The Tylenol Tragedy

In 1982, Tylenol was faced with a tragedy--7 people in the Chicago area had died due to taking Tylenol. Tylenol, the country's leading over-the-counter pain killer, was suddenly associated with death. After investigation, the police found that somebody had contaminated Tylenol with cyanide while the product was on the shelves in local grocery stores and pharmacies. This case is extremely important in the business world and is widely studied, as Tylenol enforced the first ever nationwide recall of a product. The chairman of Johnson & Johnson at the time, James Burke, is still widely praised for his response to this tragedy. He quickly took the blame for the event on behalf of J&J, and proceeded to offer Americans with vouchers for Tylenol tablets, the type that were impossible to tamper with. This recall cost Tylenol $100 million, but it made Americans feel safe--like they were more important to the company than profit. This strategic business move saved the company. Tylenol went on to package their product in three-layer packaging that was impossible to tamper with.

While Americans saw this apology and action by James Burke as heroism, he has said that he was simply trying to do what was best for business. Since Burke had the peoples' best interest in mind only to save the multi-million dollar Johnson & Johnson empire, are his apology and response still as relevant and heroic?