Response to case study scenario 1

Even though my supervisor has told me to ignore the problem I would not. If the USB memory drives were faulty but would not carry any potential risk to anyone, then I would do as my supervisor has asked and ignore the faults. However the memory drives have a more serious fault. As they are potential fire hazards I feel that this issue cannot be ignored.

There are two things the company can do in this situation. They can either call a product recall, or they don’t do anything and hope that there’s nothing wrong with the USB shipment.

A product recall would be costly. As all whole shipment of memory drives would have to be shipped back and then a new shipment would need to be manufactured and delivered back. I think this is the better decision over not doing anything, as the company is liable for the products they are putting out onto the market. If something was wrong and a fire did start because of the fault, it could cost the company more than the product recall. Not only would it cost money but ruin the companies’ reputation and any future business. It would be better for them to spend money on a product recall and keep the customers, than for them to be faulty and then the customers moving to another supplier.

You can see an example of this when Mattel had to recall 18 million toys worldwide as they had used lead paint on them. They could not let these products go out on the market as lead can cause diarrhea, vomiting and headaches in children and in very large quantities, it can kill. The company could not let these toys be sold as they were dangerous to the consumer. So had to order a product recall or they could have lost a lot of money in law suits.


To address the problem, I would pass on the information of the failed USB tests onto someone who is in a higher position within the company. I would do this by either sending a letter, over the phone, or by telling them in person depend on which would result in the quickest response. I would make sure to tell them about the failed tests, and that it would be wiser to have a product recall than to ignore the problem and that the customer should be aware of the potential risks of using the drives. As my supervisor has told me to ignore the problem there isn’t much I can do to change his decision. So hopefully by informing someone who has more control in the company, a decision will be made to have a product recall. If the decision is still made to not to have a product recall then at least I had tried.