Last week Toshiba posted a recall of 41,000 Satellite T130 laptops on its production support forum last week. This recall, ordered by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, was issued because of "overheating and deforming the plastic casing area around the AC adaptor plug." Although this problem only resulted in 2 reports of "minor burn injuries," the CPSC found it dangerous enough to recall this item. Back in 2007, Toshiba found itself in a similar fired hazard issue, that time with batteries. Like this problem, the acted ethically and recalled the defective items.
Toshiba has committed a large number of resources to disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti. Relief efforts like this, along with the stateside ExploraVision programs and benefits for non-profit groups shows that Toshiba is not solely worried about their bottom line, instead they keep their corporate social responsibility in mind.
Many companies in the consumer electronic industry have strong, ethical morals when dealing with their customers. Toshiba has “redefined the word ‘profit’ to embrace the long-term livelihood of people, and the health of our planet too. Also, the four major values on which the company lives by are philosophy & commitment, community, sustainability, and reuse & recycle. All of these ideas show that this company shows that the customers, and the planet, are top priority. Other competitors such as Dell also say that they want to deliver “the best customer experience in the markets we serve.” This mission statement directly states their commitment to the satisfaction of the customer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467661025680700.html?KEYWORDS=recall
Colin, good job finding an article and linking it to what we are currently learning in class. Please try to proofread your blog more closely next time though.
ReplyDeleteComparing this article to the Apple article, it really makes me like Toshiba a lot more than Apple. Unlike Apple who sold their product even when they knew there was a defect, Toshiba recalled all their products when only two of them were found with defects.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that Toshiba has a much better mission statement than Apple. Although it is good to constantly work hard to create a newer, better product, I believe that there are other things that are more important. In my opinion, I think that if the company puts the customers first, they will reel in profit because customers will trust the company more than companies like Apple.
These two articles made me curious on what the mission statement is for my laptop's company (Sony Vaio). Their statement is "To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public." In my opinion, this statement seems to be in between Toshiba and Apple. While trying to make advancements in technology, they are trying to do so in order to help the public (customers).