A Study of Product Quality, Pricing, and Labeling & Packaging Essays

Businesses are responsible for the product they manufacture and distribute. This perspective will examine the ethical implications of product manufacturing concerning Product Quality, Pricing, and Labeling & Packaging. In this paper, we will discuss each of these topics and show how each aspect of manufacturing has it’s own set of factors. One of the first major aspects of product manufacturing is Product Quality. The responsibilities of a business are simple. Develop a low cost, high quality product that withstands the normal limitations of its use. Quality can be defined as doing the right thing, the right way, the first time, and every time. It is important this is understood from both the consumer and the business perspective. In short, the product will meet customer expectations, priced appropriately, and delivered as advertised. Within the business, producing a product the right way is the most effective, efficient, lowest cost, and most valuable way to produce quality results, the first, and every time. Product quality implies all standards are met, with minimal repercussions of poor quality, reducing the amount of rework and waste. Businesses developing products of poor quality are failing to do the right thing, or doing the right thing, the wrong way. In the case study I researched, H.B. Fullers, a St. Paul, Minnesota corporation, produces a shoemaker’s glue, called Resistol, which contains the neurotoxin called toluene . In South America, Fuller’s company makes a huge profit off this product, in large part due to the millions of street kids, called resitoleros , who sniff this glue daily. This poses a huge ethical dilemma. Does one continue to develop a product that is being used the incorrect and potentially unsa... ...roduct development to product placement, ethics plays an important role in the decision making process of a company. Ethics plays a large role in such a small aspect of a company’s product. Safety and Security, beginning with the packaging itself, is a moral obligation of any company. References Bauerlein, M. (n.d.). HB Fuller's Social Responsibility. Pangaea Publishing and Design for Nature & Peoples of the Earth. Retrieved from http://pangaea.org/street_children/latin/citypg1.htm DeColle, S. (2008). Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing. Journal of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 5(1), 121. Shaw, W. H. (2005). Business ethics (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Velasquez, M. G. (2002). Business ethics: concepts and cases (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentiss Hall