Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (C)

Manville Corp.'s senior managers are surprised when Japanese government officials advise them not to go forward with their plan to add a cancer warning label to diatomaceous earth (DE) products sold in Japan. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has ruled that a component of DE is probably carcinogenic, and Manville has prepared to modify its labels and material safety data sheets and to mount a communications effort to inform customers of the cancer warning. Now, Manville's senior managers are being told that it is "culturally inappropriate" to proceed with this plan in Japan.