Moral and Ethical Decision Making at a Toy Production Company

Moral and Ethical Decision Making at a Toy Production Company

Case Description

This is my own case study motivated by a story I heard about a toy production company in America thus my morally problematic situation entails an industrial dilemma involving a quality assurance department which has identified a problem in their final products during a routine check. The primary market for the elementary toy collection is elementary schools. The problem is that some of the toys included in the elementary toy collection consisting of whistles that are defective. Specifically, one metal whistle that is included in the toy collection did not pass testing due to small traces of lead metals components. The amount of lead included in the whistles is slightly above the U.S. legally acceptable limits for children ages 7 and younger. A
large shipment of the elementary toy collection is scheduled to be shipped to schools in South America at the end of the week, just in time for the beginning of the school year. The approximate cost to reproduce the product and repackage the toy collections is $100,000 which is costly for the organization because it had a relatively low revenue and income in the last fiscal year. I will therefore analyze this case scenario with the assumption or viewpoint of an elementary division’s manager at the toy production company. In my reporting of the situation I assume first person narration as an elementary division manager so that I express the different point of views and the divergent thinking that crossed my mind in an attempt to solve the morally problematic situation. The case is a presentation of a problematic situation since I was torn apart between favoring the interests of the organization or considering the effects the defective products would have on the consumer who are children aged between three and seven years.

Moral Issues

Decision making requires a lot of professionalism. Apparently issues are raised concerning the possible dangers of the whistles harming children. From the case the future the American economy and county at large is dependent upon the healthy growth of the elementary school children. What then will happen if the pieces of lead maimed their life or caused death? Not only will the future of the country be blurred but also severe legal actions will be taken against the toy production company. The moral implication of doing the right thing which involves revoking the already packaged toys from the stores and manufacturing good whistles devoid of defects could be too expensive for the company to bear. This means that the organization will face financial hardships due to the large sums of money required to reproduce and repackage the toys but thinking about the moral implications of the defective whistles on the children and the possible long term repercussions such as; revoking of the production license from the toy production company which could lead the business into liquidation will even be more disastrous.

The moral implication of this moral problem to the company could revolve around economic constraints. Accordingly, thinking of making other toys is beyond the company’s targeted expenditure since the approximate cost to reproduce the product and repackage the toy collections could be estimated at $100,000. There is also the moral implication of urgency in delivering the goods because they are required in two weeks’ time. The organization further has the moral obligation of upholding the integrity of the multinational and highly reputed manufacturing organization by dealing with the marketing dilemma facing it at the moment. This calls for quick measures to correct the anomalies. To my opinion would consider these points, and take a keener look at financial, legal and ethical implications of each and every point (Burton, 2008). From the analysis of the moral implications on the young children aged between three and seven, the company and the neighboring communities or the general public, I analyzed the situation with rationality and came up with these three decision alternatives to address the problem regarding the whistles.

Possible resolutions to the moral and ethical dilemma facing the toy company

I made various considerations regarding the morality and ethics point of views which concurrently laying emphasis on moral and ethics theories to back up my suggested solutions. The first option is to cancel the orders so that the toys collection is reproduce and repackaged according to the required standards. The second option is assuming the anomalies and sending the orders to their destination assuming the defects will not be noticed. In the event that they are discovered we will then think of compensating the affected consumers. The third option is to dismantle all the toys and label them so that the customer selects the toys suitable to them.

Justification for the Possible Moral and Ethics Resolution Identified

Using ethical theories and principles which are the cornerstone for any analysis of a moral problem, I gathered the viewpoints that guided my decision making (Ferrell, 2010). I then decided to majored my points on prediction of the possible outcomes to reach a sound ethical decision. The main moral and ethics theories that support my suggested verdicts are: beneficence to the organization which considers the option with least harms to the children and generally the end buyers, prima facie duties theory and the common good approach theory. Basing my judgment on the ethical principle of prima facie duties rather, commonly known as the rights theory suggests that a moral action is the one that best respects and protects the moral rights of those affected. This is because human beings have a dignity based on their human nature which should be respected at all times. This theory therefore demands that due respect should be accorded to the final consumers of our companies products as they have the right and freedom to consume high quality product. This justification therefore support why the toy company should not sell the goods after knowing they are defective thus withdrawing the order could be a suitable suggestion because it protects the rights of the innocent children who are the final consumers or users of the defective whistles.

Secondly, analyzing the theory of beneficence also known as the utilitarian theory; a moral and ethical action is one that provides the most good or least harm to the community and the people involved (Shaw, 2010). From this perspective, assuming the defects detected in the toy whistles and delivering the orders to the supplementary schools with the hope that the defects will not be noticed is a better option since considering the cost of repackaging and reproducing could be too costly for the business which is yet to recover from the low revenue earned in the previous fiscal year. This is an unplanned for cost which could destabilize the financial base of the toy company. Given that the factory employs many workers, it is prudent to maintain it for the sake of the wider community and just sale the defective whistle toys as they are. This suggestion also entails selling the products hoping that they will pass through the bureaus of standards unnoticed and that they won’t cause side effects to the final users. In the event something happens and raises the public attention then the organization will be forced to compensate the children or cater for their hospital bills.

Thirdly, basing on the common good approach theory, I think the toy manufacturing company could think of reproducing the commodities no matter what cost will be involved. This theory is based on the notion that life in sacred hence every economic action should be focused on contributing towards attainment of high standards of good life. Weighing the situation at hand, if the toy manufacturing company really means undertaking good business for its customers then the management needs to act, maybe, I suggest the company could consider labeling the defective toy whistles so that whoever buys them does so having full knowledge that the product is defective. Since the lead particles traced in the toys mostly affects children under the age of seven year and assuming there are students older than seven years who may not be affected by the mineral components in the toys then it would be a prudent idea to sell them the whistles. Analyzing this problem as suggested above brings balance between the manufactures and the buyers as it acknowledges the mistakes made and puts a provision for buyers to determine what is good for them (Burton, 2008).

In first case the future of a country is dependent upon the good up bring of elementary school children. What then will happen if the pieces of lead identified in the toy whistles maimed their life or even worse caused death? Not only will the future of the country be blurred but also severe legal actions will be taken against this company. On the other hand the organization will face financial hardships due to the large sums of money required to reproduce and repackage the toys but think about the long term repercussions such as; revoking of the production license, this is more disastrous as the business will be forced into liquidation. In my opinion it’s better not to take chances on this as we would rather appreciate the challenges and make them our stepping stones in future than gamble and lose our reputation as an organization. Basing on the rights theory, the ethical cooperate action is the one that produces the greatest good and least harm for all who are affected for instance the suppliers, creditors, community, shareholders and the customers.

Taking a look at the utilitarian theory which supports selling the goods as they are for instance assuming that the packaged whistle toys are standard and have no knowledge, it will be of a greater advantage assuming that it goes through. The firm would continue with its normal operations. On the other hand, if the goods are discovered to be defective by the standards bureaus, the company could be fined heavily or arraigned in court for legal action with regard to breaching moral and ethic considerations. Certainly, this will put the company in a risky situation. The third case only affects the company producing the toys because if the whistles are not shipped the children will not be affected. Maybe they could only be affected by delays. Based on the legal argument of consumer rights, in the event that consumers filed court cases the company may end up losing much more than it could have lost if the consignment was delivered to the supplementary schools across America. The law could again treat this matter as blatant negligence in production and fine the company heavily.

Conclusion

Among the points identified, reproduction and repackaging of defective goods is the best step to achieve consumer brand loyalty. Rather than compromising quality, it is better to do what you can justify as right to oneself, the government and to the consumers. My recommendation could bring about a more bonding relationship between the customers and the organization. In addition, social responsibilities are the actions taken by an organization out of their own will to help the community in which they operate (Burton, 2008). Such actions are voluntary as a way of giving back to the community for the support or to replenish what has been taken from the environment. It comes in handy in implementing decision making as it supports the rights theory and helps the organization prioritize their customers more than their urge for profits which then is a moral and ethical cause.

 

 

References

Burton, D. (2008). Cross-cultural marketing: theory, practice and relevance. Dallas: Illustrated Publishers.

Ferrell, L. (2010). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Case. New York: Mc-Gram Publishers.

Shaw, W. (2010). Business Ethics: A Textbook with Cases. Texas: Edition Publishers.

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