Hotrod Case Study: Solving The Vehicle Fault Issue

Hotrod's Efforts to Solve the Fault Issues

Discuss about the Hotrod Case Study.

Today, Hotrod a vehicle manufacturing company announces that it has solved the issue pertained to the fault in the vehicles they produce. For several months a lot of argument has been on the rise that Hotrod produced vehicles have caused accidents as a result of system failure leading to uncontrollable acceleration. Therefore, a lot of critics have been on the rise that there is the need of the company reviewing the manner which they produce their systems.

Therefore, recently the firm has been on its toes trying to make alliances with other general motors’ companies on how they improve their systems. Hence, this means that we have involved different stakeholders in the development of new systems. In this case, we have revolutionized our systems such that we have replaced the accelerator pedals systems with new ones. As an effective measure we have redesigned out our unit. We also offer service to the car owners and there is need of them taking precautionary measures to those not serviced. We recommend that in the case of system failure where the vehicle accelerated unintentionally, you should place the vehicle transmission on neutral, application of brakes is also necessary also you should steer off the road and shut of the engine. As for owners of vehicles which are equipped with push button, they should be aware that they need to press the push-button for 3 seconds so that the engine can shut off is the car is not in parking. Therefore, these measures tend to be vital to avoid any instance of accident.

About Hotrod Company: Hotrod is one of the world largest and profitable automaker company. Its main line of production is on the production of vehicles as a result it backs a rock solid reputation because of its quality and dependability of finding itself at the biggest production. This means that the firms brand reputation is big because of its ability to make huge profits in the market. Hence, this means that they are internationally recognized as the best automotive company globally.

The advice and strategies that can be provided to Hotrod CEO and the senior management team for recovery of their reputation. First, they should understand that in the dispersed and multi-faced environment in their company it is vital to collect information on the reputational threats that the organization is facing (Kitson & Calandra, 2009). Later, they should analyze the information gathered on the faulty systems that exist in their vehicles in a sophisticated way to ensure that they have effectively mitigated the problem. Here, they could consider forming alliances with other motor vehicles companies whose reputation is still good, the can also involve the government a part of the alliance team. Doing this will ensure that they have significant coordination of the vehicles they produce and develop and significant coordination and ability to act quickly, this is in pertinence to recovery of their reputation (Firestein, 2009).

About Hotrod Company

For firms aiming to increase their game same as Hotrod, the CEO and senior management need to put effective early warning systems to make their vehicle users aware and prevent loss of reputation. From experience Sullivan (2015) perceives that most firms tend to be good in tracking press mentions, as many of them begin monitoring the multitude of web based voices and its power is the rival mainstream of the media. Therefore, considering this as the CEO tends to be effective and important prerequisite in stepping up of engagement with the stakeholders, since this tends to be the toughest task that organizations are facing (Decotiis, 2008).

Another advice that could be provided to Hotrod CEO is that the company should effectively develop a deeper understanding of reputational issues the firm is facing. Hence, they should understand the degree of service, operation as well as other activities that are affecting the company currently. Attaining this means that they would need to create a document or catalogue that assesses the sustainability efforts and it benchmarks them against other firms that have faced the same problem before and how they have dealt with the issue (Abeysekera, 2011). In doing this, the facts need to be presented in an objective manner and if it is possible they should quantify the level of loss reputation. Doing this will promote an effective comparison and also assist the company in avoiding any ignorance that may arise in the vehicle inefficiency performance gaps.

Reputation tends to be built on perception, therefore analysing issues alone tend not to be enough. Therefore, Hotrod should understand that they are still meeting the shareholders expectations, this goes in best position to solving the fault that exist in their vehicle produced systems so as to influence the sales and growth. Hence, for the identification of centres of influence the CEO and senior managers need to understand that there is need of casting a wider net in the scrutiny of the issues the firm is facing (Davies, 2006). Here, they may involve other parties such as vehicle engineering firms in building their reputation and involve the media in shaping of people attitude about the new systems found in their vehicle. Thus, media involvement is quite significant as it unprecedented access to information to the public bringing back the reputation of the firm as it was pertained before.

I tend to believe that Hotrods explanation is credible; this is because for the past months they have been development of accidents as a result of the manner which they built their vehicles. Since, Hotrods is a company like any other business they need to effectively work on their reputation and get back to business as usual. As a result they had to fix the issues that is affecting their reputation and this was by investigating the problem brought to their attention, placing a strategy that effectively solves their problems in terms of building their vehicle and lastly assuring the public that the new systems fit in their vehicles is effective and won’t lead to any other instance of brake failure. We also observe that they are also requesting for users of their vehicles to visit any nearby Hotrods agent so that they can fix the issue pertained with their previous vehicle systems. Therefore, with all these consideration put in place it means that the explanation provided by Hotrod can be termed as credible.

Advice and Strategies for Reputation Recovery

In terms of telling the truth about their systems, I believe they are speaking the truth this is because of the effective measures that they have provided. For instance, for buyers of the recalled cars they are advised by the company to take them back so that they can be replaced with new accelerator pedals, the also will redesign the unit. Hence, until the car is fully serviced owners are recommended to remove their floor mats and report any arising issue to the closest Hotrod dealer. They further continue advising drivers of their vehicles that if they experience a fault instance, they should set the vehicle transmission neutral, apply brakes, steer of the road an shut of the engine. The new vehicles are fitted with a push button rather than the traditional key and drivers are advised that they should press the button for 3 seconds in order to shut off the vehicle. From, this explanation provided it acts that they are telling the truth because they are trying to prevent any accident instance.

In terms of acting on public interest in my view, I tend to believe that so. According to Burkhardt (2008) argues that firms always act on public interest so as to save their reputation and ensure that they are maximizing shareholders wealth. As a result, we observe that Hotrod has could use the media in informing the public that they have communicated with dealers and factories in regards to the arising issue. Hence, this means that use of media in showing the actions they have undertaken could be taken as public interest view. From experience, Conrad & Thompson (2013) perceives that to save the company from further losses companies tend to develop a strategy that is suitable for the public. Hence, in our case Hotrod we could support they have acted on public interest because from what could be perceived they are only working on the issue that leads to failure in the vehicles systems. Otherwise, if they were not they would working towards the development of new designs in the whole system of their vehicles.  

References

Kitson, M. J., & Calandra, R. (2009). How to keep your job in a tough competitive market: 101 strategies you can use today. Avon, Mass, Adams Business.

Firestein, P. (2009). Crisis of character: building corporate reputation in the age of skepticism. New York, NY, Sterling.

Sullivan, K. (2015). Anti-money laundering in a nutshell: awareness and compliance for financial personnel and business. GAINES-ROSS, L. (2003). CEO capital: a guide to building CEO reputation and company success. New York, Wiley.

Decotiis, T. (2008). Make it glow: how to build a company reputation for human goodness, flawless execution, and being best-in-class. Austin, Tex, Greenleaf.

Tsutsui, K., & Lim, A. (2015). Corporate social responsibility in a globalizing world. 

Abeysekera, I. (2011). Reputation building, website disclosure and the case of intellectual capital. Bingley, UK, Emerald.

Davies, A. (2006). Best practice in corporate governance: building reputation and sustainable success. Aldershot, Hants, England, Gower. 

Hiles, A. (2011). Reputation management: building and protecting your company's profile in a digital world. London, Bloomsbury Information.

Burkhardt, R. (2008). Reputation management in small and medium-sized enterprises: analysis and evaluation of the use of reputation management : a survey of small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany. Hamburg, Diplomica Verlag. 

Conrad, C. A., & Thompson, M. (2013). The new brand spirit: how communicating sustainability builds brands, reputations and profits.