Describe about the Apples Software Quality for Logical Observations.
It has been said that ‘perception is reality’ since what we perceive is what we then accept as reality and as fact. Do you think that this is the case with Great Wall Motors? Is the perception that some consumers have that the vehicles are of relatively low- quality accurate? Is it worsened by the asbestos situation? Explain your answer.
Perception is what each of us have, in order to understand our environment. Our brain perceives things in a certain way and we tend to make logical observations to support our perception. When we are faced with a perception our brain then starts to infer information from our environment to support or distort our perception. We try to observe things in order to build our perception or debunk it.
The perception that Great Wall Motors was indeed a good deal was wrong. The Great Wall Motors made headlines about its new offers with their introduction of Chery and the Great Wall series into the Australian market through Ateco. They were enjoying a high amount of recognition for its technology, safety and reliability of their new cars. The cars were sold on a period of 3 year and 100000 kilometre warranty. To get such an offer at an inexpensive price was indeed a ‘Great’ option for the consumers. The Great Wall was among the 17 biggest sellers that sold over 6000 cars sold in the first eight months.
No, Perception was not the reality in the case of Great Wall Motors who offered an attractive price at a low quality. People perceived the Great Wall Motors to be a good deal considering its high sales figures in the initial three quarter of the year.
Yes, the cars indeed proved to be of low quality, as some consumers said, after the review posted by a man who reviewed motor vehicles. Goods made in China are generally believed to be of low quality.
This perception that the cars were a great deal finally got destroyed when Toby Hagon published a review on the vehicle after he bought a Great Wall X240 and test drove the car off road, which it was mainly advertised for, and realised that the mechanical factors of the car were absolutely dangerous and unreliable. After their desert trip the dealer had to make a number of fixes which was fortunately under warranty. The engine which Hagon called ‘anaemic’ was of extremely low quality which made going uphill very tedious and the engine’s low power required constant changing of gears. Hagon’s description about the failure of the car to meet basic requirements as an SUV came as a shock to most Australians who had invested into this low quality ‘wheezy companion’. The review takes us through Hagon’s tour through the desert ranges and the creek crossings and the difficulties he endured in making his way through the off roads of Australia. His review The situation was further worsened by the discovery of the presence of asbestos in the engine and the exhaust system by Australia’s safety authorities who ordered a recall of 25000 vehicles from the Great Wall series (Hagon, 2012).
Yes, the asbestos problem definitely further worsened the situation for Great Wall Motors.
The history of the lethal impact of asbestos on human health was enough for Australians to completely stop the purchase of cars with asbestos components, since they were very sensitive to the topic. There was a general panic around the asbestos topic among Australians. James Hardie was the largest user of asbestos who was aware of its harmful impact as early as 1960, however did not stop the usage of it in his building materials until 1987. Finally, following a lot of proceedings against his company Jamss set up a trust called Medical Research and Compensation Foundation and funded it with $300 million for compensation claims that came from the workers.
James’ initiative was a result of Bernie Banton’s persistent campaign against his former employer, for the use of asbestos in their production. Importing goods that contained asbestos was against the Custom rules and regulations of Australia.
Paul Bastian, a member of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union stated that if any officer of Ateco was caught in the breach of Australia’s regulations knowingly, they would face criminal prosecution. (King, 2015)
Do you think the Ateco handled the asbestos problem appropriately? Provide support for your answers.
No, Ateco did not respond to the asbestos problem appropriately. A higher standard was definitely expected of Ateco, who were the dealers of highly reputed brands such as Maserati and Lamborghini. Upon discovering the presence of asbestos in the engine components of Great Wall Motor cars, they did the right thing by contacting the supplier of China to change those parts on new productions before importing. Even though there were several meetings with their authorities to decide on the way forward with this new problem what they failed to do was to inform the public about this discovery, neither did they go for a swift recall. When Hagon asked Ateco a test car for the purpose of generating a review of their cars they declined as they were worried about unfavourable comparisons that would be made with more reputed cars that could affect the sale of the Great Wall vehicles which Ateco had already imported.
Additionally, knowing how strict Australian laws were about asbestos use in the imports Ateco should have been more careful on the quality concerns. Furthermore, there was no mention of this issue on Ateco’s website or Great Wall Motors.
However once there were critical investigations on the case, and when Bastian asked Ateco to recall 25000 Great Wall vehicles to repair and change the parts containing asbestos at the company’s cost, Danielle Cotterill from Ateco Automotive did assure that the owners of the vehicles could return their cars to the dealers. They also said that the asbestos was bound to the gaskets in the engine and exhaust system and would not pose any risk to individual’s health. They also said that they were not aware of the use of asbestos in the manufacturing of these cars and they could give that in writing. (Furgason, 2015)
What other options could organisations take when faced with a major public relation problem such as the one which currently confronts Ateco and their Great Wall and Chery brands?
When an organisation such as ATECO Automotive is faced with a problem like this, how they go about their process of resolution is extremely important which is a major criteria in maintaining their reputation. In order to maintain your brand image as well as assure the people that you are taking responsibility of the problem, it is important to first acknowledge that there has been negligence on the part of the organisation in maintaining quality standards.
Observing certain options about how an organisation can handle such PR problems can serve as a precedent for future failures.
The first thing that ATECO did was to address the issue with the manufacturer’s. This step was in fact an integral part of the crisis management process. In their defence, ATECO knew that they had to give an explanation about their negligence about asbestos components in the car which sources stated that they were not aware of.
The next step is to accept that there is a problem and that ATECO intends to deal with it and buy time from the people and Media, which ATECO failed to do. They waited till it was very late, to react. The news started to affect the Great Wall shares in the markets, they did not take any initiatives until the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union intervened.
On completion of a thorough observation of the situation and its impact on the business, the company must then consider its further course of action. In Ateco’s case when they realised the damage they came out with an apology and ordered a thorough examination report on the car, its health hazards and safety aspects.
It is then important that the Company accepts their failure and expresses their intention to correct the mistake to the people through their website, or blogs or through their public interactions. Ateco failed to do so in the course of the asbestos problem.
It is also important to analyse the situation by studying the reaction of the people after their public declaration of the failure. It can take time before the situation can cool down and how the company acts during this time will majorly decide whether they will lose or win (Brown, 2015).
Finally it is important for the Company to learn the lesson from a crisis and exercise caution in their future dealings. According to sources, Ateco has stopped importing vehicles from Great Wall Motors post the asbestos problem. However, they are still in negotiation with the Great Wall Motors for some kind of consensus.
There are great ways and poor ways to handle PR crisis. Pepsi’s Syringe Cans Rumours in 1993 was aggressively countered by Pepsi team who created four videos of the canning process and CEO Craig Weatherup appeared across media channels to rubbish the news. Even though the news was a hoax, Pepsi built a strong defence against the rumour in order to assure the people of its safety aspects and to maintain brand image.
These initiatives would ensure a smooth exit from the problems as well as maintain customer loyalty and company reputation. (Meltwater, 2013)
Toyota’s stereotype of providing a high quality vehicle was only slightly tarnished by a safety recall for their Hilux Ute in 2010. Are stereotypes always true? How can we manage in ways that lessen the negative impacts of the stereotypes that we hold of other individuals, groups, organisations or brands, especially if the stereotype has no real basis in reality?
Toyota Motor Corporation had introduced four wheel drive petrol and turbo-diesel Hilux vehicles between January 2005 and February 2010. The vehicles faced some safety issues where the vehicle would rapidly accelerate or decelerate on rough roads of rural areas and the tailshaft support bracket was also flawed which could cause the tailshaft to fall off causing serious damage to passerby on the road. More than 100,000 UTES were recalled in Australia. Toyota which is world’s largest car manufacturer was faced with its first major recall (Hughes, 2015).
No, in my opinion, stereotypes are not always true. Just because a company has a big name does not mean they cannot create poor quality goods or services. A marketing tactic is never good enough for one to believe in its veracity.
Companies like Apple who is reportedly facing a software issue with the iOS and OS X series have proved that even the best companies can fail.
A recent report on GM Motors also was an eye opener. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s company database was flooded with complaints pouring in about General Motors SUVs, Chevy, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade stating that it exhibited some unexplained buffeting and vibration. The GMC Yukon XL Denali seemed to be making a crackling sound even at the speed of 35 kmph. The car was constantly vibrating and the sensations got worse when the vehicle was changed to V4 mode (Elmer, 2015).
General Motors has to its credit years of accolades and operates in over 37 countries under 12 brands, yet, such a huge company can fail stereotypes. It can disappoint people.
In order to ensure that we don’t get negatively influenced by these stereotypes it is important that we research and analyse the products in question before we make any purchases. We are blessed with the advantage of social media. Its influence is massive. One can find ample research report on various products, reviews and not to forget the power of Social media networking sites such as facebook where we have a huge friend circle who can help us in our dilemma to choose. Though there are paid reviews but it would be wise for a person looking to make a purchase to make an extensive research. The internet either has mixed reviews on products which may not have a drastic financial repercussion however if it is something like a car or an expensive phones, one would definitely find reviews if the product has safety concerns (Gover, 2010).
References
Hughes. A. K. 2015. Apple Has a Serious Problem with software Quality. [Available https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-has-a-serious-problem-with-software-quality/] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
Gover. P. 2010. Toyota HiLux Recall. [Available https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/toyota-hilux-recall-17746] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
Elmer. S. 2015. There’s a Big Issue with GM’s SUV’s and No One seems to Have a Solution. {Available https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/12/there-s-a-big-issue-with-gm-s-suvs-and-no-one-seems-to-have-a-solution.html] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
Brown. G. 2015. Crisis PR- Top 10 Best and Worst. {Available https://blog.rdpr.co.uk/the-best-and-worst-crisis-communications-case-studies] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
King. P. 2015. Is Perception, Reality? [Available https://www.quora.com/Is-perception-reality] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
Beissmann. T. 2015. Great Wall’s Australian future still up in the air as dispute continues. [Available https://www.caradvice.com.au/349441/great-walls-australian-future-still-up-in-the-air-as-dispute-continues/] [Accessed 26th September, 2016]
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download