In the context of this case, I should ask myself whether the effects of salmonella will have a negative effect on the health of the people and the profitability of the company. I should also ask myself the impact of the poor quality control procedures in the company in order to identify the areas which require improvement or correction in order to ensure smooth flow of the products of the company. I should also ask myself the qualification and standards followed in the production of the peanut as well as assessing the quality of the products of the company. I will also take into consideration the prices of the products of this company in order to assess their impact on the productivity of the company. The food safety standards of this company are of essence therefore I should ensure that they are adhered to in order to identify the loopholes of such cases of poor food quality standards.
In the context of the quality control procedures in this company, I should first take into consideration the food standard which are violated and determine their impact on the company and consumers of the peanut product. This will help in identifying chances of food poisoning in individuals due to contamination and poor food quality standards of the company.
In relation to whistle blowing, I should first consider the impact of each case on both the company as a whole and the effect on specific individuals especially on matters pertaining to their health. I will advise the company to rectify the problems pertaining to quality and safety of the food products so as to protect the lives of the consumers (Cressy, 2013). I will only whistle-blow if the repercussions of the quality of the peanut are more intense and severe on specific consumers and especially if the company refuses to remedy the effects of salmonella on the peanut. I should analyze the risks and the negative impact on both the reputation of the company and the health effect on consumers of the product.
A2. Upper management asks for your specific advice on how to improve the food safety and quality control situation at Delectables. What would you advise?
The root cause of food safety and quality control issue at Delectable is the nature of staff and personnel taking care of the quality control department. The officer in charge of quality control in this company is not aggressive with respect to quality control procedures and taking of measurements and tests pertaining to the peanut product of the company. The people in charge of identifying and picking of the contaminated products are not fully trained or conversant about the nature of the contaminated products. The staff in charge of this task of collecting then contaminated products seem tends not to fully understand the theory behind the different tags on the products. The level of ignorance among employees is very high to an extent that they remove the tags from the contaminate products and at the same time puts them back into the system.
The quality control officer in this cannot really be effective due to the pressure on the current culture of the company. The quality control director in the company have been neglected to an extent that they could not get enough resources to exercise his role in the company. The quality control department seem to be poor endowed with the facilities to carry out such quality control procedures (Cressy, 2013). The current culture of the company is therefore inhibitory to the quality control procedures making the whole department ineffective in carrying out its tasks. The activities of the quality control procedures can only take place when adequate personnel and quality measurement resources are taken into close attention and consideration.
In the context of the operations at the factory, the attitude and response of the foremen was not good therefore it has a negative impact on the operations concerning the quality of the products of the company. This prevents and discourages close analysis and investigation of the products in order to identify the weaknesses as well as cases of contamination. The management should take into consideration the fact there are very weak quality control procedures of the company. This therefore calls for the management of the company to provide an efficient quality control department in order to ensure that food safety standards are closely observed. The improvement of the quality control procedures will pose a lot of pressure to me because of the self-interest threat pertaining to loss of the job in case of a whistle blow.
B1. What role, if any, should government play in assuring food safety in the food industry in general? What role should the state of Georgia, in particular, play in assuring food safety at Delectables?
In the context of food safety, the government faces a lot challenges especially in relation to financial constraints making it difficult to employ qualified and enough personnel in ensuring quality control procedures on the products of the companies. The government also faces challenge it finds difficult to close down the companies like Delectable because they find it very instrumental in provision of employment opportunities to most of the individuals. The therefore faces the shortage of both facilities and trained specialists to carry out the quality control exercise efficiently. The inspection agents and firms are often not allocated enough funds by the government in order to carry out the inspection procedures so as to ensure food safety.
The state of Georgia should ensure that the government officials are well staffed and trained as well as increasing numbers in order to efficient quality control procedures. This will help ensure that there is food safety in matters pertaining to Delectables. The Company will also be able to run the affairs of the business fully without much conflict of interest due to threats like dismissal from work. The State Georgia should also ensure that the employees are protected from the exploitation by employers and this will ensure full protection of the rights of employees.
The company should ensure that the standards and quality control procedures should be put in place in order to ensure that companies produce products of the right quality to the customers. This will therefore enable the companies to provide safe products to the people while at the same time, they should provide employment opportunities to the citizens at fair levels of remunerations. The government should provide qualified inspectors who will ensure services and products delivered to the community are safe (Velasquez, 2012).
The food companies should be controlled by the state in order to ensure that the facilities of each food company are adequate in carrying out the quality control procedures. This will also ensure that standards of food safety are made and facilitated by the government in order to protect the welfare of the consumers of such food products.
C1. What legal and ethical issues are raised by your supervisor’s proposal to ship Red-tagged cases of peanut butter to San Lopegattia?
The levels of contamination are unacceptable therefore it is unethical to export that product. The red-tagged peanut butter should be eliminated from the sales in order to avoid harming the health of the people of San Lopegattia. The sale of such products amounts to unethical code of conduct and it leads to an inhumane character by selling harmful products to the innocent individuals. It is also illegal to export the contaminated products due to the health effects on the consumers (Velasquez, 2012). This may also have a negative effect on the international ethics and international business is likely to collapse.
In relation to the yellow-tagged stickers, only some level of contamination s identified in the product. This product can therefore be improved and consumed. In this case the product may be modified then exported without much effect on international business ethics as was in the case of red-tagged products of the company.
D1. Advise Delectables on what it should do in response to the situations in the Part D Background Facts.
This company should take into consideration the cost-benefit analysis in relation to the sale of products in order to determine the viability of the business operations. This also encourages Delectables to provide goods of the right quality standards while at the same maintaining the ethical code governing the international business. The results of the business in the case should relate to conservational theories in order to determine the general impact of this case in the society.
Works Cited
Cressy, Robert, Douglas Cumming, and Chris A. Mallin. Entrepreneurship, Finance, Governance and Ethics. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013. Print.
Velasquez, Manuel G. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson, 2012. Print.
