Introduction to the Deep Park Water Inc Company - Paper Example

Deep Park Water, Inc is a bottled water company that provides natural spring water. The company was established in 1873, and it is located in Stamford, Connecticut. Currently, the company operates as a subsidiary of Nestle Water North America Inc. Operating as a subsidiary of Nestle waters has boosted the companys sales. Last year, the company recorded a profit of $1 million which was one of the highest. The company has more than 200 employees who work at the companies headquarter and other distribution channels (Deer,2017).

The history of the company is rooted in the wilderness which defines the United States first frontier. When the civil war came to an end, Baltimore Railroad came up with a holiday resort in the Appalachian mountains of western Maryland. Baltimore Railroad set up the Park Hotel with the intention of attracting passengers to ride railroad. However, the nearby spring water drew a lot of people. Among the people that frequently visited the spring to enjoy the advantages of mythical spring water included US presidents such as Garfield. The Boiling Springs Holding limited in 1966 bought the springs and the surrounding woodland from the Bando Railroad. The company started bottling the spring water majorly for the densely populated New York Market, and this ended up to be the foundation of the company that was later incorporated as Deep Park Water, Inc (Deer,2017).

Bottled water is the safe, healthy and suitable product that expansively controlled both at the state and federal level. The US Food and Drug Administration(FDA)regulates bottled water as a packaged food product. One of the responsibilities of FDA is to make sure that there is compatibility in quality standards for bottled water and the criteria for tap water as set by EPA. Every time that EPA comes out with standards for a contaminant, Food and Drug Administration either accept it for bottled water(FDA, 2015).

The bottled water must also conform with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act at the federal level and at the same time, comply with different parts of Title 21 of the code of Federal Regulations. FDA has also come up with bottled water standards of quality for more than 80 substances. The quality standards are similar to those established by EPAs maximum level of contamination for tap water system. However, there are some few differences which are the result of the substances that are not being found in bottled water. There is no particular consideration such as international trade agreements, high risk as a hacking target, high-risk business (FDA, 2015).

Ethics and Business

The company upholds ethical principles in the manner in which it does business, and this is essential to the way the company operates and underpins consumers trust and its operational license. The companys values which are entrenched in respect lies behind its effort, and Deep Park Water, Inc corporate business principles and code of business sets out its responsibilities. The companys values are rooted in respect. First, there is respect amongst employees of the company. The employees respect each other and act with integrity and fairness while carrying out company duties. Second, there is respect to others whereby the company has enhanced a good relationship with people around it and thus creating a climate of mutual trust. This revolves around the quality of its products and everything it does to satisfy the needs of the customers. Third, there is also respect for diversity. The company through its employees is committed to respecting the way others think and all facets of the society that need openness and comprehensiveness in its interactions both inside and outside the company. The section below gives the example of how Deep Park Water, Inc Aspiration and Beliefs guide every action it takes on the daily basis and the way its shapes its culture with every bottle of water it produces.

Inspiring Passion and Commitment

The company is focused on creating an environment where people do more than just draw a paycheck. Deep Park Water, Inc wants everybody excited about developing skill and capabilities and fostering creativity to solve problems.

Building Customer Loyalty

The company earns the customer loyalty in some ways which include enhancing responsiveness, providing best possible value, identifying that one size cannot fit all and lastly, listening to customers and using their feedback to innovate and improve our product and services.

Constantly Improving the Company

Deep Park Water, Inc strongly believe that constant learning and improvement are essential drivers to supporting and enhancing its success as a company. To achieve this, the company has focused on learning about customers, the business environment, and technological changes. Deep Park Water, Inc has also enhanced its customer values through constant learning and improvement.

There are various recommendations for the company to ensure that its values are reflected employee and corporate decision making. The companys employees should take steps to create a workplace environment which promotes a culture of respect and support for everybody. This comprises of writing ethical standards or code of conduct, and every employee should sign. Employees are different and hence accepting ethical practices differs. As such, the management should provide clear instructions of what is expected when staffs discover unethical behavior and this may include the way such behavior is managed.

The management should also provide various avenues, some anonymous, where employees can report behaviors that are not ethical to prevent uncertainty and fear among employees. Lastly, the company can provide meaningful and appropriate training on the significance of ethics and how to deal with ethical dilemmas. It is unfortunate that some employees may experience some unethical act. It is therefore essential to provided resources for employees that require advice on how to deal with circumstances that they will experience.

Dispute Venues and Options

There jurisdictions that the company is subjected to be included. The company has legal jurisdiction or carrying out its business in any part of the country as longs it adheres to the law. The company has a lot provisions for litigations as compared to other dispute options. Litigation is the use of the courts and civil system to resolve disputes and them it can be used to force the opposing party to take part in the resolution. When in court, the decisions are constrained by statutory and case laws and established rules of evidence. The other provision in the use of litigation is that the company has an avenue of appealing if the decision arrived at is not satisfactory. There are no variations in provision when the company is acting as defendant or plaintiff. Everybody be it the plaintiff or complainant is treated equally before the law, and the interpretation is based on the law (Soderstrum,2005).

Torts & Cyber Torts

The company has strict or absolute liability tort risk. This is a legal responsibility for damage or injury even though the individual found strictly liable was not at fault. There have been cases filed against Deep Park Water, Inc which has forced the company engages in the legal battle during its operations. In 2011, Adam and Stephanie Rosenfard on their behalf and other consumer filed a class action claiming that Deep Park Water, Inc and Nestle Waters North America sell in-home water cooler system that leak profusely and thus damaging floors. The complainant alleges that Deep Park Water, Inc which a subsidiary of Nestle supplied 3- and 5- gallon bottles of water which were used in in-home cooler system contained pinholes near the mouth of the bottle which leaked when placed into the cooler. On many occasions, when the water bottles were inserted into the water cooler system, they profusely leaked and flooded the home of the plaintiff and thus leading to a severe structural and physical damage to their homes (Holter,2011).

The plaintiff claims that leaking and flooding is a direct result of Deep Park Water, Inc lack of quality control and adequate packaging operations. The Deep Park Water, Inc customer, did not take this complaint seriously by either providing a solution to the leaking issue and told customers to watch it out for themselves. The company further told the customers that there is no way for the company to recognize if there were pinholes in every bottle and that they were not able to check each single bottle that is manufactured. Deep Park Water, Inc, the defendant failed any form of notice to customers of this identified problem before or during their contractual agreement despite being aware of the leaking issue(Holter,2011).

To manage this risk, the company has focused performing frequent instant visual checks during bottling production. Furthermore, all bottles are marked with the time, date, and plant code to enable customers to assess and make a final judgment on whether they are buying a legit product.

To lower the risk of tort issues as the defendant, The company should employ an inclusive, multiple-barrier system that complies with all state and federal regulations. Deep Park Water, Inc should also focus on monitoring spring water during the filling and topping process to reduce contamination from the surrounding

The company should ensure that all plant quality managers study and pass an exam on water manufacturing technology and quality as prescribed by IBWA. The bottling should be carried out in a condition that is controlled using state-of-the-art equipment.

References

Deer, C. (2017). Deer Park Natural Spring Water Company: Private Company Information - Bloomberg. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=26271931

FDA. (2015). FDA Bottled Water Regulations | IBWA | Bottled Water. Bottledwater.org. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from http://www.bottledwater.org/education/regulations/fda-vs-epaHolter, M. (2011). Nestle / Deer Park Water Cooler Bottle Class Action Lawsuit. Top Class Actions. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/1292-nestle-deer-park-water-cooler-bottle-class-action-lawsuit/Soderstrum, B. (2005). Litigation v. arbitration: Pros and cons. Brown, Winick, Graves, Gross, Baskerville, and Schoenebaum, Des Moines, IA.