Delectables Corp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Delectables Corp - Essay Example Current financial data indicate that Delectables is losing its US market share to its major competitor Prince’s Fare. In this situation, even a mild flaw would severely affect Delectables’ business interests in the US market. The company has a recent history of food safety problems despite the fact that none of them were confirmed. Unsurprisingly, food poising issues (Salmonella poisoning) would damage the market reputation of a food company and hence the Delectables may lose its further business to Prince’s Fare. Although the firm’s newly hired Quality Control Director has suggested comprehensive measures to the upper management to ensure the food safety, his supervisors refused to accept the suggestions arguing that they were too expensive. In addition, workers are indifferent to the new quality control system and are not willing to abide by the instructions given by the QC Director. In order to satisfy their personal financial interests, factory employe es including foremen clear even contaminated products for the market. This practice increases the chances of food safety issues, which in turn would impact the market stature of the organization. In addition, the Georgia plant has poor infrastructural facilities and hence its food products are exposed to contaminants including Salmonella. Once the Delectables’ goodwill is affected by food poisoning issues, the demand for its products would decline in the market and ultimately this situation would hurt the interests of company stakeholders, particularly shareholders. Therefore, I would not sign the quality control form. However, whistle blowing can have some risks too. This practice is likely to contribute to the financial burden of the company which is already challenged by financial shortages. Sometimes, whistle blowing may end up in even winding up of the Delectables’ Georgia plant. As a result, thousands of employees may be laid off. However, it is vital to prioriti ze the interests of the firm’s stockholders. Referring to the stockholder theory which â€Å"supports the notion of the manager of a business being the agent for the stockholders of the company† (as qtd in Dunham-Taylor and Inczuk, 257), it is inevitable to blow the whistle and thereby to add to shareholder values. The risks of blowing whistle would be outweighed by its benefits. Evidently, lack of effective control mechanisms is the root cause of the food safety and quality control problem at Delectables. From the case scenario it is clear that QC Director has designed comprehensive procedures to separate between pure, contaminated, and mildly contaminated food products. However, factory workers are unwilling to follow these procedures and they clear all the batches of products for the market. It is observed that QC Director has little influence on factory workers and therefore he fails to ensure that quality control measures are executed effectively. It is the duty o f the QC Director to make sure that the organization completely complies with the stated quality control guidelines. In addition, the upper management does not pay particular attention to the factory’s product quality; rather it focuses only on financial returns. Currently, the firm’s foremen – who are responsible for clearing the food products for the market – are evaluated and remunerated on the basis of number of finished product boxes per day. Therefore, foremen try to increase the number of product boxes finished a day but not to improve the product quality. In order to address this issue, it is advisable for the management to pay foremen on an hourly or monthly basis. Similarly, the management should promote employee participation using the tools of financial incentives or other strategies in order to change their attitude