Mattel Inc.’s recent safety-related recalls of toys manufactured in China should serve as “a wake-up call to a wide range of industries,” says crisis-communications expert Brian Dobson.

“Crisis preparedness is vital to all companies operating in the global marketplace,” says Dobson. “The discipline of preparing for crisis often identifies weaknesses and leads to corrective actions before problems get out of hand.”

Dobson explains, “Crisis tends to beget crisis. The toy industry is in new territory and has become identified with lax quality control. Industry leaders, such as the Toy Industry Association, should encourage members to self-govern product quality.”

In just over one month, Mattel recalled more than 20 million toys, including the most recent announcement, made in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to recall a reported 800,000 items. That third recall involves 675,000 Barbie doll brand accessories as well as toys under its Fisher-Price brand that have lead-tainted paint. A previous recall involved toys with small magnets children might swallow.

“Crisis preparedness would have helped avert some of the problems,” says Dobson. “The discipline of preparing for crisis helps identify problems so preventive and corrective actions can be taken. In effective crisis-management planning, quality and other significant issues come front and center.”

Dobson notes that the principles of crisis management are applicable to a wide variety of industries. “As business becomes increasingly global from point of production to point of sale, crisis management also become increasingly important, especially considering disparities in government regulation from one country to another,” he says. “In business, you get what you inspect, not what you expect. The price of inexpensive labor can become abundantly high when a company losses brand value and image.”

Note: VM+SD editor Steve Kaufman will discuss the implications of the made-in-China controversy for fixture manufacturers (and their retail customers) in the magazine’s October issue.