MATTEL RECALL
By Jackie, Tashunda, Sandra
and Eddie
Mattel History
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In 1945 Ruth and Elliot Handler and Harold “Matt” Masson
launched Mattel out of a garage workshop in Southern
California.
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In 1960 Mattel became a publicly owned company.
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1997 Mattel merged with Tyco, the third largest toy company
in the world, resulting in the Sesame Street License.
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May 2000 under the leadership of Bob Eckert Mattel unveiled
a new vision with a clear focus on building brands, cutting
costs and developing people.
Mattel Today
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World’s Largest Toy Company
Toy Lines Include Barbie, Hot Wheels,
Harry Potter and American Girls, FisherPrice
Toys are produced in company-owned
manufacturing facilities in China,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, as
well as through independent contractors
located in United States, Europe, Mexico,
the Far East and Australia.
Mattel Leadership
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Current CEO – Bob Eckert
MBA from Kellogg School of
Management
23 years with Kraft Foods becoming
CEO
Joined Mattel in May 2000, replacing
“the flamboyant” Jill Barad as
President and CEO
Mattel Leadership continued
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Bob Eckert has a Transformational
leadership style
Innovative, productive, and
committed to organizational learning
Concerned with socialization of new
employees
Creative strategies to overcome the
uncertainties of adjustment to new
organizational culture
Mattel Recalls
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Mattel's difficulties stem from two sources: lead paint and small
magnets.
On August 2nd, the company announced a recall of approximately
1.5 million Fisher-Price toys that contain lead paint- including
Ernie, Elmo, Dora the Explorer and Big Bird.
August 14, 2007 Mattel announces recall for 9 million more
Chinese made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and
“Cars” movie items, and warned that more could be come because
of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed
On September 5th, Mattel announces a third recall of Chinese toys,
saying it would take back more than 800,000 units globally that
contain "impermissible" levels of lead
Mattel Recalls cont.
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About 65% of Mattel's toys are made in China, with half of those toys
made in Mattel owned plants and the rest in about a dozen vendor factories.
According to the company the problems occurred after its Chinese
contractor subcontracted the painting of the toys to a supplier that used
inferior and unauthorized products.
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Those inferior and unauthorized products being lead. If lead is ingested it
can lead to developmental problems in children or the fetus of pregnant
women.
Consumer Reaction to Recall
According to the Harris poll:
 91% of adults are aware of a toy recall
 33% of adults will stop buying toys
manufactured in china
 31% of adults threw out a toy impacted
by recall
 13% of adults returned the toy for a
refund
 Of all the adults that believe a recalled toy
is in their home, only 55% have discarded
the toy
Government Reaction to Recall
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Senate Hearing with Consumer Product Safety Commission
House Bill being proposed to increase fines from $1.25 M to
$100 Million
The bill, headed next for the House floor, would also require
more independent safety testing of products, wider use of
tracking labels and better recall procedures.
The California attorney general and Los Angeles city
attorney filed a lawsuit against 20 companies, including
Mattel, accusing them of knowingly exposing children to
lead and failing to provide warning of the risk.
If the suit is successful, the complaint says the companies
could pay a $2,500 fine for each violation.
Mattel’s Response & Resolution
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Bob Eckert wrote and published an opinion statement that was published in
the September 11, 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal
On September 21st Mattel apologized for damaging the reputation of
Chinese goods admitting it targeted some good goods that were up to
scratch. In addition the chairman and CEO Robert Eckert apologized by
continuously publicizing its recalls the including the example above.
“We are by no means perfect. The company could have done a better job
overseeing subcontractors in China that produced more than 21 million
recalled toys. ”
As a result of the recalls Mattel will now require that every batch of paint
from every vendor be tested for lead, that random inspections be instituted
and that every production run of finished toys be checked for compliance.
Consumer Response to Mattel
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Observers see the CEO's apology as a welcome action compared to companies in the past that
have initially failed to acknowledge a problem or tried to shift the blame on others. "High
profile public apologies are a good idea for two reasons" says Jaques deLisle "First, they tend
to get the word out even more effectively about the recall. Seocnd, many studies show that
victims of harm often do care a great deal about an apology and may actually settle for less
money if the defendant apologizes and atones rather than denies liability.“
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Believability of Mattel CEO Bob Eckert
http://mccorgbehaviormattelrecall.pbwiki.com/YouTube+videos+-+Mattel+recalls
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"A lot of what is happening is pushback towards China, and there are those in other nations
who are happy to take potshots at the country over this," says Dr. David Strutton, director of
UNT's New Product Development Scholars Program.
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It's clear that China is to blame for the problems with the toys, just as Chinese vendors were to
blame for recalls of products earlier this year. In March, many brands of dog and cat foods
were pulled from shelves because they contaminated rice protein from a source in China that
was identified as being associated with kidney failure in pets. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration announced it would block sales of Chinese catfish, basa, dace, shrimp and eel,
after repeated testing turned up contamination with drugs not approved in the U.S. for farmed
seafood.
Group’s Recommendations
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The real challenge for Mattel is to improve it’s image. One
way this can be done is by making a massive effort in the area
of quality control by instituting new safety-check systems.
Secondly, Mattel should have massive educational
campaigns. For example, they could consider publishing
information about toys and how children should play with
them safely.
Lastly, manufacturing labels that include where all toy parts
were manufactured and materials that have gone into the toys
should be placed prominently on all toy packaging.
Bibliography