Melamine

Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to provide feedback and advice to Mattel managers about the company’s strengths and weaknesses. To also advice the managers how to manage crisis in the most effective manner. The report will also make recommendations to improve the situation.

Background

Mattel was founded in 1945 by Elliot and Ruth Handle. Today, Mattel has grown to be the largest worldwide leader in designing, manufacturing and distributing of toys and electronics gaming product to the mass market.

Mattel portfolio include its best selling product branding such as Barbie, Hot wheels, Match box, American girl, Radica, and Tyco R/C. Not forgetting other premium brand like Fisher-price, little people, Power wheels and other wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines.

Mattel has a company size of more than 27,000 people in 36 countries. Mattel’s Corporate Responsibility mission is “To act with integrity in all we do to bring the world safe toys that grown-ups trust and children love. We are committed to positively impacting our people, our products and our world by playing responsibly.”

1.2.1 The Crisis

Mattel company was facing a crisis of the toys which manufactured by the contracted company contained impermissible levels of lead. On the August 2, 2007 , Mattel’s Fisher-Price subsidiary recalled almost 1.5 million Chinese-made toys including Dora the Explorer and the Sesame Street toys because of exit the US Federal limit of 600 parts per million.

The worst cases Mattel’s toys lead was lead up to 11% or 110,000 parts per million. This high lead content may cause learning and behavior problems and some even death in cases.

At first, Mattel’s company thought that this was a failure from only one vendor whom made a serious mistake, but they received a call from their company’s safety lab reporting that there was another failure being discovered. It refers to one of their making toy call “Pixar cars” which made by contracted...