Methodology Chapter on "US or Any Country Customer Perception of Made in China Products"

Methodology Chapter 14 pages (4943 words) Sources: 14 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

China -- Not Necessarily a Good Thing?

Project Overall Aims - Objective

The United States is deeply involved with China when it comes to finances, as China is the largest foreign holder of American debt. Moreover, China is a major trade partner with the United States, and while thousands of Americans travel to China each year -- and thousands of Chinese visit the U.S. -- when you say "Made in China" it gives many Americans an unsettled feeling. That is because so many products imported from China have flaws, are unsafe, or otherwise cause controversy and concern. Further, Americans read about Hollywood films that are illegally manufactured as knock-offs (or fakes) and sold in China as the real thing, and these kinds of fraudulent activities contribute to the suspicions that Americans have about China.

The objective of this paper is first of all to research the facts relating to "Made in China" by pointing out the many instances of imports into the United States from China that have not been up to standards, have not been safe, or have contained harmful or toxic substances that would potentially make consumers in the United States ill. But just pointing out the picture of products that are flawed is not quite far enough to go. This paper looks also at the image of China that has been badly hurt (through other parts of the world, including the U.S.) by the bad products that are exported from China. "Made in China" has become a phrase that many people in the U.S. are wary of. It is true that the image of China in America is already somewhat negative due to the publicity about China's censorship policies and by China's tough stand against Tibet.



Americans read that certain Web sites and certain search engines are banned in China because the government does not want the citizens to know about how others in the world are living with democracy and freedom. Americans read that Google tried to work a deal with China to have its search engine available to Chinese computer users, but China had a hard line about Google and there was a big standoff in that situation. To Americans, Europeans, Australians and others in the world, anything a person can find in Google is available to them, whether it is political, or pornographic, or psychological. So it seems dictatorial and even fascistic for a government like China to be scrutinizing everything on the Internet and censoring those things it doesn't agree with.

Moreover, Americans and Europeans and others in Asia and elsewhere are shocked at the way Chinese military treated the protesters in Tibet. Those living in democracies do not respect Nations that allow their military to shoot and harm their minorities or dissidents. So the point of this is that China already has a poor reputation in the world due to several factors previously mentioned. And when China exports toys that have lead paint (children can get sick from lead), drywall that makes homeowners ill, cribs that are unsafe and toothpaste that has toxic substances in it, and other poor quality or contaminated products, those incidents add to the lack of respect Western nations already have of China, making China's image in the world darker than it should be.

Literature Review -- U.S. Media Coverage on China

How do the American media members report on China -- what issues are typically covered in the press, on television and the Internet with reference to China? A poll in the Pew Research Center (PRC) in January, 2011 -- taken at the time that Chinese President Hu Jintao was in the United States for a four-day visit, including a "lavish black-tie dinner at the White House -- reflects two patterns. While the economic relationship that the U.S. has with China is of enormous importance, the media tends to cover "tainted imports and disasters" (PRC).

Indeed, over the last four years, the biggest story subject that received the most coverage in the American media delved into "problems with imported products, including tainted pet food and lead paint in children's toys," Pew Research Center has found. The news coverage index that PRC uses indicates that in the last four years 21% of the media coverage of China focused on negative stories about Chinese imports; the second most frequently reported China issue was the huge earthquake that killed up to 70,000 people and injured 400,000 (14% of all stories zeroed in on the earthquake). Another issue covered in the American media about China (6% of China coverage) was the tension between the Chinese communist government and Tibet. And 12% of stories about China in the American media were about trade issues and business issues.

The only story about China over the past four years that the American media covered heavily that was not about diplomacy, or product problems, or public policies was the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. That having been said, there were also negative stories regarding the Beijing Olympics when protestors in Paris and in San Francisco "made their opposition to the rule of Tibet and human rights violations known as the Olympic torch traveled through those cities" during the week of April 7-13 in 2008 (Pew Research Center).

Literature Review -- The Gallup Poll

A Gallup Poll taken in 2007 shows that American consumers are "deeply suspicious of Chinese-made goods," and those attitudes were the result of a "string of recalls of potentially unsafe products made in China" (Jones, 2007, p. 1). Another result of the bad publicity China received from the faulty products imported to America is that U.S. consumers are telling pollsters that they are paying "more attention to which countries produce the products they by," and that they are going to try to avoid "Made in China" whenever it is practical to do that (Jones, p. 1).

The poll (taken of 1,001 people reflected nationally) revealed that 72% of Americans are now paying stricter attention to where products they buy were manufactured, Jones reports. This question was asked of the 1,001 respondents "prior to any explicit mention" of the product problems (related to China) that have been publicized in the media; 93% of the respondents later told the Gallup polling people they were "following very closely" the news about unsafe Chinese products (Jones, p. 1). Some 85% of respondents indicated they would try to avoid Chinese products and 64% in the survey said they would be willing to pay "up to twice as much for a product made in the United States as they would for a similar Chinese-made product" (Jones, p. 2).

To whom do Americans place the blame for faulty imports from China? Some 35% blamed U.S. safety inspectors; 31% blamed U.S. businesses; 19% blamed Chinese manufacturers; and 13% blamed Chinese safety inspectors (Jones, p. 3). It is interesting to note that Chinese officials claim that only 1% (or less) of the products they ship to foreign countries "fail to pass quality controls" and fail to "meet international quality standards" (Jones, p. 3).

Literature Review -- Baby Crib Problems

The Bassett Furniture Industries company announced a recall of baby cribs that the company had been buying as imports from China, according to an article in the Roanoke Times (Adams, 2007). The product name was The Wendy Bellissimo Collection convertible cribs and Goodbaby Child Products Co manufactured them in China. The reason for the recall of those cribs was because the crib can pose "a serious entrapment and strangulation hazard," Adams reported. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicated that had been no "serious injuries" resulting from the crib at that time (the cribs had been on the market for over two years).

If no children had been hurt, why then was there a recall of 8,900 cribs? Apparently bolts can work loose on the crib at the crib's top corners, Adams explains. After the bolts work loose at the top corners, a gap results and a small child could be trapped in that gap, or even be strangled, Adams continues. A total of 85 reports had come in to the CPSC and one-13-month-old baby was reported to have a hand trapped between railing once the bolts worked loose. What apparently happens in some of the cases is the parents over-tighten the bolts when they are assembling the crib; the over-tightened bolts then strip the fasteners that the Chinese manufacturers designed to work with the cribs.

The cribs sold for about $500 in Babies R Us stores, and the Bassett Furniture Industries customer service people said that consumers that own the cribs can receive a "free repair kit" which the CPSC insists will eliminate the hazard to children (Adams, p. 1).

Literature Review -- Toys With Flaws

Alan M. Field writes in Shipping Digest that RC2 Toys was forced to recall 1.5 toys made in China (because the toys were contaminate with lead paint, which will poison children if ingested), which was "free advertising" for RC2 Toys "…of the kind… READ MORE

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