Chinese Companies Supplying Raw Products to the United States - Case Study Example

The ice cream will pose health risks and consumers will avoid purchasing the product after finding out that it was manufactured with contaminated milk. The ice cream business will suffer huge losses since they will not make any sales, and at the same time, they will be forced to dispose of the products. The business will also lose its operating license and in the process face prosecution for not maintaining health standards in the production of food products. The management of the business and in particular the procurement department should be held responsible when products are manufactured by using contaminated milk. The procurement department should be held liable since they are charged with the task of acquiring and testing raw products (Hartley & Bruckmann, 2002).

Question # 2
A CRM system would have been very useful in the process of communicating issues regarding milk production in the supply chain. A CRM would have helped in learning all aspects of a customer’s behaviors and needs, and use this information for better company management that is performing damage control. Through a CRM, the management of a milk production company can embark on damage control by informing customers of the problem that has occurred during the production process. The management will have to provide an official apology to customers this will send a signal to customers that the management is truly sorry about the unfortunate situation. A company would also perform effective damage control using the CRM, by offering efficient customer service and providing customers with highly standardized milk products (Hartley & Bruckmann, 2002).

Question # 3
As much as maintaining ethical behavior is important, respect for human life is equally important. I do not agree with the act of sentencing the middlemen to death. The middlemen would have been sentenced to prison as the dairy boss was sentenced to life imprisonment. The act of sentencing to death is very extreme. The court would have opted for a different form of sentencing instead of the death sentence.

Question # 4
The first issue regarding Chinese companies supplying raw products to the United States is unjustified restrictions on the supply of raw materials. China has continually restricted free and fair supply of rare, raw materials such as bauxite, zinc, steel, aluminum, and coke. The second issue entails the Chinese strategy of companies manufacturing low-quality products and selling them at cheap or low prices in the market. The above strategy is detrimental to companies in the United States that manufacture high-quality products at a high price. The third issue is the act of China buying raw products from the United States, manufacturing products out of it, and thereafter exporting back the products to the United States. In the long run, it is expected that China will introduce an artificial shortage of raw materials, increase tariffs and maintain economic dominance (Hartley & Bruckmann, 2002). Read More