary students.
Financially, this would put us in a better situation than remaking all of the toys would put us in. We would only repackage the initial whistles for ages 8 and up. We would run a brand new production to make the whistles for the children ages 7 and under. The company therefore would incur no loss at all, as all of the whistles with traces of lead could be eventually sold to children ages 8 and older. There would be no legal implications because the whistles that contained trace amounts of lead greater than the U.S. acceptable limit for children ages 7 and under would only be sold for the intended use by children ages