Ethical Dilemma
Herb’s Concoction (and Martha’s
Dilemma): The Case of the Deadly Fertilizer
Martha Wang worked in the Consumer Affairs Department of a
company called Herb’s Garden Products. Martha was a relatively new
employee and had only worked there 6 months, while most employees
at Herb’s had been with the company since its beginning back in
1958. She enjoyed her job and hoped to be promoted at her next
performance appraisal. One especially exciting part of working at
Herb’s was that they had made a public commitment to protecting the
environment. There were regular meetings at work about the choice
to brand the organization in this way, sell their products at
“green” markets, and capture some of the growing consumer market
for natural products. Martha’s values were closely aligned with
this mentality, so she really loved her new job at Herb’s Garden
Products. How quickly things change.
One day, Martha received a call from a dissatisfied customer who
complained that Herb’s Special Fertilizer Mix killed her dog, an
expensive and beloved toy poodle. Martha knew that the fertilizer
was made mostly of fish byproducts and chicken manure, but she had
also heard there was a “secret ingredient” that had only been
revealed to long-time employees. The company had advertised the
product as “safe enough to eat for breakfast” and “able to work
wonders on any plant.” However, Martha had used the product only
once herself. Shortly after applying the fertilizer, Martha found
several dead birds near the garden where she had spread the most
fertilizer. At the time, she convinced herself this was just a
coincidence. Listening now to this customer describing the death of
her small dog after lying on the soil near the fertilizer, Martha
began to wonder if those birds had perished for the same reason.
Martha took the customer’s name and number and went immediately to
her boss.
Martha’s boss was Herb’s nephew, Mac. Once Martha explained her
story about her own experience with the fertilizer and the
customer’s claim that it killed her dog, Mac began to smile. “Some
people will complain about the littlest things,” Mac said. Martha
protested that it was her job as a consumer affairs officer to
address the serious concerns of this customer and follow company
procedure to ensure the safety of future customers and their pets.
Mac laughed and said, “You really believe that something is wrong
with our product? We’ve been selling this fertilizer for 35 years.
People love it! Now and again someone whines about finding dead
animals, but that’s just their imagination. After all, we use
all-natural ingredients!” Martha thanked Mac for his help and
slowly headed back toward her cubicle. She felt extremely confused
and torn about her role at this point. What should she tell the
customer when she called her back? Was the fertilizer safe? Should
she worry about working in a place with potentially dangerous
products? What about quality issues for the company’s products in
general? Were Herb’s other products unsafe or of poor quality? What
might be the environmental impact of this product as it runs off
into lakes and streams? As her head began to spin with the
difficulty of the task ahead of her, the phone suddenly rang. It
was Herb himself, the owner and founder of the company. “Martha,”
the voice on the other line whispered, “Herb’s Special Fertilizer
is our best seller! Don’t let us down.”
NOW It Is Your Turn
- What kind of decision does Martha face? What are some of her
decision-making challenges?
- What recommendations do you have for a company facing this
situation? What should they do to deal with this customer
complaint? From the perspective of the management at Herb’s Garden
Products, what are some next steps that could be taken?