Chapter 2, Additional Case 1: Irritating Insulation

Background

The town of Acton, Ohio (population 6,500), like many other small communities in the Rust Belt region, has suffered economically during the past decade. Much of its infrastructure is old and in need of repair, and the town has a shrinking tax base. Young people routinely leave the area after high school in search of better jobs.

The main employer in Acton is Diversified Construction Materials, which employs more than 1,00. people from Acton and surrounding communities. Like Acton, Diversified has seen better times. Its products are known for their high quality, but foreign and domestic manufacturers that have moved their production facilities to developing countries are undercutting Diversified's prices and gaining market share.

The research and development (R&D) department at Diversified has just formulated a new type of blown insulation that the company thinks will perform as well as fiberglass but will beat its price. This new substance promises to be a major part of Diversified's highly regarded insulation line. A number of retailers have ordered large quantities of the new insulation based on Diversified's exhibits at trade shows and some preliminary advertisements in industrial catalogs.

As the head technical writer at Diversified, Susan Taggert oversees the creation of all product information for the insulation. As she normally does in such cases, she gathers all the R&D documentation and any other available company materials, which she studies before mapping out a strategy.

About one week into the project, Taggert discovers from laboratory notebooks that three of the seven technicians participating in the project experienced abnormally high rates of absence from work during the four months they spent developing the insulation. One of the three technicians requested to be transferred from the project at the end of the first month. His request was granted.

Taggert calls Diversified's personnel department and learns that all three of the technicians complained of the same condition—bronchial irritation of varying degrees of severity—but that their symptoms ceased two to three days after the last exposure to the insulation. Apparently some compound in the insulation, which the company physician could not immediately identify, affected some of the technicians who worked directly with it.

Taggert goes to the vice president of operations, Bill Mondale, who is in charge of introducing all new products. Taggert presents her information to Mondale and suggests that the company find out what is causing the bronchial irritation before it ships any of the product" although the irritation does not appear to be serious, there are no data on the potential effects of long-term exposure to the insulation when used in houses or offices.

Mondale points out Diversified's tight deadline; delivery is scheduled in less than two weeks. Determining the cause of the irritation could take weeks or months and cost many thousands of dollars. Taggert points out the financial risks involved in selling a product that poses a health hazard. Mondale responds that it is a risk the company will have to take, and he adds that the product is in compliance with all applicable federal guidelines. The company has staked its reputation—and its third-quarter profits—on the insulation. He directs Taggert to proceed with the product literature as quickly as possible and not to spend any more time worrying about potential health hazards.

Your Assignment

To complete this case, perform the following tasks: