Although the president said the company had a crisis management manual, it was not functionally designed to be helpful in this particular situation. Snow Brand should have taken more time to develop a crisis management plan that would be useful to use in situations such as this one. The purpose of a plan is to be prepared in case a crisis occurs. The company should have outlined steps and procedures to follow such as; which office is in charge during a crisis, who the appointed decision maker will be and who will be the spokesperson to speak to the media.
It would have also been important for Snow Brand to have had internal communications between employees, managers, executives and the president. It is not only important to develop a crisis plan but a company should also train employees on the procedures involved in the company’s crisis plan. This will limit the amount of confusion and reduce stress and panic in real life scenarios.
Snow Brand should have been better prepared, which probably could have prevented the increasing number of people poisoned. The company should have responded more quickly and efficiently to the situation. If they had done so, Snow Brand could have recovered from this crisis but instead, it will always be remembered “as the worst case of food poisoning in Japanese history” (Snow Brand 13).
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Disorganization = Downfall
Snow Brand was very disorganized in its attempt to deal with the situation at hand, which was another factor that contributed to its downfall. Representatives were too confident and eager to maintain their successful reputation that they released false and inaccurate information to the media on numerous occasions. The company posted the manufacture date of possible contaminated products in newspapers but later discovered that the date was incorrect.
The president also stated that the problem was only at the Osaka plant and insured that the rest of their products and plants were not affected. However, it was later discovered that one of the food poisoning sources came from a different plant.
These mistakes made by Snow Brand created more work for the company. Additional press conferences had to be scheduled to explain their false release of information and to update the public on the current situation. These errors jeopardized the public’s confidence and trust in the company and their products.
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The president also stated that the problem was only at the Osaka plant and insured that the rest of their products and plants were not affected. However, it was later discovered that one of the food poisoning sources came from a different plant.
These mistakes made by Snow Brand created more work for the company. Additional press conferences had to be scheduled to explain their false release of information and to update the public on the current situation. These errors jeopardized the public’s confidence and trust in the company and their products.
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lack of External Communications as well...
Not only were internal communications within the company dysfunctional, but external communications were as well. Snow Brand maintained very poor communications with the media and the public throughout the crisis. The company did not respond in a timely manner to the public reports of the food poisoning on June 27. It rejected the suggestion by Osaka City Hall employees, on June 28, to conduct a recall and immediately inform the public about the poisoning. It was almost 58 hours after the initial report that the company executives finally decided to make a public announcement and recall their products. Due to Snow Brand’s lack of communication with the public, the media looked for alternative sources for information. Some of the information they received was valuable and some was false. The false information received by the media added to the bad reputation of the company.
Snow Brand was very disorganized in its attempt to deal with the situation at hand. Representatives were too confident and eager to maintain their successful reputation that they released false or inaccurate information to the media on numerous occasions. The company posted the manufacture date of possible contaminated products in newspapers but later discovered that the date was incorrect. The president also stated that the problem was only at the Osaka plant and insured that the rest of their products and plants were not affected. However, it was later discovered that one of the food poisoning sources came from a different plant. These mistakes made by Snow Brand created more work for the company. Additional press conferences had to be scheduled to explain their false release of information and to update the public on the current situation. These errors jeopardized the public’s confidence and trust in the company.
Ultimately, Snow Brand’s lack of internal and external communications and negligence of health and safety regulations led to its downfall.
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Snow Brand was very disorganized in its attempt to deal with the situation at hand. Representatives were too confident and eager to maintain their successful reputation that they released false or inaccurate information to the media on numerous occasions. The company posted the manufacture date of possible contaminated products in newspapers but later discovered that the date was incorrect. The president also stated that the problem was only at the Osaka plant and insured that the rest of their products and plants were not affected. However, it was later discovered that one of the food poisoning sources came from a different plant. These mistakes made by Snow Brand created more work for the company. Additional press conferences had to be scheduled to explain their false release of information and to update the public on the current situation. These errors jeopardized the public’s confidence and trust in the company.
Ultimately, Snow Brand’s lack of internal and external communications and negligence of health and safety regulations led to its downfall.
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