Product Safety and Preemptive Recalls case study
Type Essay
Level College
Style APA
Sources
Language English(U.S.)
Description
From the GVV site, read the Product Safety and Preemptive Recalls case study.� Using the lessons from chapter seven of the textbook answer the four questions at the end of this case study. please answer the question at the end of this case based on this instruction
Product Safety and (Preemptive) Recalls1
Susan has recently been made product manager of PediaBoost, a nutritional supplement in her
company�s infant product line. PediaBoost has been on the market for more than two decades, is FDA
approved and is considered so reliable by the parents of newborns that the PediaBoost brand name is
considered as synonymous with nutritional supplements for infants. Market research has discovered that
adults are now using PediaBoost as a supplement during detoxification diets/flushes that are considered
part of a healthy lifestyle.
Market research presents their findings to the executive committee, and proposes a marketing blitz to
effectively capture PediaBoost�s use in this alternative market. The marketing strategy will involve a
sticker on the product touting the health benefits of the activity and PediaBoost�s relation to it. The
marketing department gives a conservative projection of a 50% increase in sales of PediaBoost over the
next five years. Everyone at the meeting appears to be impressed, especially since the PediaBoost
production line has plenty of spare capacity. Indeed, most of the products the firm produces are in the
�mature� phase of their life cycle and the firm is in increasing need of new sources of growth.
At a dinner party Susan brings up discussion of detoxifications to kick start a diet. Several guests
remark that they have used PediaBoost for this activity and that several books by diet gurus mention it
by name as part of a detoxification cycle that is part of a healthy lifestyle.
In browsing the web, Susan finds several yet unpublished university studies linking detoxification
diets/flushes with reducing the effectiveness of flu shots for adults. Further, PediaBoost was used in
many of these trials. Susan now has doubts about positioning her product for this market. She realizes
that if she has access to these studies, then so does the relevant government regulating authority. She
also realizes that if she suggests pulling the plug on the marketing blitz, it may derail her from the fast
track to promotion. At the same time, being placed in charge of PediaBoost in the first place is already a
1 This case has, in part, been inspired by the readings:
Nash, Laura L. (2006). �Decision 1. Marketing Baby Oil at Johnson & Johnson,� in Good Intentions Aside. A Manager�s
Guide to Resolving Ethical Problems, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, pp.83-85, and,
Vagelos, Roy and Louis Galambos (2006). The Moral Corporation, NY: Cambridge University Press, pp.57-76.
This case was prepared for the Giving Voice to Values program by Daniel G. Arce, Ph.D., Department of Economics, School
of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas and Mary C. Gentile, Ph.D.
This material is part of the Giving Voice to Values curriculum collection (www.GivingVoiceToValues.org).
The Aspen Institute was founding partner, along with the Yale School of Management, and incubator for Giving Voice to Values (GVV).
Now Funded by Babson College.
Do not alter or distribute without permission. � Mary C. Gentile, 2010
2
good signal that she is moving up the corporate ladder. She considers how to make her position most
effectively within the firm.
Discussion Questions
What�s at stake for the key parties, including those with whom Susan disagrees?
What are the main arguments Susan is trying to counter? That is, what are the reasons and
rationalizations you need to address?
What levers/arguments can Susan use to influence those with whom she disagrees?
What is Susan�s most powerful and persuasive response to the reasons and
rationalizations he needs to address?