Mattel's China experience Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mattel's China experience - Case Study Example For toys produced at company-run plants, Mattel has greater control over the materials that are used and the processes that are enacted during the production process. This is unlike contract manufacturers, who have somewhat of a free reign to do as they please. Materials are not tested before use and assembly plants are not regularly inspected with contract manufacturers. Even though Mattel hired independent investigators to check that materials and processes were up to standard, they were not able to detect any lead contamination in the paint used on toys. From a policy/audit standpoint, Mattel could have been more thorough in its investigations. First of all, the company could have appointed in-house inspectors to check that the toys met health and safety standards before the independent investigators were brought in. Having two sets of checks allows each report to be matched up and discrepancies found. Also, for the toys produced by contract manufacturers, additional testing shoul d have been completed to ensure that no lead was found in any products. Instead of just checking the products at the factories in China, another check should be made on all products when entering the United States. For a company that prides itself and safety and trust, it did not seem to have robust processes to check for product quality. In his media interview, senior vice-president Jim Walter said that manufacturing partners were required to use paint from approved and certified suppliers, but obviously this was not the case. If Mattel chooses to continue with using contract manufacturers, then the materials to be used should be sourced by Mattel and sent directly to the manufacturing partner. Mattel has very little control over the production processes used to make toys in those factories, but what it can do is conduct a thorough check of every toy that is produced by that method. 2. Assess Mattel’s performance during the toy recall process. How did the firm do with addres sing the concerns of various stakeholders? I feel that Mattel performed admirably in an almost impossible situation. The company was caught by surprise by the scandal and was forced to take retrospective action. Jim Walter gave a media interview that suggested at potential quality problems, but the company did put out a press release owning up to the problem. The company did not hide from this situation and chose to conduct a thorough investigation. This led to more discoveries of unsafe products, so it was a good thing that the company was quick to act. Although the was alarm from Americans, Robert Eckert did testify to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Eckert was apologetic in his tone, but he did stress that this was the first quality issue stemming from China in more than 20 years of production there. Perhaps the one stakeholder that Mattel did not adequately address was the stock market, as the company's share price dropped massively as a result. Consumers did threaten to boycott the company's products initially, but the fact that the company was so quick to recall products allayed those concerns. 3. Going forward, how can Mattel recover from parental fears of unsafe toys produced by Mattel? What can the firm do to recover a positive reputation? First of all, it is going to take some time to recover from the

Intercultural communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intercultural communication - Essay Example This happens when cultural differences interfere in the interpretation of the message, wherein difficulties may arise, as well as misunderstandings and hatred. Surface-structure cultural transfer comes in either the language form or the speech act. The language form involves understanding of the different lexical culture, such a vacant words, words with strong cultural connotation, idioms, proverbs and polite formulas. Since native speakers acquire them unconsciously, second language learners learn them according to their own cultural background. On the other hand, speech act may only be avoided if the people involved in the communication process should take time in analyzing first the culture of the speaker in which the speech is delivered. The negative transfer of deep-structure culture, on the other hand, occurs in situations where individuals have varying cultural values, thought patterns, religious beliefs and ethics. In Wei’s study of Chinese and the American intercultural communication, culture plays a big factor in the negative transfer of ideas. China, as a country driven by collectivism, puts emphasis on the views, needs and goals of the in-group (relatives, clans, organizations) rather than oneself; social norms and duty defined by the in-group rather than behavior to get pleasure; beliefs shared with the in-group rather than beliefs that distinguish self from in-group; great readiness to cooperate with in-group members. In contrast, American culture is deeply rooted in individualism, thus the interpretation of these two cultures vary. In addition, Chinese associate and depend their decision according to their past experiences. They give emphasis on their past such that they believe that the past guide s them for their actions in the present. However, Americans believe the other way. They give more emphasis on the future such that they give much attention to what would happen next rather than look at the