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Mattel’s Lead Paint Crisis: 5 Lessons Learned

Mattel's lead paint crisis: 5 lessons learned.

Learning from Mattel’s lead paint crisis can be a useful training tool. However, when it’s your company’s name being tossed around in discussions of what not to do, you need to do something…fast.

Learning from the faults of others can be a useful training tool. In 2007, toy company Mattel embarked on four major product recalls. The recalls were the result of large quantities of lead found in the paint used in a number of their products. Mattel, like many other companies, uses contractors in China to manufacture products.

This case raises supply chain concerns, bringing to light the importance of quality control and keeping an eye on the actions of your overseas operations and partners.

Here are the five lessons learned from Mattel's lead paint crisis.

Don't be among the companies that learn these lessons the hard way.

Mattel isn't the only company to have been exposed to regulatory and reputational risk. Download the free eBook, "The Unlucky 13: Lessons Learned from Companies Caught in the Act."

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1. Always Act Fast

Confront the issues, don’t hide from them.

In Mattel’s case, the company was very public about the recalls and the CEO even issued a public apology. A quick reaction makes it easier for companies to cope with and take control of the situation. Reacting quickly helps companies score "bonus points" with the public, slightly reducing the negative impact that the recall has on the company's reputation.

When companies are slow to react or spend most of their time placing blame on others, the public reacts negatively, criticizing companies for their negligence and irresponsibility.  A quick reaction won't solve all of your problems, but failing to do so, will open up a new can of worms to deal with.

2. Keep an Eye on Your Supply Chain

To save on costs, Mattel has shipped manufacturing overseas to China. Having multiple offices and operation sites makes it difficult to keep an eye on day-to-day operations.

According to the Financial Times Press article " Trouble in Toyland: New Challenges for Mattel--and 'Made in China' ," one of the main issues in the lead paint crisis at Mattel was that the Chinese contractors had subcontracted the painting of the toys to another company that used inferior and unauthorized products. A lot of companies get caught in similar traps.

RELATED: Effective Incident Management: How to Prepare for a Business Crisis

3. Take Responsibility

Take the blame. Public finger pointing isn't going to get you anywhere.

According to the CPSC, Mattel's CEO said that the company was increasing the aggressiveness of toy testing methods, which would likely result in additional recalls as a precautionary measure.

4. Tighten Regulations and Inspections

In the Wall Street Journal article, “ Mattel Settles Suit Over Lead in China-Made Toys ,” author John Kell writes:

“Toy makers were hurt by a number of product recalls in 2007, leading to millions of dollars in costs for testing, legal expenses, advertising and product returns. Mattel recalled millions of toys that year, including those produced under licenses for characters including Elmo, Big Bird, Barbie and Polly Pocket. The issue later led to mandatory federal toy-safety standards, which included testing and tough new regulations for lead and chemicals in products intended for children under 12.”

5. Take Action and Communicate

During a crisis, such Mattel's lead paint crisis, business leaders may say that changes are going to be made and policies will be followed more consistently, but do they actually follow up on their word once the storm has passed?

Give weekly updates and use the power of social media to communicate to consumers about the progress your company makes as it works toward a solution. If 100 products have been tested, let the public know. Control the media and communicate your commitment to your consumers. It's never more important than in a time of crisis to communicate and reassure the public.

BP: Cleaning Up Its Spills

Best practices in supplier responsibility: ibm, the importance of supply chain ethics and compliance, ethics and values best practices: timberland, related resources, what is sb 553 answers to your california compliance questions, how to prevent workplace violence with incident management software.

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Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis ^ P59

Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

mattel crisis management case study

Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis ^ P59

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Publication Date: July 29, 2008

In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the precautions Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, took to ensure the safety of its toys. In contrast to other toymakers, Mattel owned the factories in China where its most popular toys, such as Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, were made. Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. In each situation, Mattel must weigh legal, ethical, and business considerations in determining how to best react.

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Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Solution & Answer

Home » Case Study Analysis Solutions » Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

In late 2006 and early 2007, a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With the problems of safety of Chinese imports into the minds of readers, July 26, 2007, the New York Times published an article about Mattel, the largest toy manufacturer in the world precautions taken to ensure the safety toys . Unlike other toy makers, Mattel has factories in China where its most popular, such as Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels toy cars were made. Mattel precautions, however, were not enough to protect the health hazards in toys made in China. This case follows a series of security products gaffes, mainly high lead levels around that Mattel to its various suppliers in China. In each situation, Mattel must weigh the legal, ethical and professional considerations in determining the best way to respond. by David P. Baron Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business 8 pages. Release: July 29, 2008. Prod #: P59-PDF-ENG Mattel: crisis management solution or crisis case management

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The Most Useful Crisis Management Examples: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

By Andy Marker | August 19, 2020

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Review crisis management examples to learn from others’ experiences with this comprehensive collection of case studies. Examples are organized by theme, and include crisis management successes and failures.

In this article, find crisis management examples organized by best practice , five of the costliest crises ever (and what was learned) , and examples of companies that have built the world’s most valuable brands by safeguarding their reputations.

What Is Crisis Management?

Crisis management refers to the practice of preparing for negative incidents, minimizing their damage and disruption, and getting an organization back on track as quickly as possible. Crisis managers anticipate likely threats and develop strategies to cope with their impact. To read more about crisis management please visit our "The Essential Guide to Crisis Management" article.

Effective Crisis Management Examples

Effective crisis management occurs when an organization employs skillful planning and a proactive response to avert a crisis entirely, limit its severity and duration, or turn it into an opportunity. These examples feature organizations that responded with transparency and agility.

CPG Product Crisis Management Example: Tylenol Product Tampering

In 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Tylenol capsules poisoned with cyanide. The tampering was believed to have occurred when someone injected the chemical into capsules and returned them to store shelves. The deaths remain unsolved, but the way Johnson & Johnson handled the episode has become a teaching case study for effective crisis management at Harvard Business School and elsewhere. In 2003, Fortune magazine named James Burke, the company’s CEO at the time, as one of history’s greatest CEOs for the way he handled the scare. 

Below are some highlights of Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the crisis:

  • Fast and Decisive Action: According to a book on the case by Harvard Professor Richard Tedlow, on the afternoon of the first two deaths, the company halted all product advertising, sent 450,000 messages to hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other stakeholders, and established toll-free hotlines for consumers. At a cost of more than $100 million, the company recalled all products from store shelves — one of the first nationwide recalls — even though government officials felt that doing so was excessive. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson issued warnings to consumers not to take its pain reliever. 
  • Honesty and Integrity: Despite evidence that the poison was introduced via store shelves, Johnson & Johnson did not try to evade blame. As a result, Burke was praised for his honesty. His integrity stood out in the context of the post-Nixon era and the unforthright handling of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster. The company became a pioneer in developing tamper-proof packaging, and eventually moved away from capsules to a more tamper-resistant caplet. Burke was candid in expressing regret that the company had not done so right away. 

In less than a year, Tylenol regained its market share and sales leadership, and according to a BrandSpark study, it continues to rank highly for consumer trust.  

For a comprehensive look at crisis management in the Tylenol deaths, see this profile of Burke’s leadership and analysis of Johnson & Johnson communications .

Healthcare Crisis Management Example: Global Pandemic

While the global pandemic that began in late 2019 challenged many organizations, the calamity also highlighted examples of strong crisis management. 

The Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi operates as a U.S. medical center in the United Arab Emirates. The hospital faced COVID-19 early in its migration beyond China. The clinic responded quickly in order to both expand its emergency capacity and continue providing care for cancer and transplant patients, as well as for those with other complex needs. 

Dr. Rakesh Suri, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, says that forming a crisis management team (that included individuals from all levels of the organization) was a critical step, as doing so enabled the hospital to act with agility. The medical center also coordinated with other local hospitals to maximize resources and play to each institution’s strengths. 

The executive team took extra steps to take care of staff, including talking honestly about their emotional challenges and providing sleeping rooms, meditation space, online workouts, nutritious food, counseling, and childcare. 

An in-depth case study on the hospital surfaced several lessons, including the importance of preparing for worst-case scenarios, leaders empowering their teams to solve problems innovatively, encouraging candor, proactively engaging all stakeholders, and taking care of physical and mental well-being. 

In business, companies had to pivot quickly as the pandemic changed the marketplace. A 2020 Harvard Business School study of 350 senior executives in China who faced the crisis early found some key commonalities among those who managed effectively, including the following:

  • Improve decision-making by moving away from the hierarchical model.
  • Collaborate in new ways with customers, suppliers, regulators, and even competitors.
  • Support remote work by changing company culture to prioritize trust and results over command-and-control and physical presence. 
  • Ask employees to self-select for challenging assignments in order to get maximum ownership and motivation. 
  • Embed new learning and innovative digital strategies that arise in a crisis into your organization’s muscle memory.

Examples of Bad Crisis Management (and What They Teach Us)

In contrast, examples of poor crisis management are usually marked by fundamental errors in preparation or execution of an emergency plan — and sometimes both. Often, these problems compound, which only multiplies the scale of the crisis. 

This is especially true in so-called black swan events — incidents that are extremely rare, have severe consequences, and are generally perceived in hindsight to have been obvious to happen. Since the likelihood of a black swan event occurring is low, leaders may dismiss the risk (if they are even conscious of it). But, the grave consequences of black swan events can pose a much larger threat.

Following are real-world examples of weak crisis management and the lessons crisis managers can take from them.

Natural Disaster Crisis Management Example: Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans, causing more than $100 billion in property damage and killing more than 1,800 people. Even though the hurricane began as a natural disaster, the scale of the catastrophe was man-made. Various analyses of the response, including a report by Congress, focused on weak aspects of the crisis management and highlighted the following important lessons:

  • Preparation Is Key: In 2006, a study by the Army Corps of Engineers found that the levees built to protect New Orleans from flooding were incorrectly engineered, poorly built, and insufficiently funded. Additionally, government officials who were aware of the storm forecast did not make provisions to evacuate residents who did not have cars or could not afford bus fare, which left tens of thousands of vulnerable people stuck in the city. The government also didn’t position enough emergency supplies in New Orleans ahead of the storm.
  • Train Your Crisis Team: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was led by officials who were political appointees and had no experience in disaster management. A congressional review found that agencies handling the response were unsure of their roles and responsibilities. Government agencies failed to learn from a drill of a similar hurricane hitting New Orleans the previous year. 
  • Simplify Communications and Decision Making: Federal and local crisis managers struggled to communicate due to equipment failure and incompatible technologies. Confusion among different levels of government paralyzed decision making. Ultimately, the crisis plan was too complex — with 29 federal agencies playing a role, duties were unclear and too much red tape hampered efforts. 
  • Act Quickly but Not Rashly: About $2 billion spent by FEMA in Hurricane Katrina was wasted or fraudulently claimed, according to a New York Times analysis. In many ways, this was a symptom of a poorly planned and executed crisis response. For example, FEMA ordered $100 million in excess ice that truckers shuttled around the country for weeks while the agency tried to figure out where it should go (after storing it for two years, the government melted the ice). Additionally, the agency spent $7.9 million to renovate a former army base as a shelter in Alabama that only 10 people stayed at (the shelter closed within a month). Half of the mobile homes ordered as temporary housing — at a cost of $430 million — went unused.

For in-depth case study of Hurricane Katrina crisis management, see “Katrina and the Federal Emergency Management Agency: A Case Study in Organizational Failure. ”

Industrial Disaster Crisis Management Example: Bhopal Gas Leak

In 1984, a toxic gas leak from a Union Carbide India pesticide plant in Bhopal, India killed up to 30,000 people from immediate and long-term effects (according to estimates) and injured about 575,000. The accident is one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. 

The leak was caused by the introduction of water into a chemical tank, which resulted in a heat-generating, runaway reaction. Several inquiries found evidence of company negligence, but an internal analysis blamed employee sabotage. 

Researchers have written extensively about the accident, and some of the lessons cited are universally helpful in crisis management, including the following:

  • Rehearse Emergency Procedures: The plant did not have an emergency plan, and plant operators did not know how to handle an emergency. No effective public warning system or public education about the risks were in place. 
  • Prioritize Crisis Readiness: The company reduced training and staffing at the plant to save costs. Supplies of gas masks were inadequate, and several plant safety mechanisms were either deactivated or faulty. Additionally, several experts found that there weren’t enough operators for the unit to function safely. On the night of the accident, the supervisor delayed investigating an initial small leak until after a crew break, rather than being proactive. 
  • Share Information: A U.S. Union Carbide plant found earlier in the year that a runaway reaction in the chemical tank could happen, but they didn’t communicate it to the India plant. When the leak occurred, plant staff did not inform senior managers or local authorities. Most of the information on the chemical involved, including how to treat exposure, was proprietary and was not disclosed. So, public health authorities and hospitals in Bhopal did not know immediately what victims had been exposed to (and therefore couldn’t provide the best antidotes).   

For in-depth case studies on the Bhopal accident, see Union Carbide Corp.’s site dedicated to the tragedy, as well as “ An Analysis of the Bhopal Accident” and “ The Bhopal Disaster and Its Aftermath .”

Five of the Most Costly Corporate Crises and Their Lessons

In addition to the human toll, a crisis can also be financially devastating for a company and its shareholders. Aside from direct costs, businesses may face fines, damage claims, legal settlements, damage to brand value, exodus of key revenue-generating staff, competitive disadvantages, and stock price declines. 

Social media has compounded these effects. A study by Pentland Analytics that compared corporate crises in 2000 and 2018 found that social media amplified damage, doubling the loss of shareholder value (from a 15 percent to a 30 percent decline in the first year after a crisis). 

The most costly crises have multi-dimensional financial impacts. Following are some examples of calamities that caused extensive financial damage to the companies.

Five of the Most Expensive Corporate Crises and their Lessons

1. Example: BP Deepwater Horizon

In 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 employees and causing an oil leak that lasted for three months. This is the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. 

The oil spill devastated the environment and tourism. Damage to the environment has been long-lasting — one study valued the impact at $17.2 billion . The spill also caused billions of dollars in negative economic impact on tourism in the region. Meanwhile, the financial toll for the company included the following costs:

  • Through early 2020, BP paid about $70 billion in clean-up costs, legal settlements, and fines.  
  • In the two months after the spill, the company’s shareholders lost $105 billion as its stock price plummeted. 
  • For a time, the company’s survival was in question. Its bonds crashed in value, and the company had to stop paying dividends for three quarters.
  • In the United States, the BP brand faced a backlash from consumers, and BP gas stations saw sales drop 10 to 40 percent in the immediate aftermath of the spill.
  • BP had to reduce its business spending for years, which analysis said put it behind competitors such as Shell, whose brand value rose 24 percent that year, according to Interbrand. BP dropped from the second-largest global oil company in 2010 to fourth, where it has remained.

Crisis Management Lesson: Create a Safety Culture Studies have attributed the accident to a series of human mistakes and technical failures in the context of a high-risk corporate culture and weak regulatory supervision . The studies noted overconfidence on the part of BP, based on many years of not having an offshore well blowout in deep water. They also cite a lack of planning for low-probability, high-impact oil spills.

Operators and managers grew accustomed to normalizing signs of potential trouble and ignored weak signals of looming disaster. Alarm systems on the rig were suppressed, and crucial equipment was not properly maintained. The Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California Berkeley blamed the absence of a safety culture and shortsighted prioritization of the bottom line. According to the center’s report, BP “forgot to be afraid.”

2. Example: Wells Fargo

For 14 years, until the practice was exposed in 2016, hundreds of thousands of Wells Fargo employees opened customer accounts without consent to meet sales targets and generate fees for the bank. The financial consequences included the following:

  • The bank paid more than $7 billion to settle government investigations and private lawsuits. 
  • Wells Fargo lost business from the state governments of California and Illinois, as well as from the cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, and Seattle, among others who cited the illegal behavior as the reason. 
  • In response to the scandal, in 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed a limit on the bank’s growth, putting Wells Fargo at a competitive disadvantage and costing it an unknown amount of potential increase in customers and loans.
  • The company lost $220 billion in stock market value in the two and a half years after the enforcement action. The stock hit a 10-year low in May 2020, faring far worse than its peers.  
  • The bank has racked up heavy expenses related to the crisis, including legal fees, investigation costs, and spending on an ad campaign aimed at restoring consumer trust.

Crisis Management Lesson: Live Up to Your Company Values to Avoid Scandals According to the government, Wells Fargo executives were aware of the abuses as early as 2002, but failed to act despite espousing a culture of integrity. The executives imposed such aggressive sales targets for staff that many employees said they felt they had no choice but to engage in the illegal practices. The government is pursuing some individual executives for their roles. 

For an in-depth discussion, you can read the full report issued by the U.S. House of Representatives .

3. Example: Equifax

In 2017, Equifax, a credit reporting bureau, suffered a data breach that gave hackers access to sensitive personal information for 147 million consumers. The incident was the most expensive data security breach to date. In 2020, four members of China’s People’s Liberation Army were indicted in the United States in the breach. 

  • The company had $1.7 billion in legal settlements, fines, fees for consultants, lawyers, and investigators, and the cost of providing credit monitoring and identity protection to consumers. 
  • In the week after Equifax disclosed the breach, the company lost $5.3 billion in market valuation as its stock price declined 31 percent. 
  • For the first time ever, a credit rating agency downgraded its outlook on a company over cybersecurity concerns. A credit rating downgrade increases a company’s borrowing costs. Moody’s dropped its rating on Equifax to negative from stable in 2019, two years after the breach, citing continued high costs related to the hack. Moody’s further projected that the spending would continue to hurt Equifax’s profitability. 

Crisis Management Lesson: Take Crisis Prevention and Planning Seriously A congressional investigation found that relatively basic mistakes at Equifax led to the breach. For example, the attack occurred through a server vulnerability that was a known issue. Equifax had previously notified its system administrators to patch the issue, but the person responsible for the point of entry did not get the message because Equifax’s email list was out of date.

An expired digital certificate allowed malicious network activity to stay hidden. Proper data governance protocols, which limit user access to sensitive information, were not in place — this allowed the attackers to run about 9,000 queries to find the consumer data. The attack lasted about 76 days before it was discovered.

The company’s public response contained many missteps (including directing consumers to a website that had bugs, according to IT experts) and as such, did not inspire confidence. For example, the site asked consumers, who had just had personal information stolen via Equifax, to enter most of their Social Security numbers to find out if they were included in the hack. The company mistakenly tweeted a phishing link for the response website four times instead of the correct URL, according to Wired magazine. 

Crisis management experts said Equifax lacked comprehensive prevention and response plans and faulted the company’s slow disclosure. (Equifax discovered the breach in July 2017 but did not reveal it until September 2017.) Given the sensitivity of the information in their database, Equifax should have had much more robust preparation, experts said.

For details on crisis management planning, see “ Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Crisis Management Plan .” You can also use one of these free disaster recovery planning templates to help get your business back on track.

4. Example: JP Morgan Chase

In 2012, a trader in JP Morgan Chase’s London office, nicknamed the London Whale, ran a portfolio of esoteric derivative investments. The trader was part of a team whose mandate was to hedge the bank’s operating risks. But, the whale’s investment strategies turned out to be flawed, and the size of these transactions was so great that they affected world credit markets. The whale’s trades ultimately lost money on a massive scale, and the company sustained the following financial impacts:

  • Investment losses of $6.2 billion.
  • JP Morgan Chase received fines of more than $1 billion by U.S. and British regulators.
  • Senior executives were stripped of $75 million in compensation after an internal investigation.
  • The company had to pay one hundred and fifty million to settle a shareholder class action lawsuit.
  • A loss in stock market value of $14.4 billion in the two days after disclosing the problem.
  • The company’s reputation as a careful risk manager was also damaged. In 2012, research company Interbrand found that the value of JP Morgan’s brand had dropped 8 percent, to $11.5 billion. 

Crisis Management Lesson: The C-Suite Needs to Stay on Top of Risk When he realized the full potential for disaster, the London Whale, whose real name is Bruno Iksil, suggested that the company immediately take a loss on the positions. This move would have resulted in much less financial damage. 

But, according to a U.S. Senate report, his managers began to conceal the magnitude of losses. They produced a shadow spreadsheet and hoped the investment positions would turn around, which resulted in mounting losses.

Reviews of the episode found that risk-management practices for the division were less rigorous than for other areas of the bank. First, the bank ignored warning signs from its risk metrics and then changed the risk standards (so the warning signs went away), according to a company report. 

Although people internally realized the potential extent of losses, bank management downplayed them in public. In 2012, CEO Jamie Dimon dismissed the incident as a “complete tempest in a teapot,” the Senate report said, a position he would later reverse.

The bank‘s investigation found that there was too little scrutiny of the London activities by its top management. In the aftermath, the bank strengthened risk management and made the review team more independent to address the group-think mentality that limited questioning of the investment strategy, JP Morgan said. The episode sparked calls for tougher regulation.

5. Example: Facebook

In March 2018, a whistleblower told two newspapers that a British firm called Cambridge Analytica had bought data about 87 million users and their friends without their consent from Facebook. The company used the data to build voter profiles that Cambridge sold to election campaigns, including Donald Trump’s presidential run. 

The episode sparked a scandal over user privacy at Facebook, the biggest of many. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify before Congress. The company faced investigations by regulators in the United States and Britain, as well as lawsuits from several jurisdictions. 

The financial repercussions included the following:

  • The U.S. Federal Trade Commission imposed a $5 billion fine against the company — the largest ever. The FTC said Facebook’s behavior violated a previous consent decree with the agency. The Securities and Exchange Commision fined the company $100 million and British regulators fined 500,000 pounds. 
  • Engagement on Facebook dropped by 20 percent in the months after the scandal, a metric that affects the company’s ad revenue.  
  • Facebook users’ confidence in the company dropped 66 percent in the weeks after the scandal broke and Zuckerberg testified before Congress, according to a Ponemon Institute survey. Some users quit Facebook (including 3 million Europeans) in the subsequent months over privacy abuses. The hashtag #DeleteFacebook began trending on social media, and public support for tighter regulation of social media grew. 
  • Growth in Facebook revenue and users dropped in the quarter after the Cambridge Analytica affair. The company’s stock valuation lost $130 billion in two hours after the news, weakening the social network’s forecast further. 
  • Facebook sustained a drop in brand value of 6 percent (about $2.9 billion) for the year to $45.2 billion, according to Interbrand.

Crisis Management Lesson: Apologize When You are Wrong U.S. investigators found that Facebook violated consumer trust by allowing a third party to collect users’ personal data without their knowledge. The data collectors also violated Facebook policies that required deleting the data. 

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg was silent for five days before issuing a statement acknowledging that mistakes had been made. Facebook users heavily criticized the response, prompting Zuckerberg later to say, “I’m sorry” in media interviews. IT experts said the response was slow and underwhelming. 

Critics faulted Facebook for technical decisions that resulted in app developers being able to access information about users’ friends, saying safeguards were inadequate. Commentators such as Tufts University cybersecurity expert Susan Landau also criticized Facebook for not taking legal action against Cambridge Analytica and for failing to inform users whose data was taken until well after the news broke. 

The company placed full-page newspaper ads, made changes to data-handling practices, and implemented other reforms, but consumer trust remained damaged. Analysts said Facebook’s gestures, including its lack of apology, rang hollow and came too late.

Best Crisis Managers Safeguard Their Brands

Protecting your reputation is an important aspect of crisis management, and conveying authenticity and empathy is paramount when anyone is harmed.

Reputation research firm RepTrak found in a 2020 survey of 80,000 consumers globally that corporate responsibility (made up of workplace quality, governance, and corporate citizenship) accounts for 41 percent of its reputation. (For details on how and when to apologize, see “ Models and Theories to Improve Crisis Management .”) 

Corporate reputation is an important influence on consumer behavior. RepTrak data shows a company with an excellent reputation activates willingness to buy among 79 percent of consumers, compared to 9 percent for companies with poor reputations.

Companies that maintain strong reputations through the decades are typically examples of strong risk and crisis management. But that is not to say they have necessarily avoided all calamities: sometimes, these organizations have faced a pivotal crisis and turned it into an opportunity to achieve long-term reputation strength.

Reputation is the primary determiner of brand value, which is a company asset that can be worth billions. Interbrand found that the value of the top 10 global brands in 2019 was collectively almost $1 trillion.

Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands*

  • Apple: $234.2 billion 
  • Google: $167.7 billion
  • Amazon: $125.3 billion
  • Microsoft: $108.9 billion
  • Coca-Cola: $63.4 billion
  • Samsung: $61.1 billion
  • Toyota: $56.2 billion
  • Mercedes: $50.1 billion
  • McDonald’s: $45.3 billion
  • Disney: $44.4 billion

*Source: Interbrand, 2019

Crisis Management Examples by Best Practice

Crisis case studies help illustrate best practices and how companies apply them. The following examples show how crisis management leaders and laggards performed on fundamental best practices in specific situations.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Form a Crisis Team

While you should have a designated crisis management team, you may also need smaller teams focused on particular issues. Cross-functional teams are often especially effective. Free team members from their normal duties while they are handling the crisis, remove constraints, and give them the resources they need, such as specialized external experts. When the crisis is over, review the team’s performance. (For more about crisis management teams, see “How to Build and Effective Crisis Management Team.”

Example: When Volkswagen faced a crisis over its diesel-emissions scandal, Oliver Larkin, group head of investor relations, told IR Magazine that the company “immediately put in place a task force team, with representatives from the communication side but also from the technical side and the legal side evaluating the information as it was coming through – and those people were working 24/7.” The group’s focus was on messaging, VW’s reputation, and relationships with major investors, and other responsibilities were put aside. Specialists, who were situation consultants, also joined the effort.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Have a Plan

Hopefully, your crisis management plan includes a communications plan that you’ve detailed in advance. But if not, or if you overlooked anything relevant to the crisis at hand, do some quick planning at the beginning of the crisis. Make sure to plan for social media, and draft holding statements. To learn how to write a plan, read “ Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Crisis Management Plan .”

Examples: In a case study of what not to do, Amazon faced negative attention around its 2019 Prime Day shopping promotion. Staff around the world protested over alleged poor working conditions and abusive company policies. Actions leading up to and on the day sparked media coverage, calls for legislative action, and late-night TV segments. Amazon did not comment publicly, defying public relations best practices. PR experts speculated the company did not have a crisis communications plan to mitigate the damage. 

As an example of strong crisis communications, the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing 700,000 employees of the U.S. federal government, responded to the coronavirus crisis with a multi-pronged communications plan. The goal was to draw attention to concerns over a shortage of protective gear and testing, policies, and short-staffing.

The union sued the federal government for hazard pay, and then targeted individual agencies by publicizing the plights of their staff to the media with press releases, TV appearances, and a daily newsletter. Internally, the union sent daily email alerts and digital campaigns to local leaders, weekly updates to members, mass texts, and memes to get the word out.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Pick the Right Spokesperson

Choose an individual who has the knowledge and training to address the crisis and is in a position of authority. You can coach the right person on working with the media, but putting a representative who lacks expertise in front of the cameras will backfire: your organization will come across uninformed or incompetent.

Example: During the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases for more than 30 years, brought expertise to his role as explainer in chief to the American public. 

He conveyed the importance of citizens staying home with clear and consistent messaging, and he deftly handled complex questions about science from the media. He gave interviews on social media, podcasts, sports shows, digital news sites, as well as traditional media, to reach all demographics, including teenagers.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Be Present

In a serious crisis, leaders should always be on site, either at headquarters or the location that makes the most sense. Cancel business trips, and return from vacations.

Example: In early 2020, wildfires burned more than 20 percent of Australia’s forests and killed 26 people. During the disaster, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced an outpouring of anger from citizens and intense media criticism after secretly taking a Hawaiian vacation and having his staff deny it. 

The prime minister’s representatives refused to disclose his location, igniting a social media storm and dominating media coverage. Then, an Australian tourist shared a photo he snapped with the leader on a Hawaiian beach. The government had to backtrack, which caused huge embarrassment and a scandal about the cover-up.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Respond Quickly

Issue a statement within the first hour of a crisis and publish frequent updates. Keep customers and other stakeholders informed about progress. If you’re unsure about frequency, err on the side of too much communication, rather than too little.

Example: In 2018, after switching delivery companies, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) suffered supply problems that caused a shortage of chicken at its U.K. restaurants. The company was forced to close more than two-thirds of its locations. 

Even though the crisis response group initially had little information about the problem, the team quickly acknowledged the issue publicly. Within hours the team explained what had happened, how it was being addressed, and when it would be solved.

“Our instinct was that we had to face the issue head on: a chicken restaurant without chicken. Not ideal,” a spokeswoman for KFC told Raconteur at the time. “We were responding live as we received new information. We acted fast in assessing the issue and working out the best approach.”

In a negative case study, General Motors in 2014 did a series of vehicle recalls due to faulty ignition switches that affected 30 million cars. The company ultimately paid about $4.1 billion in repair costs, victim compensation, and fines.

But perhaps even more damaging was the revelation that the automaker had known about the problem for at least a decade , at one point blaming the fault on short drivers and heavy key chains. The resulting publicity and congressional hearings harmed GM’s reputation, and one senator described the company as having a “culture of cover-up.” 

Use a crisis communications strategy template to help you assign important responsibilities and build a process and response plan in the early stages of a crisis. For all other crisis management templates please visit our template article . You can also learn about step-by-step instructions on how to build a strong crisis management strategy , including free templates and tips from experts.  

Crisis Management Best Practice: Be Compassionate

Respond empathetically to show that your organization cares about people. Fear of lawsuits often causes companies to resort to carefully parsed legal language or circumspection. While minimizing liability is important, showing your human side goes a long way to winning goodwill and defusing anger, which often is a motivating factor in lawsuits. 

Example: In 2019, Boeing responded to news that its 737 MAX airplane had caused two crashes and killed 346 people due to faulty software by insisting the aircraft was safe and that there was no engineering or technical problem. 

The CEO blamed poor pilot training. Governments around the world grounded all the planes. Crisis communications experts criticized Boeing’s handling as slow, legalistic, and lacking empathy. Moreover, they noted that Boeing’s stated values include acting with the highest ethical standards, taking personal responsibility, and valuing human life above all else, and that these should have guided its response.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Speak the Truth

Be upfront and transparent, and don’t hide behind euphemisms or jargon. The truth will eventually become clear, and obfuscating will only cause further mistrust and resentment.

Example: In a negative case study, United Airlines forcibly removed a 69-year-old doctor from an overbooked flight leaving Chicago in 2017. Security officers dragged him off the plane. A passenger captured the scene on video and bystanders reported the officers threw the man against an armrest. The doctor later said he lost two teeth and had a concussion and broken nose. 

United CEO Oscar Munoz told employees by email the passenger had been “disruptive and belligerent.”  In a public statement, he said the airline had to “re-accommodate” the man, a euphemism for the procedure of removing a paying passenger from the flight so an airline employee could have the seat.

The video of the doctor’s rough treatment went viral on social media and showed that the doctor had not acted out as Munoz claimed. United faced a wave of public anger, and its stock lost $1.4 billion in value. Munoz later apologized and promised the incident would not happen again, but his planned promotion to United’s chairman was canceled.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Focus and Move Ahead

Give the crisis full attention, but do not lose sight of your future. Whenever possible, align your crisis response actions with the long-term vision and overarching goals of your organization.

Example: In early 2020, Delta Air Lines (like all carriers) faced a catastrophe as a global pandemic virtually eliminated demand for airline travel. While challenges persisted, the airline began working toward regaining financial stability. 

CFO Paul Jacobson, who crafted and led Delta’s financial crisis response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, canceled his announced retirement to help rebuild the airline. To accomplish this task, Jacobson used strategies such as securing emergency government aid and deferring long-term capital spending.

Crisis Management Best Practice: Communicate Clearly

Present information openly and in a way that others can understand. Recognize that personal perspective influences how everyone interprets information. Don’t hide from bad news.

Example: In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated little more than a minute into flight, killing all seven crew members. Investigations found the cause was the failure of an o-ring seal in a solid rocket booster that allowed pressurized burning gas to escape and cause structural disintegration.

Poor communication and decision-making were determined to be major contributing causes to the disaster. The investigating commission found the launch should not have been approved. They cited a lack of effective communication between the decision-makers and the engineers, the absence of a formal communications channel which isolated management, and selective listening. The panel found the decision to proceed with the launch was based on incomplete and misleading information.

Crisis Management Examples by Type: Social Media, Product Problems, and More

Crisis management case studies are especially instructive when you compare how two organizations coped with relatively similar problems. The following examples are organized around crisis type, including social media crises.

Examples of Social Media and PR Crisis Management

Social media has enabled users to spread negative or embarrassing information about a brand in a nanosecond. Companies need to monitor social media actively and act quickly to address public relations problems. Unflattering episodes can go viral, severely damaging a company’s reputation.

Examples of Good Social Media Crisis Management

The most effective uses of social media to address company crises are typically characterized by speed and, when appropriate, humor — although companies should also address underlying issues. 

  • Example: Popeye’s In 2019, Popeye’s debuted a fried chicken sandwich that consumers praised on Twitter, comparing it favorably to rival Chick-fil-A’s offering. Chick-fil-A responded with a tweet promoting its sandwich as “the original.” Popeye’s shot back cheekily, “Y’all good?” The retort ignited the so-called “chicken-sandwich wars,” which Popeye’s won as Americans flocked to its stores.
  • Example: Red Cross In 2011, the American Red Cross defused a crisis over a rogue tweet with humor. A staff member mistakenly sent a personal tweet to the organization’s account: “When we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” As the tweet started to spread, Red Cross defused the PR nightmare with this tweet acknowledging the error: “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” A beer brand mentioned in the original tweet responded by asking its fans to donate to the Red Cross.
  • Example: Tide In 2018, teenagers uploaded to social media videos of themselves eating Tide laundry detergent pods, which are poisonous, in the “Tide Pod Challenge.” Rather than trying to ignore the controversy, manufacturer Procter & Gamble swung into action by lobbying social media platforms to remove the videos, mounting a communications campaign, and placing its own video of NFL player Rob Gronkowski urging people not to swallow the pods on social media and broadcast television.

Examples of Bad Social Media Crisis Management

Crises can start or worsen on social media when brands display insensitivity or are slow to react to growing negative engagement. Following are some examples of companies that mishandled social media.

  • Example: Gillette In 2019, razor maker Gillette sought to promote the values of the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement with a video that it placed on YouTube and in ads. After a century of promoting men who use its products as alpha males and virile, the company in the video first showed men bullying and mansplaining, and then contrasted them with empathetic men who stop others from bad behavior toward women. Despite some scattered praise, the video got twice as many dislikes as likes on YouTube, and calls for a Gillette boycott arose. Twitter users bashed the company for negatively stereotyping men and shaming its customers.  
  • Example: Tinder In 2015, dating app Tinder responded to a negative article about it in Vanity Fair magazine with a 31-tweet rant. The tweets were defensive, included profanity, and a claim that the app had helped people in North Korea meet dates. The overreaction made Tinder the butt of jokes and drew negative attention to the company. 
  • Example: Applebee’s In 2013, a waitress at restaurant chain Applebee’s posted a customer’s receipt on Reddit (with the name visible). The customer had written a critical comment about an automatic 18 percent tip added to the bill for a big party. Applebee’s said on Facebook, “We wish this situation hadn’t happened.” Thousands of negative comments flooded in every hour. The story went viral, and Applebee’s response was panned by PR experts as pouring gasoline on the fire. The company’s social media team answered Twitter comments by copying and pasting its corporate policy statement, which users perceived as a snarky response. Then, failing to keep up with the flood of reaction, the company disabled user posts on its Facebook page. Next, the team posted an update with the corporate statement, hiding the previous statement and more than 20,000 comments. Users perceived the tactic as deleting their posts, which enraged them.

Examples of Crisis Management Involving Product Problems

Product crises can be especially damaging for companies because their sales and brand are likely to suffer. Effective crisis management can ensure that the fallout is minimized. Poor crisis management can make it worse.

Examples of Good Crisis Management of Product Problems

Companies that manage crises caused by faulty products well show concern for customers, take responsibility for the issues, and respond decisively with improvements.

  • Example: Mattel In 2017, toy maker Mattel recalled nearly 2 million toys that were tainted with outlawed lead paint. The act angered parents and attracted regulator attention. The problem stemmed from a contract manufacturer that used paint not authorized by Mattel. Within a few days, Mattel identified the factory, halted production, and launched an investigation. The company voluntarily expanded its review and made two more product recalls, even adding an unrelated problem. The company imposed stringent new tests on products before they could be sold, changed suppliers, and put its own staff in contract manufacturing plants. Mattel communicated consistently and repeatedly apologized. The company won praise for its swift and honest response, and the company now enjoys a reputation of trustworthiness.
  • Example: Samsung In 2016, Korean electronics company Samsung faced a crisis when its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones exploded due to a battery problem. Sales slumped as airlines banned passengers from carrying the phone on board. Samsung responded by immediately taking accountability, being transparent about not immediately knowing the cause, and vowing to determine the problem. The company put 700 engineers on the problem and opened the research to third parties. When the problem was identified, the company communicated the issue clearly and introduced quality assurance and safety features. Samsung also launched a campaign aimed at tying its brand image to a larger purpose and improving its culture. In the next year, Samsung’s brand value rose 9 percent, according to Interbrand, and its Galaxy S8 yielded record profits the following year.

Examples of Bad Crisis Management for Product Problems

Examples of poor crisis management by companies over product issues are often marked by slow acknowledgement or even denial.

  • Example: Takata Japanese auto parts maker Takata produced car airbags that exploded and were linked to at least 14 deaths. Governments recalled some 70 million airbags by 2017. Studies of the problem found design and engineering flaws. Before the extent of the problem became clear, Takata did not want to face embarrassment or prosecution. A senate report found that the company manipulated test data and did not adequately address safety concerns. The report concluded the company’s safety culture was broken. Takata ultimately went bankrupt with an estimated $15 billion in liabilities for recall and other costs.
  • Example: Nike In 2019, U.S. star college basketball player Zion Williamson sprained his knee when his Nike shoe broke, little more than 30 seconds into a highly anticipated game. The crisis quickly gained the name “shoegate” in the media. The company’s stock dropped $1.1 billion the next day, social media buzzed with jokes and jabs, and commentators described the incident as a brand failure. While the incident did not inflict long-lasting damage on the company, Nike was panned for waiting for three hours to issue a response. They stumbled by minimizing it as an “isolated incident,” while media reports pointed out four other recent similar shoe malfunctions.

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Harvard Law School  The Case Studies

  • Todd D. Rakoff

The Case of the Lead Toys

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Todd Rakoff and Joseph William Singer

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Please note that each purchase of this product entitles the purchaser to one download and use.  If you need multiple copies, please purchase the number of copies you need.  For more information, see  Copying Your Case Study .

In July 2007 toy maker Mattel came under fire when one of its European retailers found lead paint on some Mattel toys manufactured in China. Mattel stopped operations at the factory that produced the toys, conducted an investigation, and eventually recalled 83 affected products. The case asks students to play the role of the General Counsel for Mattel, determine what questions to ask their client, and draft a press release to communicate to the public about the crisis.  The problem fits in the general category of avoiding trouble or distributing losses that have already occurred.

Learning Objectives

  • Begin to develop a systematic approach to problem solving when faced with an unresolved issue or new situation.
  • Discuss whether lawyers should advise clients as if they were solely interested in taking maximum advantage of their legal rights or if their advice should encompass the full range of the client’s concerns, engaging the client's moral compass in deciding whether it is right to pursue a legally-available objective.
  • Learn how to define and represent a client when the client is an entity or organization; identify and appropriately respond to conflicts of interest among an organization’s stakeholders.
  • Understand the legal constraints and repercussions of writing public statements on behalf of a publically traded company engaged in a controversial situation.

Subjects Covered Risk Averseness, Acting in the Shadow of the Law, Conflicts of Interest, SEC Regulations, Public Disclosure, Crisis Management

Setting Geographic: United States, China, Europe

Industry: Consumer Goods, Toys Event Year Begin: 2007

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Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland Case Study

Company overview of mattel corporation.

In 1945, two entrepreneurs established Mattel Corporation with small range of product line, but now, it is the largest Toy Company in the world. According to the report of Gamache, et al (2), the name of this company derived from two founders.

At the initial stage of formation, this company only manufactured picture frames and dollhouse furniture for the customer though the owner intended to diversify products and concentrated on the new products development to increase profit margin. However, the management of this company had changed its strategies over time considering the influence of pop culture on the society, and change of customer behavior.

In addition, the management team also considered the suggestion of the outside members, for instance, it had introduced three-dimensional doll “Barbie” because Elliot’s wife (one owner) suggested this idea for the development of the company and now this company generated 50% profits from this product (Gamache, et al 2).

Important Historical Milestones

The most important historical milestones has included in the following table –

Table 1: Important Historical Milestones of Mattel. Source: Self generated from Gamache, et al (2) and Mattel (1-11).

Product Offerings

Mattel was started its operation with only two products and the core products were Barbie, Fisher Price and Hot Wheels; however, it is now diversifying its business and introducing too many new products, such as, software interactive software for computer games and activities.

Major Competitors and Their Relative Market Share

Teagarden (3) said that only few companies lead the market though there are more than nine hundred players in this industry; however, the following figure compares the profits of the major competitors –

Figure 1: Global Toy Manufacturers Ranked by Sales. Source: Teagarden (3).

The Major Strengths & Weaknesses Using Financial Ratio

Gross profit margin.

There has been a slow gradual decrease in the GPM of Mattel throughout the above stated period, and decreasing gross profit margin could indicate that variable costs have risen while selling price has remained constant; or even, it could also mean that Mattel has cut prices to make an augmentation in sales; falling GPM; therefore, is a major weakness here.

However, to certain extent, the GPM was better in 2007 in comparison with the past year and this rise could mean that the corporation had good pricing strategy essentially in that year (probably, Mattel was proficient to lift prices with small or no consequence on sales) or that it possesses an intensifying productivity

Net Profit Margin

Mattel’s NPM is also weak and quite instable throughout the period and it has lowered in 2007 than the previous year – lowering net margin means that the firm is not generating enough sales or it is not keeping the operating-expenses under control; conversely, in 2005 the position of the NPM was the worst

Return on Assets (ROA) of Mattel

Table 2: Return on total assets of Mattel. Source: Self generated.

Although Mattel’s ROA has fluctuated in the above-stated years, it was in quite attractive in 2007 because rising return on assets could symbolize the fact that the firm is proficiently handling its assets to engender earnings; in addition, the higher this figure is the more efficient this corporation is in exploiting its assets; therefore, it is strength of Mattel

Return on Assets (ROA) Hasbro Inc:

Table 3: Return on total assets of Hasbro. Source: Self generated from Hasbro (7).

Return on Assets (ROA) JAKKS

Table 4: Return on total assets of JAKKS. Source: Self generated.

Return on Assets (ROA) Leap Frog

Table 5: Return on total assets of Leap Frog. Source: Self generated.

Return on Equity (ROE) of Mattel

Table 6: Return on total Equity of Mattel. Source: Self generated from Mattel (78).

Return on equity of the company has satisfactorily increased in 2007 than the past years, which is showing that the company has profitably engendered revenue from the cash shareholders have expended particularly in that year; this is once again screening its financial strength

Return on Equity (ROE) of Hasbro

Table 7: Return on total Equity of Hasbro. Source: Self generated.

Return on Equity (ROE) of Jakks

Table 8: Return on total Equity of JAKKS. Source: Self generated Jakks (165).

Return on Equity (ROE) Leap Frog

Table 9: Return on total Equity of Leap Frog. Source: Self generated from Leap Frog (87).

Debt Equity Ratio of Mattel

Table 10: Debt Equity Ratio of Mattel. Source: Self generated.

In comparison with the past four years, the Debt Equity Ratio of Mattel was higher in 2007 signifying the fact that the corporation was aggressive in funding its expansion with liabilities, which in turn could have caused impulsive income for Mattel in that financial year; therefore, this could be a major weakness of the company

Debt Equity Ratio of Hasbro

Table 11: Debt Equity Ratio of Hasbro. Source: Self generated.

Debt Equity Ratio of Jakks

Table 12: Debt Equity Ratio of JAKKS. Source: Self generated.

Debt Equity Ratio of LEAP FROG

Table 13: Debt Equity Ratio of Leap Frog. Source: Self generated.

The historical stock price performance of the company and its top three competitors

According to the Yahoo Finance (1), Mattel share price always a flexible position in the stock market though at the initial stage, the share price of this company was below $1, which increased gradually and hold its strong position. In addition, Yahoo Finance reported that it increased up to $2 within 2010 and at present, per share price is $2.8; however, the following figure shows that historical stock price of Mattel in three stock exchanges –

Historical stock price performance of Mattel

On the other hand, the share price of Hasbro was in stable position from the fiscal year 1995 and it is gradually improving like the Mattel –

Historical stock price performance of Hasbro

Jakks Pacific

At the initial stage, the position of Jakks Pacific was not satisfactory level, but it has become successful within few year of its operation and the following chart shows thia issue –

Historical stock price performance of Jakks Pacific

According to the following figure, the position of this company was the worst in stock market considering the other three large competitors –

Historical stock price performance of Leap Frog

How Does the Competitive Environment Shape the Company’s Strategy

This industry is highly competitive though few companies enjoyed competitive advantage by considering Porter’s five forces and restructured the company, for example, Mattel offered comparatively low price for its products because the rivalry among the companies and threats of substitutes are too high, which influenced the company to take following actions –

  • Teagarden (3) stated that Mattel concentrated on the maximizing the value of core brands, such as, Barbie and Hot Wheels;
  • It executed an offshore manufacturing strategy in China;
  • Companies of Toys industry spend lots of money to create innovative designs.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis on the Toy Industry

The popular five forces model of competition has developed by Michael E. Porter and he mentioned these five factors format each industry; however, the next figure demonstrates the Porter five forces model for the toy industry –

Threat of New Entrants

In general, the existing companies in the industry are not the only threatening aspect for the firms, but the potential newcomers can also cause of competitive challenges in the free market economy, for instance, Chinese companies can enter the US toy market easily and can offer low price of the products.

However, it is easy for the establish companies like Mattel and Hasbro to introduce new item or enter new market with competitive advantages, but it is hard for the new company to capture large market share in the toy industry; therefore, there is no doubt that new companies would be able to enter the market, but must face intense competition.

At the same time, new companies have to suffer in several problems, for instance, cost disadvantages, limited profits and building relationship with suppliers and customers, design of the products, presence of numerous distribution channels, need efficient human resources and huge investment, legal barrier to introduce patented products, and so on. However, the following figure shows the factors those influencing the new entrants of this industry –

Bargaining Power of the Suppliers

This force is varying for the different companies considering size, market share and financial position of the companies, for instance, small companies need contract with high price and condition while large companies like Mattel has the capability to select the supplier with the lowest price. However, next figure discusses the key driving force of the suppliers in this industry, for instance –

Power of Buyers

Bargaining power of the buyers depend on several factors in the toy industry, such as, price sensitivity, product differentiation, buyer independence, low switching off costs, and so on; however, this scenario is different for the large companies like Mattel because of brand awareness of the products. However, next figure demonstrates drivers of buyer power of this industry, for instance –

Threat of Substitute Products

Most of the companies in this industry are trying to produce innovative products using modern technology, which change the customer behavior and increase market demand, for instance, introduction of Barbie doll was a successful strategy for Mattel, but children are like to playing with computer games, which can be treated as substitute products of traditional products.

Intensity of rivalry

Rivalry is very high because of the number of competing companies (more than 900 companies engaged in the production of toys) and all the competitors are taking innovative approach to expand business in the new market, develop brand image, and increase customer base to sustain in the competitive market.

The core problems driving the “toy recall crisis

From the given case, it has evidenced that the leadership crisis is the core problem of the company Mattel, but the ‘toy recall crisis’ has generated by the complex supply networks of China; rather than the company’s own core problems.

Mattel had organized almost 3000 small and medium partners China for toy assembling who conducted incredible research to design and development product and marketing them to the other toy companies with cost effective solution as their strategic importance.

The unethical profit making with cost effective solution by the Chinese companies and their shift from straightforward assembly to the high value-added manufacturing adopting their gained knowledge turned them to use excessive level of lead in their manufactured products and the investigation of US CPSC 1 bring this product harms into the public view that urged Mattel for toy recall.

The company’s value chain and Supplier Relationships

A large number of the Chinese toy vendors have enjoyed strong business alliance with Mattel, but the toy recalling due to unethical shifts of them has seriously hampered the supplier’s relationships with Mattel; moreover, customers of US market hasn’t rendered any further confidence on Chinese manufacturers, so, there is no scope to prolong the existing value chain and supplier relationships.

How should Mattel handle the “toy recall crisis -Short-term and long-term strategies

Shang (2010) pointed out that the involuntary recalling take place while any company necessary action for its product harms after the regulatory agency direction or force to comply with the dogmatic responsibility to meet consumer’s safety requirement, such alignment of product recalling would generate the customer’s perception that the company does not care for customers.

It would not be fair for such a company as if Matte to wait for involuntary product recalling, as it would hamper the company’s long-term reputation by destroying brand trust.

Among the four strategy of product recalling, Matte has adopted voluntary product recalling strategy harm crises, it is thus essential for Matte to adopt one more strategy either denial strategy to introduce new product as alternative brand that would help to reduce great lose or emphasis on super effort strategy to maximize existing brand loyalty.

Chen et al. (2) pointed out that enlarged incidence of product recalling would potentially distressing the financial performance of the company and to deal with such crisis, there are four types of product recalling strategies such as denial strategy, involuntary recalling strategy, voluntary recall strategy, and super-effort strategy.

Among the four strategies the company would identify any of them or more than one that it feels to contribute early recovery and sustainability in the market while denying to comply with the regulatory guideline would impose legal barrier on the operation and generate customers complain.

Thus, the companies with higher CRS level possibly would align with voluntary recalling to generating positive perception among the customers and stakeholders, such companies consider the voluntary recalling as part of their corporate social responsibility and start propagation to touch the loyalty of customers towards the brand.

On the other hand, frequent large volume of recalling may destroy the competitiveness and threaten the over all performance in long-term, there is no clear prediction whether provocative or passive which involvement would assist the company to sustain its regular growth and do not impact on the firm value.

Thus it is would be wise for Mattel to align with both provocative and passive involvement with product recalling strategy, the practice of a mixed strategy would provide time to make further decision depending on the market response.

The current “toy recall crisis” affect the long-term competitiveness

Yes, I think that the current toy recall crisis of Mattel would affect the long-term competitiveness of the company result in product recalls, as the company would suffer from noteworthy impact on its reputation, reducing sales volume would trim down the revenue generation, share price would fall, and financial value of the firm would deteriorate.

In respond to regulatory findings of safety hazards incorporated with its product, although, Mattel has carried out voluntary recall through a provocative strategy, regardless to their willingness to carry out the burden of liability at their own account, the passive strategies would bring further negative effect on the company’s value.

At the same time the stock market traders and investment consultants would consider such strategy as a serious indication of large financial loose of Mattel and they would advice their client to withdraw their investment from the company, thus, product recall of Mattel has the possibility to encounter with investment crisis.

Although the theoretical explanation has argued that, there the provocative strategy would generate positive perception of the customers regarding the high quality of CRS at Mattel, but in practice while customer would see the Mattel’s product, their mindset would reflect that the company produce faulty products and turn to choice any other alternative brand.

Moreover, the critic review published in the Wall Street Journal on September 11, 2007 regarding the toy recall crisis of Mattel has poured fuel into fire that would seriously hamper the reputation of the company and customer would carry negative perception for long run without giving any credit to the quick recalling actions for the defective toys.

It would be difficult for the company to get any quick recovery from the crisis as if there is any possibility to get back the customer’s confidence for brand loyalty, but the investors may not compromise with reducing profitability; consequently, the recall event would negatively affect the overall performance of the company.

From the given case, it has demonstrated that the growth of the company was accelerated unexpected during 1997 due to the Mattel’s offshore manufacturing strategy in China, due to the toy recall crisis of Mattel in 2007; it has postponed the Chinese network of large Chinese suppliers and it would generate further complicacy with the product supply.

The real scenario of US toy market is that it is a US$ 24 billion market where 86% comes from China where Mattel enjoys an extensive supply chain of Chinese manufacturers, if this network breakdown due to the toy recall crisis, it would be very difficult for the company to reconstruct them.

Moreover, the Chinese manufacturers may not wait for long time for the recall crisis of Mattel, but build up new contract with the new buyers or they move their simple assembling to high-end technology application, thus in long run the company would loose it competitiveness with sever financial and physical loose.

Thus, I would like to conclude that for toy recalling crisis of Matte, the proactive strategy would entertain with superior investor’s concentration, as the stock market analytics would interpret the product recalling strategy as an indication of momentous financial losses that negatively linked with the long term financial value and the company would loose its competitiveness in long-term.

Works Cited

Chen, Yubo. Ganesan, Shankar & Liu, Yong. 2012, Does a Firm’s Product-Recall Strategy Affect Its Financial Value: An Examination of Strategic Alternatives During Product-Harm Crises. Web.

Datamonitor 2012, Toys & Games in the United States . Web.

Gamache, Justin, Jessica Levstik and Sarah Lutz. 2011, Premier Toy Brands: Today and Tomorrow . Web.

Hasbro. Annual Reports. 2007. Web.

Jakks. Annual Reports. 2007. Web.

Leap Frog. Annual Reports. 2007. Web.

Mattel. Annual Reports. 2007. Web.

Mattel. Mattel History . 2007. Web.

Shang, Zhou. 2010, Does Denial Drive Distrust? –An Analysis of Responses to Product-harm Crises in New Zealand . Web.

Teagarden, Mary. 2008, Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland . PDF file. 03 April 2012. Thunderbird School of Global Management, Beijing.

Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitors of Mattel . 2012. Web.

Yahoo Finance. Historical stock price performance of Hasbro. 2012. Web.

Yahoo Finance. Historical stock price performance of Jakks Pacific. 2012. Web.

Yahoo Finance. Historical stock price performance of Leap Frog. 2012. Web.

Yahoo Finance. Historical stock price performance of Mattel. 2012. Web.

1 Consumer Products Safety Commission.

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 19). Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mattels-china-experience-a-crisis-in-toyland/

"Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland." IvyPanda , 19 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/mattels-china-experience-a-crisis-in-toyland/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland'. 19 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland." February 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mattels-china-experience-a-crisis-in-toyland/.

1. IvyPanda . "Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland." February 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mattels-china-experience-a-crisis-in-toyland/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Mattel’s China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland." February 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/mattels-china-experience-a-crisis-in-toyland/.

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Crisis Management as in Mattel Inc - Case Study Example

Crisis Management as in Mattel Inc

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Mattel: crisis management or management crisis case study memo, case study recommendation memo assignment.

At Fern Fort University, we write Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study recommendation memo as per the Harvard Business Review Leadership & Managing People case memo framework. If you are looking for MBA, Executive MBA or Corporate / Professional level recommendation memo then feel free to connect with us. Other topics that can be covered in the above case memo are Globalization, Product development . The recommendations in the case memo are - aligned with strategy of the company, based on robust data, and provide a clear roadmap for execution.

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Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Description

Leadership & managing people case study | authors :: david p. baron.

In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the precautions Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, took to ensure the safety of its toys. In contrast to other toymakers, Mattel owned the factories in China where its most popular toys, such as Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, were made. Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. In each situation, Mattel must weigh legal, ethical, and business considerations in determining how to best react.

Globalization, Product development

Purpose of leadership & managing people case study recommendation memo.

A Case Study Memo or Case Study Recommendation Memo is a routinely used document in leading organizations, and you may be writing number of such memos to executive leadership to “sell” or elevate an initiative that either you are undertaking or you wanted to kick start. Therefore, it is essential that you have a professional case study recommendation memo.

The purpose of a recommendation memo is to concisely recommend a course of action and provide rationale supporting the recommendation. The case study recommendation memo is a one-two page document (not including exhibits) that recommends your course of action and rationale. This format promotes a concise and clear strategic thought process.

Elements of a Case Study Recommendation Memo for – MBA & Executive MBA

1. first paragraph of mattel: crisis management or management crisis recommendation memo.

  • This paragraph expresses your intent or action that you required after reading the Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study (This recommends……).
  • Topic overview of the case study (the “what”, not “when” or “how”): costs, funding, etc.
  • Ends with the hook: selling idea, the “why” or payoff: this part reveals the author’s point of view. What you intend to do after reading the case and it clearly mention your decision.

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2. Background of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study

  • Historical perspective on the problem is provided. Details are elaborated that underline the given problem.
  • Highlights - what brought us to this moment, why we are in this position, what brought about the need to make this decision.
  • Dimensionalize the importance of the problem to the organization and how it is impacting the organization.
  • Constraints – Provide a situational analysis based on case study analysis.
  • Keep the background section both factual and concise. It is part of the memo where we provide a brief insight into the problem and define the problem.

Is the background clear, concise, and easy to follow? Does it explain why action is needed now? Does the appropriate sense of urgency come across in the case study?

3. Recommendations for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Memo

  • The details of what, when and how. NO 'why'.
  • This section should be very specific (100% clear). It must be actionable (How much will it cost, when, how, who). The reader should be able to read this and know how to carry out this recommendation.
  • Some cases will require more than one recommendation. It often happens that the firm will require more than one recommendations as there are numerous unknown in the market place.

Is the recommendation clear and actionable? Does the firm has capability to implement the recommendations or does it needs to hire fresh talent?

4. Basis for the Recommendations

  • Here the reader of the case memo will learn WHY each recommendation is the UNIQUE right thing to do.
  • 2-3 solid reasons are typical. The reasons should be backed by clear logic, organization’s vision and mission statements, and robust data analysis.
  • Orignal recommendation can be backed by few supporting roadmap to actions. In operations cases the Critical Path Method of PERT can be used to illustrate the point.
  • Support includes impact on profit, share, and anything else that can affect long-term business goals of the firm.
  • Analysis should address applicable quantitative issues such as NPV, break even analysis, pro forma statement of project budget, sensitivity analysis; as well as qualitative issues, such as, technology consistency, architectural conformance, innovation potential, etc.
  • Appeals to precedent and anecdotal evidence in absence of data, but only in limited, carefully constrained manner.
  • Shows how the recommendation will put the firm at a competitive advantage or is simply acompetitive necessity.
  • The goal is to read the basis and conclude the recommendation.
  • Is the recommendation an inescapable conclusion of the basis?
  • Does the basis for recommendation appropriately consider: 1. Core competencies and consistency with mission? 2. External customers and internal clients? 3. Competitors? 4. Attractiveness – quantitative measures if applicable (e.g., NPV, ROI, break-even, payback)?
  • Are all assumptions explicitly stated (e.g., needs, technology trends)?

5. Discussions

  • Outline other alternatives not selected and provide brief reasoning for doing so.
  • Discuss risks and key assumptions for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case memo (use full disclosure, reference options grid) of your recommendation.
  • When you give a precise number or range, you must support the basis as well.
  • Is the analysis thorough with key alternatives fairly considered using options grid?
  • Risks associated with recommendation for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis are properly addressed given the present capabilities and future expectations?

6. Next Steps for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study memo

  • Clearly specify the roadmap of the execution. Provide specific date and action that are required to carry on the next steps.
  • Task assignment, objectives, roles and metrics should be mentioned in advance to reduce ambiguity and replication. (what will be done, by whom, and by when)
  • Clear follow-up/next steps?
  • If appropriate, lay out timeline with key milestones to implement recommendation.

7. Exhibits for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case memo

  • An Exhibit can be a data chart, map, graph, grid, or simple data table.
  • While doing the calculations please mention all the assumptions. The reader won’t able to decipher each of the assumption so make them explicit.
  • Exhibits should have Title, sources, footnotes to calculation. The point of the Exhibit should be instantly clear to the reader.
  • Exhibits should be cited in the proper order (i.e., do not cite Exhibit 4 first in your Memo and then Exhibit 2).

Checklist for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study memo exhibit

  • Is the analysis presented in the case memo - precise, accurate, and data-based?
  • Are the exhibits clearly laid out, titled, and referenced in the case study memo?
  • Is every assumption mentioned in the case memo is explicitly listed?

NOTE: Every memo may not include every element described above. The specific case will dictate what must be included. For custom case memo please email us or process the order.

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Marketing Management Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations, Strategies, Marketing Management, Case Studies

While some analysts felt that B&L's handling of the crisis situation left a lot to be desired others felt that the situation faced by B&L was trickier than what pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson, faced during the infamous Tylenol crisis in 1982. In the case of Mattel, the company had to win back the trust of its customers after the massive recall of toys in 2007 due to safety-related issues. Here too, the industry watchers are divided over whether the leading toy maker was able to handle the crisis situation in an effective manner.

» Understand the issues and challenges faced by companies in managing a product crisis » Understand the importance of clear and effective communication with customers in the event of a controversy/crisis » Understand short term and long term implication for a well known brand if the crisis is not managed properly

Crisis management, Product crisis, Product advisory, Corporate citizenship, Communication strategy, Public relations, Publicity , Nokia, Mattel, Bausch & Lomb, ReNu with MoistureLoc, BL-5C batteries, Lens Care market, Product liability lawsuit, Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson, Consumer education

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Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Analysis and Case Solution

Posted by Peter Williams on Aug-09-2018

Introduction of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Solution

The Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study is a Harvard Business Review case study, which presents a simulated practical experience to the reader allowing them to learn about real life problems in the business world. The Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case consisted of a central issue to the organization, which had to be identified, analysed and creative solutions had to be drawn to tackle the issue. This paper presents the solved Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case analysis and case solution. The method through which the analysis is done is mentioned, followed by the relevant tools used in finding the solution.

The case solution first identifies the central issue to the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study, and the relevant stakeholders affected by this issue. This is known as the problem identification stage. After this, the relevant tools and models are used, which help in the case study analysis and case study solution. The tools used in identifying the solution consist of the SWOT Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, PESTEL Analysis, VRIO analysis, Value Chain Analysis, BCG Matrix analysis, Ansoff Matrix analysis, and the Marketing Mix analysis. The solution consists of recommended strategies to overcome this central issue. It is a good idea to also propose alternative case study solutions, because if the main solution is not found feasible, then the alternative solutions could be implemented. Lastly, a good case study solution also includes an implementation plan for the recommendation strategies. This shows how through a step-by-step procedure as to how the central issue can be resolved.

Problem Identification of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Solution

Harvard Business Review cases involve a central problem that is being faced by the organization and these problems affect a number of stakeholders. In the problem identification stage, the problem faced by Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis is identified through reading of the case. This could be mentioned at the start of the reading, the middle or the end. At times in a case analysis, the problem may be clearly evident in the reading of the HBR case. At other times, finding the issue is the job of the person analysing the case. It is also important to understand what stakeholders are affected by the problem and how. The goals of the stakeholders and are the organization are also identified to ensure that the case study analysis are consistent with these.

Analysis of the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis HBR Case Study

The objective of the case should be focused on. This is doing the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Solution. This analysis can be proceeded in a step-by-step procedure to ensure that effective solutions are found.

  • In the first step, a growth path of the company can be formulated that lays down its vision, mission and strategic aims. These can usually be developed using the company history is provided in the case. Company history is helpful in a Business Case study as it helps one understand what the scope of the solutions will be for the case study.
  • The next step is of understanding the company; its people, their priorities and the overall culture. This can be done by using company history. It can also be done by looking at anecdotal instances of managers or employees that are usually included in an HBR case study description to give the reader a real feel of the situation.
  • Lastly, a timeline of the issues and events in the case needs to be made. Arranging events in a timeline allows one to predict the next few events that are likely to take place. It also helps one in developing the case study solutions. The timeline also helps in understanding the continuous challenges that are being faced by the organisation.

SWOT analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

An important tool that helps in addressing the central issue of the case and coming up with Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis HBR case solution is the SWOT analysis.

  • The SWOT analysis is a strategic management tool that lists down in the form of a matrix, an organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. It helps in the strategic analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis.
  • Once this listing has been done, a clearer picture can be developed in regards to how strategies will be formed to address the main problem. For example, strengths will be used as an advantage in solving the issue.

Therefore, the SWOT analysis is a helpful tool in coming up with the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study answers. One does not need to remain restricted to using the traditional SWOT analysis, but the advanced TOWS matrix or weighted average SWOT analysis can also be used.

Porter Five Forces Analysis for Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

Another helpful tool in finding the case solutions is of Porter's Five Forces analysis. This is also a strategic tool that is used to analyse the competitive environment of the industry in which Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis operates in. Analysis of the industry is important as businesses do not work in isolation in real life, but are affected by the business environment of the industry that they operate in. Harvard Business case studies represent real-life situations, and therefore, an analysis of the industry's competitive environment needs to be carried out to come up with more holistic case study solutions. In Porter's Five Forces analysis, the industry is analysed along 5 dimensions.

  • These are the threats that the industry faces due to new entrants.
  • It includes the threat of substitute products.
  • It includes the bargaining power of buyers in the industry.
  • It includes the bargaining power of suppliers in an industry.
  • Lastly, the overall rivalry or competition within the industry is analysed.

This tool helps one understand the relative powers of the major players in the industry and its overall competitive dynamics. Actionable and practical solutions can then be developed by keeping these factors into perspective.

PESTEL Analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

Another helpful tool that should be used in finding the case study solutions is the PESTEL analysis. This also looks at the external business environment of the organisation helps in finding case study Analysis to real-life business issues as in HBR cases.

  • The PESTEL analysis particularly looks at the macro environmental factors that affect the industry. These are the political, environmental, social, technological, environmental and legal (regulatory) factors affecting the industry.
  • Factors within each of these 6 should be listed down, and analysis should be made as to how these affect the organisation under question.
  • These factors are also responsible for the future growth and challenges within the industry. Hence, they should be taken into consideration when coming up with the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case solution.

VRIO Analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

This is an analysis carried out to know about the internal strengths and capabilities of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis. Under the VRIO analysis, the following steps are carried out:

  • The internal resources of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis are listed down.
  • Each of these resources are assessed in terms of the value it brings to the organization.
  • Each resource is assessed in terms of how rare it is. A rare resource is one that is not commonly used by competitors.
  • Each resource is assessed whether it could be imitated by competition easily or not.
  • Lastly, each resource is assessed in terms of whether the organization can use it to an advantage or not.

The analysis done on the 4 dimensions; Value, Rareness, Imitability, and Organization. If a resource is high on all of these 4, then it brings long-term competitive advantage. If a resource is high on Value, Rareness, and Imitability, then it brings an unused competitive advantage. If a resource is high on Value and Rareness, then it only brings temporary competitive advantage. If a resource is only valuable, then it’s a competitive parity. If it’s none, then it can be regarded as a competitive disadvantage.

Value Chain Analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

The Value chain analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis helps in identifying the activities of an organization, and how these add value in terms of cost reduction and differentiation. This tool is used in the case study analysis as follows:

  • The firm’s primary and support activities are listed down.
  • Identifying the importance of these activities in the cost of the product and the differentiation they produce.
  • Lastly, differentiation or cost reduction strategies are to be used for each of these activities to increase the overall value provided by these activities.

Recognizing value creating activities and enhancing the value that they create allow Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis to increase its competitive advantage.

BCG Matrix of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

The BCG Matrix is an important tool in deciding whether an organization should invest or divest in its strategic business units. The matrix involves placing the strategic business units of a business in one of four categories; question marks, stars, dogs and cash cows. The placement in these categories depends on the relative market share of the organization and the market growth of these strategic business units. The steps to be followed in this analysis is as follows:

  • Identify the relative market share of each strategic business unit.
  • Identify the market growth of each strategic business unit.
  • Place these strategic business units in one of four categories. Question Marks are those strategic business units with high market share and low market growth rate. Stars are those strategic business units with high market share and high market growth rate. Cash Cows are those strategic business units with high market share and low market growth rate. Dogs are those strategic business units with low market share and low growth rate.
  • Relevant strategies should be implemented for each strategic business unit depending on its position in the matrix.

The strategies identified from the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis BCG matrix and included in the case pdf. These are either to further develop the product, penetrate the market, develop the market, diversification, investing or divesting.

Ansoff Matrix of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

Ansoff Matrix is an important strategic tool to come up with future strategies for Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis in the case solution. It helps decide whether an organization should pursue future expansion in new markets and products or should it focus on existing markets and products.

  • The organization can penetrate into existing markets with its existing products. This is known as market penetration strategy.
  • The organization can develop new products for the existing market. This is known as product development strategy.
  • The organization can enter new markets with its existing products. This is known as market development strategy.
  • The organization can enter into new markets with new products. This is known as a diversification strategy.

The choice of strategy depends on the analysis of the previous tools used and the level of risk the organization is willing to take.

Marketing Mix of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis needs to bring out certain responses from the market that it targets. To do so, it will need to use the marketing mix, which serves as a tool in helping bring out responses from the market. The 4 elements of the marketing mix are Product, Price, Place and Promotions. The following steps are required to carry out a marketing mix analysis and include this in the case study analysis.

  • Analyse the company’s products and devise strategies to improve the product offering of the company.
  • Analyse the company’s price points and devise strategies that could be based on competition, value or cost.
  • Analyse the company’s promotion mix. This includes the advertisement, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, and direct marketing. Strategies will be devised which makes use of a few or all of these elements.
  • Analyse the company’s distribution and reach. Strategies can be devised to improve the availability of the company’s products.

Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Blue Ocean Strategy

The strategies devised and included in the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case memo should have a blue ocean strategy. A blue ocean strategy is a strategy that involves firms seeking uncontested market spaces, which makes the competition of the company irrelevant. It involves coming up with new and unique products or ideas through innovation. This gives the organization a competitive advantage over other firms, unlike a red ocean strategy.

Competitors analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

The PESTEL analysis discussed previously looked at the macro environmental factors affecting business, but not the microenvironmental factors. One of the microenvironmental factors are competitors, which are addressed by a competitor analysis. The Competitors analysis of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis looks at the direct and indirect competitors within the industry that it operates in.

  • This involves a detailed analysis of their actions and how these would affect the future strategies of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis.
  • It involves looking at the current market share of the company and its competitors.
  • It should compare the marketing mix elements of competitors, their supply chain, human resources, financial strength etc.
  • It also should look at the potential opportunities and threats that these competitors pose on the company.

Organisation of the Analysis into Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution

Once various tools have been used to analyse the case, the findings of this analysis need to be incorporated into practical and actionable solutions. These solutions will also be the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case answers. These are usually in the form of strategies that the organisation can adopt. The following step-by-step procedure can be used to organise the Harvard Business case solution and recommendations:

  • The first step of the solution is to come up with a corporate level strategy for the organisation. This part consists of solutions that address issues faced by the organisation on a strategic level. This could include suggestions, changes or recommendations to the company's vision, mission and its strategic objectives. It can include recommendations on how the organisation can work towards achieving these strategic objectives. Furthermore, it needs to be explained how the stated recommendations will help in solving the main issue mentioned in the case and where the company will stand in the future as a result of these.
  • The second step of the solution is to come up with a business level strategy. The HBR case studies may present issues faced by a part of the organisation. For example, the issues may be stated for marketing and the role of a marketing manager needs to be assumed. So, recommendations and suggestions need to address the strategy of the marketing department in this case. Therefore, the strategic objectives of this business unit (Marketing) will be laid down in the solutions and recommendations will be made as to how to achieve these objectives. Similar would be the case for any other business unit or department such as human resources, finance, IT etc. The important thing to note here is that the business level strategy needs to be aligned with the overall corporate strategy of the organisation. For example, if one suggests the organisation to focus on differentiation for competitive advantage as a corporate level strategy, then it can't be recommended for the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution that the business unit should focus on costs.
  • The third step is not compulsory but depends from case to case. In some HBR case studies, one may be required to analyse an issue at a department. This issue may be analysed for a manager or employee as well. In these cases, recommendations need to be made for these people. The solution may state that objectives that these people need to achieve and how these objectives would be achieved.

The case study analysis and solution, and Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case answers should be written down in the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case memo, clearly identifying which part shows what. The Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case should be in a professional format, presenting points clearly that are well understood by the reader.

Alternate solution to the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis HBR case study

It is important to have more than one solution to the case study. This is the alternate solution that would be implemented if the original proposed solution is found infeasible or impossible due to a change in circumstances. The alternate solution for Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis is presented in the same way as the original solution, where it consists of a corporate level strategy, business level strategy and other recommendations.

Implementation of Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Solution

The case study does not end at just providing recommendations to the issues at hand. One is also required to provide how these recommendations would be implemented. This is shown through a proper implementation framework. A detailed implementation framework helps in distinguishing between an average and an above average case study answer. A good implementation framework shows the proposed plan and how the organisations' resources would be used to achieve the objectives. It also lays down the changes needed to be made as well as the assumptions in the process.

  • A proper implementation framework shows that one has clearly understood the case study and the main issue within it.
  • It shows that one has been clarified with the HBR fundamentals on the topic.
  • It shows that the details provided in the case have been properly analysed.
  • It shows that one has developed an ability to prioritise recommendations and how these could be successfully implemented.
  • The implementation framework also helps by removing out any recommendations that are not practical or actionable as these could not be implemented. Therefore, the implementation framework ensures that the solution to the Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Harvard case is complete and properly answered.

Recommendations and Action Plan for Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis case analysis

For Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis, based on the SWOT Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, PESTEL Analysis, VRIO analysis, Value Chain Analysis, BCG Matrix analysis, Ansoff Matrix analysis, and the Marketing Mix analysis, the recommendations and action plan are as follows:

  • Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis should focus on making use of its strengths identified from the VRIO analysis to make the most of the opportunities identified from the PESTEL.
  • Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis should enhance the value creating activities within its value chain.
  • Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis should invest in its stars and cash cows, while getting rid of the dogs identified from the BCG Matrix analysis.
  • To achieve its overall corporate and business level objectives, it should make use of the marketing mix tools to obtain desired results from its target market.

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EMBA Pro case study solution for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study

At EMBA PRO , we provide corporate level professional case study solution. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by David P. Baron. The Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis (referred as “Mattel Toys” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Globalization, Product development. Our immersive learning methodology from – case study discussions to simulations tools help MBA and EMBA professionals to - gain new insight, deepen their knowledge of the Leadership & Managing People field, and broaden their skill set.

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Case Description of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study

In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the precautions Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, took to ensure the safety of its toys. In contrast to other toymakers, Mattel owned the factories in China where its most popular toys, such as Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, were made. Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. In each situation, Mattel must weigh legal, ethical, and business considerations in determining how to best react.

Case Authors : David P. Baron

Topic : leadership & managing people, related areas : globalization, product development, what is the case study method how can you use it to write case solution for mattel: crisis management or management crisis case study.

Almost all of the case studies contain well defined situations. MBA and EMBA professional can take advantage of these situations to - apply theoretical framework, recommend new processes, and use quantitative methods to suggest course of action. Awareness of the common situations can help MBA & EMBA professionals read the case study more efficiently, discuss it more effectively among the team members, narrow down the options, and write cogently.

Case Study Solution Approaches

Three Step Approach to Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution

The three step case study solution approach comprises – Conclusions – MBA & EMBA professionals should state their conclusions at the very start. It helps in communicating the points directly and the direction one took. Reasons – At the second stage provide the reasons for the conclusions. Why you choose one course of action over the other. For example why the change effort failed in the case and what can be done to rectify it. Or how the marketing budget can be better spent using social media rather than traditional media. Evidences – Finally you should provide evidences to support your reasons. It has to come from the data provided within the case study rather than data from outside world. Evidences should be both compelling and consistent. In case study method there is ‘no right’ answer, just how effectively you analyzed the situation based on incomplete information and multiple scenarios.

Case Study Solution of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

We write Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study solution using Harvard Business Review case writing framework & HBR Leadership & Managing People learning notes. We try to cover all the bases in the field of Leadership & Managing People, Globalization, Product development and other related areas.

Objectives of using various frameworks in Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study solution

By using the above frameworks for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study solutions, you can clearly draw conclusions on the following areas – What are the strength and weaknesses of Mattel Toys (SWOT Analysis) What are external factors that are impacting the business environment (PESTEL Analysis) Should Mattel Toys enter new market or launch new product (Opportunities & Threats from SWOT Analysis) What will be the expected profitability of the new products or services (Porter Five Forces Analysis) How it can improve the profitability in a given industry (Porter Value Chain Analysis) What are the resources needed to increase profitability (VRIO Analysis) Finally which business to continue, where to invest further and from which to get out (BCG Growth Share Analysis)

SWOT Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

SWOT analysis stands for – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are result of Mattel Toys internal factors, while opportunities and threats arise from developments in external environment in which Mattel Toys operates. SWOT analysis will help us in not only getting a better insight into Mattel Toys present competitive advantage but also help us in how things have to evolve to maintain and consolidate the competitive advantage.

- High customer loyalty & repeat purchase among existing customers – Mattel Toys old customers are still loyal to the firm even though it has limited success with millennial. I believe that Mattel Toys can make a transition even by keeping these people on board.

- Streamlined processes and efficient operation management – Mattel Toys is one of the most efficient firms in its segment. The credit for the performance goes to successful execution and efficient operations management.

- Little experience of international market – Even though it is a major player in local market, Mattel Toys has little experience in international market. According to David P. Baron , Mattel Toys needs international talent to penetrate into developing markets.

- Low profitability which can hamper new project investment – Even though Mattel Toys financial statement is stable, but going forward Mattel Toys 5-7% profitability can lead to shortage of funds to invest into new projects.

Opportunities

- Lucrative Opportunities in International Markets – Globalization has led to opportunities in the international market. Mattel Toys is in prime position to tap on those opportunities and grow the market share.

- Increase in Consumer Disposable Income – Mattel Toys can use the increasing disposable income to build a new business model where customers start paying progressively for using its products. According to David P. Baron of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study, Mattel Toys can use this trend to expand in adjacent areas Globalization, Product development.

- Growing dominance of digital players such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc can reduce the manoeuvring space for Mattel Toys and put upward pressure on marketing budget.

- Customers are moving toward mobile first environment which can hamper the growth as Mattel Toys still hasn’t got a comprehensive mobile strategy.

Once all the factors mentioned in the Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study are organized based on SWOT analysis, just remove the non essential factors. This will help you in building a weighted SWOT analysis which reflects the real importance of factors rather than just tabulation of all the factors mentioned in the case.

What is PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL /PEST / STEP Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study

PESTEL stands for – Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors that impact the macro environment in which Mattel Toys operates in. David P. Baron provides extensive information about PESTEL factors in Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study.

Political Factors

- Political and Legal Structure – The political system seems stable and there is consistency in both economic policies and foreign policies.

- Little dangers of armed conflict – Based on the research done by international foreign policy institutions, it is safe to conclude that there is very little probability of country entering into an armed conflict with another state.

Economic Factors

- According to David P. Baron . Mattel Toys should closely monitor consumer disposable income level, household debt level, and level of efficiency of local financial markets.

- Foreign Exchange movement is also an indicator of economic stability. Mattel Toys should closely consider the forex inflow and outflow. A number of Mattel Toys competitors have lost money in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela due to volatile forex market.

Social Factors

- Leisure activities, social attitudes & power structures in society - are needed to be analyzed by Mattel Toys before launching any new products as they will impact the demand of the products.

- Demographic shifts in the economy are also a good social indicator for Mattel Toys to predict not only overall trend in market but also demand for Mattel Toys product among its core customer segments.

Technological Factors

- Proliferation of mobile phones has created a generation whose primary tool of entertainment and information consumption is mobile phone. Mattel Toys needs to adjust its marketing strategy accordingly.

- Artificial intelligence and machine learning will give rise to importance of speed over planning. Mattel Toys needs to build strategies to operate in such an environment.

Environmental Factors

- Environmental regulations can impact the cost structure of Mattel Toys. It can further impact the cost of doing business in certain markets.

- Consumer activism is significantly impacting Mattel Toys branding, marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Legal Factors

- Property rights are also an area of concern for Mattel Toys as it needs to make significant Globalization, Product development infrastructure investment just to enter new market.

- Intellectual property rights are one area where Mattel Toys can face legal threats in some of the markets it is operating in.

What are Porter Five Forces

Porter Five Forces Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

Competition among existing players, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, and threat of substitutes.

What is VRIO Analysis

VRIO Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

VRIO stands for – Value of the resource that Mattel Toys possess, Rareness of those resource, Imitation Risk that competitors pose, and Organizational Competence of Mattel Toys. VRIO and VRIN analysis can help the firm.

What is Porter Value Chain

Porter Value Chain Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

As the name suggests Value Chain framework is developed by Michael Porter in 1980’s and it is primarily used for analyzing Mattel Toys relative cost and value structure. Managers can use Porter Value Chain framework to disaggregate various processes and their relative costs in the Mattel Toys. This will help in answering – the related costs and various sources of competitive advantages of Mattel Toys in the markets it operates in. The process can also be done to competitors to understand their competitive advantages and competitive strategies. According to Michael Porter – Competitive Advantage is a relative term and has to be understood in the context of rivalry within an industry. So Value Chain competitive benchmarking should be done based on industry structure and bottlenecks.

What is BCG Growth Share Matrix

BCG Growth Share Matrix of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

BCG Growth Share Matrix is very valuable tool to analyze Mattel Toys strategic positioning in various sectors that it operates in and strategic options that are available to it. Product Market segmentation in BCG Growth Share matrix should be done with great care as there can be a scenario where Mattel Toys can be market leader in the industry without being a dominant player or segment leader in any of the segment. BCG analysis should comprise not only growth share of industry & Mattel Toys business unit but also Mattel Toys - overall profitability, level of debt, debt paying capacity, growth potential, expansion expertise, dividend requirements from shareholders, and overall competitive strength. Two key considerations while using BCG Growth Share Matrix for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study solution - How to calculate Weighted Average Market Share using BCG Growth Share Matrix Relative Weighted Average Market Share Vs Largest Competitor

5C Marketing Analysis of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

4p marketing analysis of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, porter five forces analysis and solution of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, porter value chain analysis and solution of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, case memo & recommendation memo of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, blue ocean analysis and solution of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, marketing strategy and analysis mattel: crisis management or management crisis, vrio /vrin analysis & solution of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, pestel / step / pest analysis of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, swot analysis and solution of mattel: crisis management or management crisis, references & further readings.

David P. Baron (2018) , "Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.

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Unsafe For Children: Mattel’s Toy Recalls and Supply Chain Management

In August and September 2007, Mattel made a series of product recalls, totaling more than 20 million toys. The recalls were for excessive lead and for magnets that could become loose. All of the recalled toys had been made in China. The Mattel recalls followed on the heels of a number of high profile safety problems with Chinese imports, including contaminated pet food and toothpaste, defective tires, and lead-painted toys. The recalls sparked intense criticism of Mattel and its Chinese supply chain, despite the fact that more than 85 percent of the recalled toys were due to design problems (magnets), not the result of improper manufacturing (use of lead paint). The case provides a basis for discussion of outsourcing and supply chain management. The basic toy manufacturing process is fairly simple, providing a forum for discussing these issues without the complication of advanced manufacturing technology or an involved supply chain. In this case, supply chain defects, such as the use of lead paint by vendors, can have severe consequences. The supply chain must be designed to prevent these defects. The case enables discussion of why companies outsource, managing a supply chain, and the appropriate use of inspection and testing. It also provides the opportunity to examine response to a crisis situation, and the relationship between a company and government.

mattel crisis management case study

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Case Study Solution

Mattel crisis management or management crisis case study help.

Mattel Crisis Management Or Management Crisis Management We often talk about the financial crisis and how it could happen. I’ve written about this in the past. I”m going to focus on the financial crisis, and how it can negatively affect the economy. What is the crisis management? The Crisis Management For the People is a term that I use to describe the situation that occurs in this economy. It’s a term that we call the following: The economy is in a state of crisis. We have an economy in crisis. What’s the most dire scenario for the economy? What are the most dire scenarios for the economy that we’re talking about? In this article, I’m going to discuss the crisis management scenario that is being talked about. I‘m going to talk about the following: a) the most dire situation that we‘ve had lately; b) the most severe crisis situation that we have when we‘re talking about; c) the most devastating crisis that we have, and d) the most dangerous crisis that we“re talking about.

Marketing Plan

Why is the crisis in this economy being talked about? What is it that we”re talking about the most? How does it affect the economy? What are the challenges that we�”re seeing in this country? What are some of the most concerning issues that we� William S. Alston and Henry Ford faced during the crisis? Is it the most concerning thing for the United States to have to face this crisis? What“s the most concerning for the United State to have to have to be kept from the people of this country? If you”re thinking about it, what is the most critical thing to do? How does the United States have to face the crisis? How can we help the people of our country? When we were talking about the crisis in the United States, we said that we would “have to deal with this crisis” in the future. What’s going to happen now? It’s not just the United States. There”s a lot of people who have been under the stress of the crisis, the people of the United States who have been told that they need to be prepared for the upcoming crisis. Why do we need to build a new government? Why do we need the people of another country? Why do you need to get the people of other countries to do the government? Why does the United Kingdom need to be the person that meets the needs of the people of UK? What do you need the people to do for the people of England? What does it take to take care of the people? What can you do to help the people? What can you do for them? What should you do for the United Kingdom? What would you do to support the people of Scotland? What could you do to make the people of Ireland feel that they”re at the best of health? What might be the best way to help the United Kingdom and the people of America? What if you give the people of Canada the support that they need? What services will they need? What services can they provide? Why would you want to help the British people? What are they asking aboutMattel Crisis Management Or Management Crisis? In recent weeks, we have been hearing a lot about the need for a new management crisis click this site visit this site right here How many of us are in this kind of process? Are we talking about some sort of “change in care” that will be reflected in the overall system? The answer to these questions is in the form of a crisis management system, which would be an excellent fit for our state and the country’s future. We are going to look at the current situation in more detail at this year’s conference. In your opinion, does the crisis management system work for you? Yes.

Porters Five Forces Analysis

What is the state of the care and management system in the USA right now? The USA is presently a major center of care, with many organizations and centers of care that are in the process of changing the care and managing their own care. If you are in the field, you will be in a situation where you will have to learn a lot to manage your own care. If you say no, what do you think is the most appropriate thing to do? One thing that is more important is to know the trends in the care system. It is the way that people are taking care of their own. It is not a new system; it is a new way of managing care. It is a part of life. To be sure, it is a part that we are already in. If you don’t know it, don’ t have any questions.

Evaluation of Alternatives

We will look at it. I am sure that the process of managing a care system with the care manager has been quite successful. Given the population that is growing, the care manager could be in the position of having to change the care system as quickly as possible. It is becoming more and more important to know how to manage care in the new care management system. But what changes are there in the care management system in this country, and how can we improve it? I think that we need to start talking more about the care management process. We need to know what are the best ways to manage care, and to what tasks are done in a care management system, and how to manage the care for the next life. In the future, there will be more and more people that are entering the care system, and the care manager will have to be a very skilled, trained, and very dedicated person. Who would you like to see in the future as the care manager? We will see more and more care managers in the future.

Porters Model Analysis

The care manager will be a professional person, and the management team will be someone that is very responsible. It is necessary for people who have arrived in the care industry to have the same level of care as the care managers that have come in the care of the care manager. How do you feel about this? It makes me feel very tired. It feels very tired. The care is really not doing well. I feel very tired, and it is very difficult to do the care management during this time. I would like to do the management of the care management as a team. Do you think the care management is working well? Of course, it is working very well.

Case Study Analysis

I think that there is a lot of change in care. But the care manager is not working well, andMattel Crisis Management Or Management Crisis? Perhaps this is just a quick summary of a story that was published on the front page of the NY Daily News. In this story we are going to walk you through the process of a crisis management strategy that in the long run is going to lead to more problems, more problems with the company and more problems with customers. This is not a story that is being talked about frequently or discussed. This is a story about a situation where a customer makes a complaint about a product and fails to respond to a customer’s demand. This is an example from a situation where the customer has a complaint about an anti-labor product but fails to make a complaint. This is, in essence, a story about how multiple companies can have a problem, but they all have problems. I have been working on this for a year now and have seen several stories that have been published, many of which are about the same type of situation as this one.

Alternatives

The story I’ve written for this story is the first one I’ll be talking about. First, Read Full Report beginning of the first story. It starts with the first customer saying that they need to upgrade their product line. They get a call from the customer, they go to the customer’ s place and they see a customer that is complaining about an anti product. This customer has a problem (a) that they don’t like, or (b) that they get a response so they need to make a change. The customer has a third problem they don‘t like (c) they don“t like the product, but they don”t like the customer. The customer is trying to get the new product to their order, but the customer is not going to give them the solution. The customer gets a call from a second customer that is dissatisfied, and the second customer is not satisfied.

PESTEL Analysis

The customer just wants to complain about the product, not the customer. The next story is the second customer that tries to complain about a product but the customer does not respond at all. The customer does complain about the new product, but there is no response from the second customer. The second customer tries to get the customer to complain about it, but there isn‘t a response from the customer. Again, the customer doesn‘t respond at all, and the customer is trying again. The second one is getting the new product but the new product has not been changed. The customer then thinks that the customer is complaining about the new products, but the new products have not been changed for a long time. This is the second story.

VRIO Analysis

You can see the second customer getting their new find more information They are trying to get a new product and the customer has not received a response. The customer goes to the customer s place and goes to the third customer that is not satisfied, and the third customer is not happy. Again, these are the second stories. So, the next story is that the second customer just tells them that the customer has been complaining about the product. This is the third story. You need to write a message to the customer saying that the customer had a complaint, and the next story will be the third one. There is an interview for this story with a customer browse around these guys is dissatisfied.

BCG Matrix Analysis

The customer says that the customer does complain and that the customer was not pleased with the new product. The customer

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Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

By: David P. Baron

In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the…

  • Length: 8 page(s)
  • Publication Date: Jul 29, 2008
  • Discipline: General Management
  • Product #: P59-HCB-ENG

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In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the precautions Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, took to ensure the safety of its toys. In contrast to other toymakers, Mattel owned the factories in China where its most popular toys, such as Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, were made. Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. In each situation, Mattel must weigh legal, ethical, and business considerations in determining how to best react.

Learning Objectives

To learn about ethical, legal, and other nonmarket forces that shaped Mattel's response to product safety problems. To be able to recommend a strategy to Mattel in dealing with continuing safety issues.

Jul 29, 2008

Discipline:

General Management

Geographies:

China, United States

Industries:

Retail and consumer goods

Stanford Graduate School of Business

P59-HCB-ENG

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mattel crisis management case study

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What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud seeding

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  1. Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis

    Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis. By David Baron. 2008 | Case No. P59. Organizational Behavior. In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature ...

  2. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

    Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. ... Crisis Management or Management Crisis. By: David P. Baron. In late 2006 and early 2007 ...

  3. 5 Lessons Learned From Mattel's Lead Paint Crisis

    RELATED: 3. Take Responsibility. Take the blame. Public finger pointing isn't going to get you anywhere. According to the CPSC, Mattel's CEO said that the company was increasing the aggressiveness of toy testing methods, which would likely result in additional recalls as a precautionary measure. 4.

  4. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

    Business Case Studies. Leadership & Managing People; Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis. by David P. Baron, * * * * $8.95 - $11.95 ... Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels ...

  5. How Mattel regained trust

    Wealth Management; Moral Money; ... Case Studies Mattel Inc. ... Mattel's surveys showed 75 per cent of people felt it did a good job handling the crisis. Mattel was praised by the media and in ...

  6. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution for

    8 pages. Release: July 29, 2008. Prod #: P59-PDF-ENG. Mattel: crisis management solution or crisis case management. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis In late 2006 and early 2007, a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With the problems of safety of Chinese.

  7. Mattel's Product Recalls (B): Managing the Crisis

    Mattel's Product Recalls (B) | Managing the Crisis focus on a sequel to Mattel's Product Recalls (A): The Chinese Imbroglio this case study deals with Mattel's series of recalls in August-September 2007, just before the peak holiday-selling season. It highlights the media and public onslaught, the initial blame-game between Mattel and the Chinese manufacturers, its CEO, Robert Eckert's public ...

  8. The Best Crisis Management Examples

    Crisis management case studies are especially instructive when you compare how two organizations coped with relatively similar problems. The following examples are organized around crisis type, including social media crises. ... Example: Mattel In 2017, toy maker Mattel recalled nearly 2 million toys that were tainted with outlawed lead paint ...

  9. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis [8 Steps]Change

    Step 1 - Establish a sense of urgency. What are areas that require urgent change management efforts in the " Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis " case study. Some of the areas that require urgent changes are - organizing sales force to meet competitive realities, building new organizational structure to enter new markets or ...

  10. The Case of the Lead Toys

    The case asks students to play the role of the General Counsel for Mattel, determine what questions to ask their client, and draft a press release to communicate to the public about the crisis. The problem fits in the general category of avoiding trouble or distributing losses that have already occurred.

  11. Mattel's Product Recalls (B): Managing the Crisis

    This is the second of a two-case series. This case study deals with Mattel's series of recalls in August-September 2007, just before the peak holiday-selling season. It highlights the media and public onslaught, the initial blame-game between Mattel and the Chinese manufacturers, its CEO, Robert Eckert's public apology and his personal handling ...

  12. Mattel's China Experience: A Crisis in Toyland Case Study

    Company Overview of Mattel Corporation. In 1945, two entrepreneurs established Mattel Corporation with small range of product line, but now, it is the largest Toy Company in the world. According to the report of Gamache, et al (2), the name of this company derived from two founders. We will write a custom essay on your topic.

  13. Crisis Management as in Mattel Inc

    Vi. conclusion The various ways to come out of a crisis in a business needs adamant planning and strong strategical devices and organisational unity. This is very much shown by Mattel Inc. The Company adopted various ways and processes of crisis management to come up of the 2007 recalls.

  14. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Memo

    Next Steps for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study memo. Clearly specify the roadmap of the execution. Provide specific date and action that are required to carry on the next steps. ... Exhibits for Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case memo. An Exhibit can be a data chart, map, graph, grid, or simple data table.

  15. Crisis Management: Dealing with a Product Crisis|Marketing|Case Study

    Crisis Management: Dealing with a Product Crisis. This is a collection of three caselets discussing the product crises faced by Nokia, Baush & Lomb (B&L) and Mattel, and how these companies responded in the respective crisis situation. In 2007, some concerns regarding the safety of Nokia's BL-5C batteries arose.

  16. Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Analysis and Case

    Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution - Mattel Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study is included in the Harvard Business Review Case Study. Therefore, it is necessary…

  17. MBA PESTEL : Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis PESTEL

    Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis case study (referred as "Mattel Toys" for purpose of this article) is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study covering topics such as Leadership & Managing People and strategic management. It is written by David P. Baron and shed light on critical areas in field of Leadership & Managing ...

  18. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study Solution

    Case Description of Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis Case Study In late 2006 and early 2007 a number of imports from China, including toys, were found to pose health risks. With safety concerns about Chinese imports on the minds of readers, on July 26, 2007 the New York Times carried a feature article on the precautions Mattel ...

  19. Unsafe For Children: Mattel's Toy Recalls and Supply Chain Management

    The recalls sparked intense criticism of Mattel and its Chinese supply chain, despite the fact that more than 85 percent of the recalled toys were due to design problems (magnets), not the result of improper manufacturing (use of lead paint). The case provides a basis for discussion of outsourcing and supply chain management.

  20. Mattel Crisis Case Study

    Mattel Crisis Case Study. Client Engagement Mattel in under a crisis because of costumer's reliability on the poor quality of some of its products due to Chinese supplier's low accountability and internal quality problems at Mattel. China was previously under quality problems because of high levels of lead and also sharp edges in toys produced ...

  21. Crisis Communication: Case Studies and Lessons

    ISBN: 978-1-4987-5134-6. Communication is such an intrinsic and universal aspect of crisis and emergency management and is of such significance to everyone involved in disasters (planners, responders, media professionals, victims and community members) that a book on this subject is likely to be of interest and practical help to a very wide ...

  22. Mattel Crisis Management Or Management Crisis Case Study Help

    I"m going to focus on the financial crisis, and how it can negatively affect the economy. What is the crisis management? The Crisis Management For the People is a term that I use to describe the situation that occurs in this economy. It's a term that we call the following: The economy is in a state of crisis. We have an economy in crisis.

  23. Mattel: Crisis Management or Management Crisis

    Mattel's precautions, however, were not sufficient to shield it from health hazards in the toys it made in China. This case follows a number of product safety snafus, mainly around high lead levels, that Mattel faced from its various suppliers in China. ... Crisis Management or Management Crisis. By: David P. Baron. In late 2006 and early 2007 ...

  24. Dubai's Extraordinary Flooding: Here's What to Know

    One recent study of Sharjah, the capital of the third-largest emirate in the U.A.E., found that the city's rapid growth over the past half century had made it vulnerable to flooding at far lower ...

  25. What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud

    April 17, 20249:07 AM PDTUpdated 28 min ago. [1/5]People walk through flood water caused by heavy rains, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Purchase Licensing ...