Most companies have issues that require public relations assistance at one time or another. Bad publicity might result from malfeasance by management, product deficiencies, or being in an industry that suffers a setback. Yet relatively few companies have strategies in place for handling these eventualities, and many companies suffer significantly more harm than might otherwise be necessary because they have not planned for the crisis. When the crisis is of an ethical nature, the importance of building and maintaining an ethical work environment becomes obvious. However, few companies are motivated to take such bold steps once the crisis has passed. Certain products are particularly susceptible to a rapid loss of public trust due to their nature; food products are certainly among these. Consumers expect their food to be safe, and can be reluctant to return to a food manufacturer once a problem has been discovered and traced to that manufacturer. This is the situation that faces Nutritional Foods, and the steps that the company takes in the aftermath of a possible poisoning case could determine the company's future.
Nutritional Foods is facing possibly the most severe crisis that a company in its industry can face: the possible poisoning of consumers, including children. Upon receiving the initial reports, the company sent two managers to the two counties where the problems were reported. When two additional problems were reported in two additional counties, the company sent managers to those counties, as well. In addition, the company sought as much information as possible, including batch numbers of the products in question. At 7pm of the same day that the problems were reported, the company announced that it was pulling all batches of the product in question from retail shelves; this announcement resulted in another 50 calls reporting poisonings, only five of which came from health care professionals. The company also ...