What Is James Burke Response To The Tylenol Crisis

Evaluating the Effectiveness of James Burke's Response to "The Tylenol Crisis"

James Burke, CEO of Johnson & Johnson during 'Tylenol Crisis', handled the barrage of ethical dilemmas he encountered during this crisis with intellectual skill and strategy. He was most successful because he recognized what was most important to the company. As a guide he referred back to the company credo which identified the moral responsibility to the people that use and distribute the products they manufacture. This family company knows that through their credo that decisions they make directly impact their employees. Johnson & Johnson recognize their employees are an integral part of the company and there is a moral responsibility to them as well as the communities of the world. The credo includes the Moral, Economic, and Legal ethical position of the company that ultimately defines their image in the marketplace.
When notified of the deaths in relation to the Tylenol name, James Burke acted quickly in determining where the product tampering had taken place.
After successfully establishing that the tainted product was in the Chicago area, the company quickly took the steps necessary to communicate any and all facts with the community. With the company's honest stream of communication to the public and the recall of millions of bottles the company not only reestablished its image and good name with its customers, it saved the extreme losses that would have been felt by the retailers and distributors with the Tylenol product. These decisions, though costly to the company initially, also saved their employees' jobs. By bypassing the shock of the loss of millions of dollars, the company stuck to its credo to do what is moral and proper for the individuals that use their products as well as those they
employ. Burke most likely understood the economic impact of a $100 million dollar recall might make management and stockholders think twice before initiating such a loss of product, but he must have also realized that in the long run putting the welfare of the public before the immediate impact of the financial risk would put the high-quality Tylenol name back on the shelves. The key to gaining back the public's trust was to make sure this could be prevented in the future. By developing a tamper resistant packaging, Tylenol was put back on the shelves and, in a short period time, they gained back their market share in the pharmaceutical industry. By quickly identifying the source of the product tampering, Burke immediately established Tylenol's legal liability to the consumers of the tampered product. If it had been ascertained that the tampering had taken place in the manufacturing plant by an employee, the moral, economic, and legal responsibilities would have had a more devastating effect on the Tylenol brand and the Johnson & Johnson Company. To avoid even the possibility of any type of unrecognized tampering in the future, the company accepted it's accountability to its consumers by simply creating a tamper-proof container. Fortunately, Johnson & Johnson had a well established credo by which to operate their business. By recognizing their responsibility to their consumers as well as their distributors, employees, and stockholders they are able to handle difficult situations such as the "Tylenol Crisis" of 1982 with finesse. Burke had realized the company's moral responsibility to the welfare of the public foremost, but further understood that some decisions made could have dreadful ramifications to the business. When Johnson & Johnson gave the proper weight to its consumers as well as the position of the company's welfare they were able to effectively reestablish Tylenol back into the marketplace with good rounded ethical decision-making.