The Tylenol Tragedies

After reading the case study on the Tylenol tragedies in the early and mid 1980’s I have to say that Johnson and Johnson made a believer out of me.  The company really stood up and made people their primary concern.  Not money, not market share, not blame, but people.  While reading this I continuously agreed and believed that the actions taken demonstrated multiple virtues which other companies would be wise to emulate.

At first glance Jim Burke did want McNeil to handle the situation without Johnson and Johnson because he was concerned about protecting the parent company’s brand. However it seems to me that he came to understand that the right thing to do was to stand up and accept responsibility (even before it was known that Johnson and Johnson was just as much a victim as those who lost their lives).  Johnson and Johnson was set to lose money because of the tragedies, however they were going to still maintain their global dominance over their competitors in the market. 

In essence they really didn’t have to step up and assist to the degree they did. They didn’t have to conduct such a large scale recall. Nor did they have to go against the advice of the FBI and FDA (even though it would have benefited them to do so). However they did and they showed that they weren’t willing to profit at the expense of others.

Throughout the entire incident Johnson and Johnson also maintained an open and honest relationship with the press and customers. This to me is what set them up for success.  The steps and systems they developed for communication to keep everyone informed was a masterstroke of humanity. They wanted to answer every concern they could, relieve as many fears as possible, and protect as many people as possible from a contaminated product.

In the end, through their actions Johnson and Johnson showed they not only meant every word of their credo, but they could live up to it as well. In today’s corporate environment, I think there are lessons to be learned from studying the Tylenol tragedies.

Comments

[Heidi Marmen]

I can remember this event so clearly. I remember the intense fear residing within everyone. And i especially remember my father's and grandfather's incredulousness at the actions of J&J. As business owners they couldn't imagine taking responsibilty as completely and honestly as J&J did. There were many debates over Sunday dinners arguing the cost/benefit analysis and virtuous actions of responsibilty.
Burke put his customers above everything else - if only all businesses did the same . . .

[Adele Hughes]

Absolutely - who would ever want to have to own up to such a mistake.... actually, more accurately, who would ever want to have to have made such a mistake! But such wisdom in responsibly owning up and repairing as much as possible.
It makes me think of the Providence data theft and the extensive reparations that Providence took. Basically, they set a bar for other organizations to act with integrity in reparation (I remember it well, as I was in PR at the time). I was proud to be part of an organization that held integrity and follow up at such a high level.

[Michelle Brenes]

I agree with this post and the level of character Johnson and Johnson showed, yet found myself feeling depressed and cynical as I read it. That it is such an anomaly and so worthy of acclaim says little about our culture and the character of the organizations within it. Shouldn't this type of behavior be a given?! Why is it (as we have asked often in our class) that money is the ultimate measure of success, not human or environmental well being? Those questions make it harder to throw praise their way, even though how they acted deserved nothing other than it.