In the current era of high competition for consumer goods, companies must keep brand trust and guarantee product safety to remain successful. The recall of Old Spice deodorants by Proctor & Gamble in November 2021 is a renowned example that sheds light on the fact that companies sometimes struggle to balance ensuring consumer well-being and brands’ protection from reputational risks. A direct discussion of the major strategic options, strategic recommendations development, and an implementation plan is being done in this paper to address the Procter & Gamble recall issue. The analysis considers different aspects of a strategic approach: risk assessment, stakeholders, and how to apply those to provide organizational resilience during the turbulent business landscape period.
Challenges for the Organization
The company faces many complex problems that triggered Old Spice deodorant recalls, some more demanding than others. First, the most crucial feature ranks the consumers’ confidence and strengthens the brand’s reputation, the company’s backbone of success(Ivey Business School Foundation, 2021). Transparency of communication plays an imperative role in that respect, which must be considered. Thus, a series of well-reasoned and comprehensive accounts of the strategies and measures to meet the contamination challenge is required. Imagining the situation where consumer confidence might become the issue in focus, Procter & Gamble, as the company producing a wide variety of personal care and household products, must take some measurable actions to demonstrate its commitment to quality. For example, the company has to implement stricter protocols for quality checks in its manufacturing operations. Besides, the chance of government regulations threatens the company’s survival here. It will require the managers to implement perfect processes and be open to disclosures and reactions. Nevertheless, the execution of this lofty undertaking does not end with coping with the expenses thrown at a social recall for handling the more significant problem of financial ramifications involved, including incurring the direct costs and threats of loss of revenue and position in the market, which comes into play next. Consequently, careful planning and prudent resource exploitation become the pillars that sustain the company during this challenging constellation of threats, and they are determined to turn out more robust and more stable from this crisis.
Development of Strategic Recommendations
Strategic recommendations will be at the core of the recommendations and will ensure the firm implements effective risk management practices and puts the customer at the center of the business. Primarily, putting risk mitigation tactics in place aids in curbing irrefutable damage and stabilizes the company’s finances by controlling the frequency and severity of crises. Besides, the promise to implement the customer-oriented strategy will create brand loyalty and enforce competitive advantage, keeping in mind the long-term profitability and sustainability of the whole organization.
Several recommendations can be made to combat the problems faced by the brand. Primarily, using the stakeholder management approaches, the company must give precedence to transparent dialog with consumers, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders to repair its brand and establish credibility(Phillips Group, 2019). In the second place, the company will do risk auditing by evaluating its supply chain structure. If any products are at risk of being counterfeited, it will take preventive measures to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. Hence, the organization’s leadership should also consider going with such a strategy by aligning with customer-centricity, enabling it to prioritize its innovation projects and quality assurance projects such that the outputs are both safe and of high quality and satisfy customer expectations.
Plan Implementation
This case study will significantly influence my future career as I will use its strategies and risk management mechanisms as part of my strategic decision-making process. Initially, I will emphasize consistent and honest communication in which stakeholders will have confidence and believe in me as the leader. In the second place, I will ensure that the most vital quality control measures and continuous improvements are in place to ensure safe products and compliance with regulatory standards. Eventually, I will closely depict the significance of customer feedback and market research in shaping the nature of the product and providing a competitive advantage, that is, following the customer’s needs and preferences. Implementing these measures will help in risk avoidance development of organizational resilience and thus promote desired sustainable business achievements.
In conclusion, the recall event of Old Spice deodorants shows their most significant challenge in which the management’s capability would be tested, and the strategic effectiveness would be evaluated. The company can create a plan for healing and repair by taking care of the mentioned difficulties of restoring customer believability, stepping carefully on regulatory rules, and handling financial problems. Promoting transparency, responsibility, and planned risk management will be crucial in the brand declaring its position and regaining popularity among a specific audience. The company must always be determined to have the ultimate commitment to excellence and be unflinching to protect consumers’ well-being. Suppose the organization remains effective and employs the ability to adapt to changing business dynamics. In that case, the result will be a stronger and more resilient company after it has overcome the crisis.
References
Ivey Business School Foundation. (2021). Procter & Gamble: A Recall of Old Spice Deodorants. Ivey Publishing. file:///C:/Users/mzesh/Downloads/Capture.PNG6602383d1fc3b6171.pdf
Phillips Group. (2019, July 28). Five effective strategies to manage stakeholder engagement. Phillips Group. https://www.phillipsgroup.com.au/insight/5-strategies-for-effective-stakeholder-management/
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