Catilo, Lovegail Panganiban

Req. #1: EMPLOYEES

Toyota Workers Say Bosses Have Ignored Safety Concerns
For Years
3.8.10

2:23 PM EST

By Chris Morran@themorrancave

RECALLS TOYOTA AKIO TOYODA CIRCULAR FILE

Adding a bit of fuel to the anti-Toyota fire, six Toyota manufacturing employees now say they wrote a memo to
company executives in 2006 voicing concerns about vehicle safety and long-term impact on the company, only to be
completely ignored.

“We are concerned about the processes which are essential for producing safe cars, but that ultimately may be
ignored, with production continued in the name of competition,” they stated in the letter, referring to changes the car
company had made to simultaneously cut overhead while increasing output.

In the five years leading up to the drafting of this memo, Toyota had already recalled over 5 million cars worldwide
and these men felt that, if the company continued down that path, it could “become a great problem that involves the
company’s survival.”

But rather than rankle any feathers with their higher-ups, the memo merely vanished and was never spoken of again.

“They completely ignored us,” says 62-year-old assembly line worker Tadao Wakatsuki. “That’s the Toyota way.”

Toyota wouldn’t confirm ever receiving the memo or comment on it, saying only, “Communication is the backbone
of our labor-management relations.”

If so, then maybe they should listen to Watasuki, founder of the All Toyota Labor Union, who is now speaking to
the press.

“We used to test every one of our cars for safety and quality,” he told reporters. “Now we do maybe 60%. The old
100% is a thing of the past.”

Speaking about the decision to write the memo, he recalls, “Our responsibility as a labor union was to point out
these problems that Toyota should have known about. People were overworked; some were committing suicide…
Of course, Toyota did nothing, but looking back we see how important this was. We just told them what we saw.”
The revelation of the memo and Toyota’s alleged ignorance of it has gotten the attention of Congressman Ed
Townes, chair of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, which questioned Toyota president
Akio Toyoda in February.

“The Toyota employees’ safety memo now seems strikingly prescient,” wrote Townes in a not-very-pleased letter to
Mr. Toyoda this morning. “If senior Toyota officials ignored important safety concerns raised by their own
employees, it calls into question Toyota’s corporate priorities and its commitment to safety.”

Townes has requested that Toyota deliver a copy of the 2006 memo to the Committee before noon on Wednesday.

Toyota workers raised safety concerns with bosses in 2006 memo [L.A. Times]

https://consumerist.com/2010/03/08/toyota-workes-claim-their-safety-concerns-have-been-ignored-by-bosses-for-
years/

How the issue was resolved?

Jidoka is used at Toyota to empower every worker to stop the assembly line whenever a quality problem is detected.
The worker pulls a red cord and the entire assembly line stops, idling every machine and every worker on that line
until the problem is solved or a remedy is found to prevent a defect moving forward. When the line stops, fellow
workers run over to the person who pulled the red cord to help them resolve the problem. In reality, the problem
resolution often takes less than a minute and the line is again up and running. In the typical Toyota plant, the line is
stopped dozens of times each day. https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-column/zenjidoka-simple-
tool-complex-problem-solving-toyotas-quality.html#
Catilo, Lovegail Panganiban

Req. #2:CUSTOMERS
Jollibee apologizes to ‘chicken sad’ customers
Miguel R. Camus and Dennis Atienza Maliwanag; Inquirer.net / 04:39 AM
August 09, 2014

No cause for alarm; there’s no shortage of Chicken Joy, just a computer glitch that has resulted in a
slowdown in the delivery of your favorite fast-food item.

So explained Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), the country’s largest fast-food chain, as it apologized on
Friday for the lack of popular products on its menu and the closure of outlets.

In a stock exchange filing on Friday, the company explained that the disruption in the supply was
related to its migration to a new IT system at the start of the month, and that the issue would be
resolved “in the next few days.”

“The product limitation has been caused by the migration to new systems that started on Aug. 1,
2014, which has resulted in a temporary slowdown in sales order taking, product loading and
dispatch of transportation,” Jollibee said in its statement which came amid complaints and even
ridicule on social media.

Ruffled feathers

“No such thing as #ChickenSad in the house of #SoGood,” tweets @KFCPhilippines, the American
fast-food chicken chain famous for its “Finger lickin’ good” ad slogan.

This apparently ruffled feathers among Jollibee’s distraught fans who took to social media as well,
making #ChickenSad, a spoof of Chickenjoy, a trending hashtag.

Tweeted Merilyn Cabiling Ong: “Hindi na sya jollibee… saddybee na.”

Another Jollibee rival, “Chicken McDo” entered the fray, making the brawl a three-chicken derby.

In a photo comment now going viral, mascot “Jollibee” beats up rival “Ronald McDonald” over the
missing Chickenjoy.

Read more: http://business.inquirer.net/176264/jollibee-apologizes-to-chicken-sad-
customers#ixzz599py3djl 
How does the issue resolved?

Ong clarified that there is no shortage of chicken.

"We would like to clarify that this is NOT a supply issue or a chicken shortage situation. Rest assured that this is
only temporary as we are working round the clock to ensure that all our products – including Chickenjoy, Jolly
Spaghetti and Yumburgers – will be made available again in all the affected stores soonest. In fact, some of these
stores have already begun offering these Jollibee favorites again," he said. \ With Jidoka, we give every worker a
whole new level of respect and empowerment to truly serve their customers. Prior to Jidoka, quality at Toyota was
monitored solely by the quality inspectors and quality managers. With Jidoka every factory worker became
responsible for quality.
Jidoka changed the Toyota culture from one of blame to one of trust, to a truly "blameless" environment. Prior
to Jidoka, when a problem was detected, the supervisor would ask, "Who did it?" Even today "mistakes" in many
companies are not tolerated. Employees learn to fear getting blamed. As a result, they try to hide mistakes and
defects, or they quickly learn to blame someone else (usually the "other shift"). But everyone makes mistakes, and
the smart company learns to treasure those mistakes as opportunities to learn.
Catilo, Lovegail Panganiban

Req. #3: PUBLIC

Wal-Mart Corporation
By

Pitt Business Review

 -

Wal-Mart has been getting away with unethical and illegal acts for many years now. Considered the world’s largest
employer with over 2.1 million employees worldwide in 2010 (Sethi, 2013), they have certainly had their fair share
of opportunities to commit fraud, acts of bribery, and mistreatment of employees with their powerful market status.
They have been accused of underpaying overtime workers, and to add insult to injury, withholding healthcare
benefits from them as well. Constantly facing lawsuits from employees, Wal-Mart implements a strategic predatory
pricing tactic in that they drop prices too low and drive away competition, thus gaining a monopoly. This is an
unethical and aggressive way to conduct one of the world’s largest corporations. Wal-Mart’s suppliers remain stuck,
however, as they depend on Wal-Mart’s business. Wal-Mart knows this, and takes advantage of them by pressuring
them to sell goods below costs or at lower prices than they would get anywhere else. In addition to controlling
suppliers, Wal-Mart is known for manipulating other countries with which they do business, with their market
power and control to get away with committing environmental damage and a violation of foreign countries’ labor
laws. If these acts of manipulation and aggressive, unethical behavior weren’t enough, Wal-Mart has been caught in
scandals of bribery, one example occurring in Mexico in 2012. According to an article in the New York Times, it
was revealed that there were suspicious payments to Mexican officials that racked up to $24 million. They paid off
workers to sneak around things their laws prohibited. Wal-Mart receives complaints of bribery on a yearly basis, but
is unaffected by charges and fines brought against them because they are so powerful that they barely create a dent
in the business. Lastly, the most serious ethical disasters are the deaths in Bangladesh due to improper hiring,
training, and workplace safety, resulting in thousands of casualties. These examples make it clear that Wal-Mart is
flooding with unethical behaviors in many different directions.

The Wall Street Journal segment titled, “Here’s What Would Get More Companies to Self-Disclose Bribery,”
written by Rachel Louise Ensign on November 4, 2014, touches upon foreign bribery reporting and the
implementation of a leniency program. The leniency program encourages companies to self-disclose participation in
illegal bribery so they can avoid prosecution from the antitrust division. Another solution, as mentioned in the WSJ
segment, is to lower the severity of fines. Squire Patton Boggs partner Robert Luskin noted that, “some of these
foreign companies might be more comfortable voluntarily disclosing” (Ensign, 2014), if the fines were lowered.
While this seems like a valid solution, I do not personally think the leniency program would work with Wal-Mart, a
corporation I believe to be “too big to fail.” However, it is a good plan with effective incentives for companies
nonetheless.

The immoral and unethical acts of Wal-Mart relate to many Managerial Ethics class themes. First and foremost is
the obvious Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which forbids bribing a policymaking official, consequences
resulting in being criminally liable. This relates to Wal-Mart in that they have a long-standing record of bribery
charges, in which they have had to pay fines. Additionally, Wal-Mart’s unethical actions prove that they do not
implement corporate social responsibility well. CSR requires following laws, behaving ethically, and complying
with international customs. These are three things Wal-Mart has blatantly violated. They focus more on productivity
and profitability than anything else. Another example discussed in class that relates to Wal-Mart’s situation is that of
Howard Lutnick at Cantor Fitzgerald. In both corporations, profitability is the first priority, and it is achieved in
aggressive ways. Similarities exist in that employees have died in each corporation, one due to a horrible terrorist
act, and the other due to a variety of poor management faults. However, in each instance, sympathy for the deceased
and their families came second to making money. Lastly, Kirk French came to speak to class and mentioned that the
key idea to why corporations commit fraud is because they can. In Wal-Mart’s case, due to their incredible market
power and wealthy corporation, they are able to get away with many unethical acts.

Management in Wal-Mart could be improved with an ethical leader who chooses to put the good of employees,
retailers, and customers ahead of anything else. Currently, it is evident that the management style contains greed and
the desire to succeed at almost any cost. Perhaps with greater penalties for acts of bribery, fairer treatment and
training of company employees and an overall ethics-oriented management style, Wal-Mart will become a more
ethical and legal corporation that does not use high status to get away with illegal and immoral acts. Right now,
however, Wal-Mart’s power makes them a dangerous corporation for getting away with almost anything they want.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/wal-marts-inconsistency-an-issue-of-compassion

How does the issue resolved?

Wal-Mart will become a more ethical and legal corporation that does not use high status to get away with illegal and
immoral acts. Right now, however, Wal-Mart’s power makes them a dangerous corporation for getting away with
almost anything they want.
Catilo, Lovegail Panganiban

Req.#4:ENVIRONMENT

MCDONALD’s

Mostly everyone will enjoy McDonald’s every once in a while, even if you aren’t a fan of fast food. While the food

may be cheap, it may come at more of a cost to the environment and the global economy than one might think.

McDonald’s has a negative impact on the environment in more ways than one. Aside from the pollution from

factories where the food is produced, the unusable waste from nearly all the food they sell, and the massive amounts

of power and energy that are required to keep all of the branches up and running, this corporation is destroying

natural rain forests. According

tohttp://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Business/Allegedly_Unethical_Firms/McDonald’s/, McDonald’s likes to

purchase their meat from privatised farms, which is not a problem in and of itself. The conflict arises when these

privatised farmlands are built on the land where a lush rainforest once resided. So not only is McDonald’s polluting

our air, but they are destroying a large part of what would help to clean it out. The trees that are levelled do more

than just clean the air, though. They are also homes to thousands of animals that are likely killed or made homeless

as the trees are torn down. This is not exactly a healthy step in making our world a better place.

The people at McDonald’s treat their employees no better than they treat our environment. McDonald’s staff are

frequently underpaid for the amount of time that they work (which often extends into illegal amounts of labour

hours), get little to no benefits along with this gross underpayment, and are oftentimes forced to work in unhealthy

and unsanitary conditions. The farmers from which they get their food are also generally underpaid for the amount

of produce and meat which they sell to the corporation, particularly considering the cost that many of these farms

have regarding the environment and health of the farm workers.

McDonald’s claims to give back to the community and the environment by working with schools and local

organisations, but what they repay isn’t nearly enough to cover the damages that they’ve caused. 

By: Jennifer Reese

https://ethicalfootprint.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/unethical-companies-mcdonald%E2%80%99s/

How does the issue resolved?

McDonald’s is alert of these issues and has announced several environmental initiatives to prove that it is trying to
solve its environmental impacts.

Concerning global warming, McDonald’s make efforts to reducing its impact on deforestation and carbon emission.
Firstly McDonald’s promise not to buy soya grown in Amazon rainforest (Greenpeace, 2006). Deforestation for
soya farming and cattle ranching in Amazon is one major driver for global warming. Studies have shown the
relationship between soya production and deforestation rate in Amazon (Nepstad, Stickler and Almeida, 2006).
McDonald’s approach to stop using soya from Amazon could reduce rainforest destruction and help mitigate global
warming.

To deal with packaging waste issue, McDonald’s redesigned it’s packaging with sustainable materials and to be
recyclable. In 2011, McDonald’s claimed that 82% of its packaging are made from renewable materials (Farmer,
2011). In the US restaurants, McDonald’s stop using polystyrene famed coffee cup and replace it with paper-based
cups (Environment News Service, 2013). This approach could have positive effect on the marine environment.
Foamed polystyrene is frequently used for fast food packaging. This foamed plastic, however, is non-sustainable and
is not widely recycled. After littered, they may easily travel through gutters and end up in the ocean. It is the most
common components of marine debris. When the polystyrene breaks down into small indigestible pellets, marine
animals or birds may mistake them as food and eat them, which would lead to their death (Owens, Zhang, and
Mihelcic, 2011). Although paper cups still have its own problems such as energy waste and the chemicals uses
during the production, it is a recyclable recourse and will not exist in the environment for such long time as
polystyrene does.