In other countries, such as China, they Innovate through
Commercialization. This means their main
goal is to get the new product to market as quickly as possible and have the
consumer, you and I, be the guinea pigs for testing purposes. In countries with this form of innovation,
they expect up front to have many prototypes of their product based upon
consumer reaction to the product and material/safety issues found by the
consumer. I'm assuming innovation
through commercialization is the culprit behind a few of the problems China has
had with their products such as the tainted pet food, tainted baby formula and
lead paint used on toys.
Is it ethical for a company to put a product on the
market without doing safety testing?
Would we want to drive a car that's had no testing for the quality of
the materials of which it's comprised?
On the other hand, do we have the right to tell foreign countries how to
do their innovation? Do we need to
accept the mindset and culture of other countries? We may not be able to change things, but we
can avoid buying products which have no quality/safety testing prior to going
to market.
To read further about Innovation through
Commercialization, go to http://chinabizgov.blogspot.com/2012/02/gms-kevin-wale-on-innovation-in-china.html
to read an article by Glenn Leibowitz and Erik Roth in the February 2012 issue
of McKinsey Quarterly.
In the USA our taxes pay for testing of products before they hit the shelves. I enjoy this service as I never worry about my life being at risk when I walk through the supermarket or through Walmart. However most other countries don't provide this through tax funding. Do I believe that a company should therefore completely skip this step in production if it isn't required? Certainly not. Though it makes sense economically, human lives and health should ALWAYS be put before profit.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about the safety testing our government does too on our products, especially by the FDA. The R&D departments of most major companies do testing/research too before the final prototype of a product is released. I found another article at http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Defective_Chinese_Drywall which talks about another Chinese recall. Apparently Chinese drywall was used a few years back when there was a shortage of drywall. The Chinese drywall gives off a foul odor and has destroyed the wiring in homes including electronics. Homeowners with this Chinese drywall have been advised to not only remove the drywall from their homes, but to also remove their homes wiring. My father owned a drywall construction company until he retired. He installed drywall most of his life. I wonder if he was exposed to this Chinese drywall and if it has caused any harm to his health. I wonder how the Chinese could have messed up a simple product made from gypsum. Maybe it was in some fire protection coating or in the paper they used.
ReplyDeleteWhile studying for my Global Issues class today, I read in our course pack that 60% of the recalls we have here in the United States come from China. Part of good engineering is doing materials research or knowing how to communicate effectively with the materials engineer on your team to make sure you are producing a quality product.
Maybe you should worry about walking through Walmart though. I also read in my global issues course pack today that 70% of Walmart's products come from China. Of course, we don't have to worry about being injured from a shirt, shoes, towels, or sheets; however, I always wonder about Chinese products which touch the food I eat. Did they use some material which could be poisonous to me like the paint they used the in the toys? Most of the corningware plates are America made as is Fiestaware products produced in West Virginia.