The Chinese Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Chinese Made Toy Recalls at Mattel - Essay Example Any toy quality/safety problems could be overcome by making manufacturing changes. The article also mentions that there was â€Å"lax regulatory enforcement,† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc., 179) in the factories that Mattel had set up in China, which often meant thatâ€Å"these laws were routinely ignored† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc., 179); problems of toy quality and safety could clearly be avoided if there was stricter control and supervision of product quality in these factories. Also, this problem of safety and quality could be eliminated if Mattel had developed its Global Manufacturing Principles before it had started a supply chain trading partnership with China, and ensured that the Chinese industries followed the rules and regulations of the GMP and terminating the partnership in case the Chinese did not follow the rules. (A2) Mattel made a number of positive responses to the toy recalls that largely had the impact of improving it s public image and in winning back its good reputation. Firstly, its CEO Robert Eckert appeared in a video, in which he made a public apology for the defected and harmful toys Mattel had produced and also pledged to â€Å"change how we work in the future†(The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc,176). Mattel representatives in September 2007 even made clear to the American Congressional Committee that the defected toys were a result of Mattel’s â€Å"own flawed toy designs†; this then lead to Mattel making changes in its manufacturing process. Apart from this, Mattel also guaranteed to â€Å"increase the frequency of its paint inspections, testing every batch delivered† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc., 176). In 2007, it also put a check on its products that were being shipped out of its Asian factories in order to thoroughly examine them for quality and potential health hazards; this had the effect of preventing â€Å"more than two-thirds of the recalled toys from reaching consumers† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc,177).Lastly, Mattel set up a â€Å"Corporate Responsibility division, which had accountability internally and externally for adherence to company safety and compliance procedures† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc., 177). The effect of all these actions was that it restored the positive image of Mattel in the public eyes. (A3) The article includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers and customers† (The Chinese-Made Toy Recalls at Mattel Inc., 179). Between Mattel and Early Light, there is a supply chain trading partnership that involves the two companies to work with one another when making decisions about manufacturing and distributing products. As the article states, the two companies have enjoyed this kind of collaboration for 15 years, and in my opinion, the two should contin ue to work together as supply chain trading partners since this entails a number of benefits. Firstly, the long amount of time (15 years) Mattel and Early Light have worked together in collaboration means that a high level of