Leadershi

J&J Tylenol Crisis p

ABHIRUP CHOWDHURY 2022PGP010
ANIKET NEGI 2022PGP063
Course
Crisis
CHANDRACHUR PAUL 2022PGP109
DEEPANSH GOYAL 2022PGP119
Management
But before we deep dive.....
Anatomy of a Crisis
The symbol for "crisis" in Chinese contains the words "risk" and "opportunity." The
fundamental components of any crisis may be summed up in the same way.
The circumstance may present a threat to:
o The brand
o A particular product, production line or factory
o An individual
o People such as consumers
o The company or organization concerned, as well as its investors, shareholders & insurers
Protecting the brand & reputation
There are various ways a business can show that producing healthy, safe foods is
its top priority to its staff, suppliers, customers, and the general public. These
include:-
• Adoption of systems to detect and manage potential risks and hazards at all
chain stages
• Strict controls, such as quality, hygienic, and procedural controls
• Demonstrating social responsibility through marketing tactics, purchasing
decisions, employee relationships, and interactions with the public and local
communities.
• Giving local managers funds for gifts to worthy local charities & other causes,
the company can foster goodwill in the communities where it operates.
Threats in the Healthcare industry
Each business should perform its own risk assessment, which involves senior executives
from several disciplines brainstorming potential issues and dangers such as
• Product contamination, either accidental or deliberate
• Problems facing the industry
• Extortion - the practise of making a demand for money or threatening to conduct
certain actions, typically with a political or religious motivation.
• Pressure from a consumer or environmental group
• Incidents at a manufacturing plant, such as fire, explosion or accident involving injury or
loss of life.
Typical Product Recall Procedure
• Assemble Crisis Team
• Advise Enforcement Authority
• Alert Insurers & Lawyers and any other outside services
• Identify product to be recalled
• Withdraw & Isolate all suspect product
• Prepare Press statement
• Draw up distribution list
• Advise trade customers (prepare and distribute recall notice)
• Advise trade customers who have not received suspect stock
• Advise media and distribute press release
• Consider another use for suspect product (within legal & ethical allowances)
• Investigate cause of problem & rectify
Now back to J&J.....
 About
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in
1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged
goods. Johnson & Johnson's brands include numerous household names of
medications and first aid supplies. Among its well-known consumer products
are the Band-Aid Brand line of bandages, Tylenol medications, Johnson's
Baby products, Neutrogena skin and beauty products, Clean & Clear facial
wash and Acuvue contact lenses.
Purpose: To keep people well at every age and every stage of life.
Value: Driven by this goal, J&J works hard to address the world's most pressing
healthcare issues and challenges, preserve resources to save the environment,
and conduct business responsibly to benefit society.

Products Type
Listerine Mouthwash
 Acuvue Disposable Contact Lenses
Imodium Anti-Diarrheal Drug
BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandages
Neutrogena Skin Care Products
Tylenol Pain Reliever
Tylenol
Tylenol is a brand of medicationpromoted for its ability to relieve allergy, cold, cough, headache, and
influenza symptoms as well as pain and fever. Its initial flagship product contains the analgesic and
antipyretic paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen in the United States, Canada, and other nations.
The brand was introduced in 1955 by McNeil Laboratories, a family-owned pharmaceutical
manufacturer. After Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeil in 1959, the medication was sold over the
counter the following year. Tylenol uses a variety of advertising strategies. One of these advertisement
campaigns focuses on "getting you back to normal", whereas the other commercials focus on Tylenol's
current slogan, "Feel better, Tylenol". In the "Feel better, Tylenol" commercials, which feature a variety of
people sleeping while a voiceover explains how sleep may help the body mend and recover while
experiencing aches and pains, thus emphasising the value of sleep,. In the "getting you back to normal"
commercial, Tylenol emphasises the importance of assisting its customers in returning to their daily
routines; numerous individuals are first seen enduring headaches and other types of body pain, with a
voiceover stating that Tylenol Rapid Release can help rid aches and pains; the individuals are then shown
enjoying their daily lives and are viewed as "back to normal."
Tylenol Safety Crisis : Timeline
Sept. 30, 1982: A deadly amount of cyanide found in Extra- Oct. 5: Three bottles that had been tampered with are traced
Strength Tylenol capsules causes the deaths of two brothers and to a local drugstore. Johnson & Johnson urges all stores
a 12-year-old girl according to medical officials in the Chicago nationwide to withdraw Tylenol - regular-strength and extra-
area. On September 29, two women from the Chicago suburbs strength - from their shelves.
who had taken Extra-Strength Tylenol are also declared dead. Dec. 6, 1982: First shipments of new tamper-resistant
Oct. 1: Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules "had been wrenched packages of Tylenol capsules are shipped to retailers.
open and put back together," according to investigators. Feb. 6, 1984: Deadline for drug makers to get non-tamper-
Following the identification of a second tainted batch, lot resistant packages off store shelves. Most manufacturers
1910MD, which is also recalled, the U.S. Food and Drug jumped well ahead of the deadline.
Administration warns customers against consuming Extra-
Strength Tylenol.
Oct. 2: Tylenol sales in Chicago are outlawed by Mayor Jane
Byrne. The capsules contained potassium cyanide, a poison
often employed in metal plants and school chemistry labs,
according to the authorities. The poison was most likely put on
the shelves 36 hours prior to the first death.
Oct. 4: On October 1, J&J announces that it would no longer be
producing Extra-Strength Tylenol in pill form. The FDA claims
that after testing more than a million painkiller capsules across
the country, no cyanide is discovered outside of the Chicago
metropolitan area.
Actions Taken
• James Burke, the chairman of Johnson & Johnson, formed a seven-person strategy team in response to the
unfavourable media attention. Burke gave the crew two strategic directives: "How do we safeguard the
people?" and "How do we save this product?”. The company's initial move was to promptly warn consumers
across the country not to ingest any form of Tylenol product through the media.
• In order to explain their crisis management plan, Johnson & Johnson also engaged the media, including
sponsored advertising and public relations. In order to warn the public not to take the Tylenol product,
Johnson & Johnson employed the media to issue a national advisory.
• Johnson & Johnson developed a 1-800 hot line for customers to call during the first week of the crisis. When
customers called the 1-800 number to ask about the safety of Tylenol, the firm would answer them.
Additionally, they set up a free phone number that press organisations can contact to get daily recorded
messages with updated statements about the problem.
• At a press conference held at the corporate offices of the manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson announced the
launch of their new triple safety seal packaging, which consists of a glued box, a plastic seal over the bottle's
neck, and a foil cover over the bottle's mouth. Just six months after the crisis, Tylenol became the first product
in the sector to employ the new tamper-resistant packaging.
Learnings
•J&J took swift action, spoke openly about what had occurred, and attempted to eliminate any potential
sources of hazard as soon as possible.
•Throughout the crisis, J&J's leadership took the initiative and appeared to be in complete control.
•The removal of Tylenol capsules from the market and James Burke's candour in dealing with the media
won him widespread respect.
•J&J prioritised their customers. J&J spent over $100 million on the Tylenol recall and relaunch. Just prior
to the tragedy, the stock was trading close to a 52-week high. After a brief decline, it quickly returned to its
highs.
•J&J accepted responsibility. Burke could have framed the catastrophe in a number of ways, including as
an attack on the business, a glitch in the distribution of Tylenol from J&J factories to retail outlets, or the
actions of a psychotic criminal.
•J&J worked to ensure that steps were taken to stop the issue from happening again as much as
feasible. J&J introduced tamper-proof packaging that would make it much more difficult for a similar
occurrence to happen in the future (backed by an expanded media campaign).
•In the sake of customer safety, J&J demonstrated that it was ready to deal with the immediate harm.
More than anything else, that built a foundation of trust with their clients. Within a year of the catastrophe,
J&J's market share for analgesics, which had dropped to 7% from 37% after the poisoning, had rebounded
back to 30%.
References
• https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/your-money/IHT-tylenol-mad
e-a-hero-of-johnson-johnson-the-recall-that-started.html
• https://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02C2/Johnson%20&
%20Johnson.htm#:~:text=During%20the%20fall%20of%201982,stores
%20in%20the%20Chicago%20area
.
• https://apnews.com/article/c501b46c160c342222d3414c286b74a1