...THE FORD PINTO CASE The scandal and the trial On August 10, 1978, a tragic automobile accident occurred on U.S. Highway 33 near Goshen, Indiana. Sisters Judy and Lynn Ulrich (ages 18 and 16, respectively) and their cousin Donna Ulrich (age 18) were struck from the rear in their 1973 Ford Pinto by a van. The gas tank of the Pinto ruprured, the car burst into flames and the three teenagers were burned to death. Subsequently an Elkhart County grand jury returned a criminal homicide charge against Ford, the first ever against an American corporation. During the following 20-week trial, Judge Harold R. Staffeld advised the jury that Ford should be convicted of reckless homicide if it were shown that the company had engaged in “plain, conscious and unjustifiable disregard of harm that might result (from its actions) and the disregard involves a substantial deviation from acceptable standards of conduct”. The key phrase around which the trial hinged, of course, is “acceptable standards”. Did Ford knowingly and recklessly choose profit over safety in the design and placement of the Pinto's gas tank? Elkhart County prosecutor Michael A. Cosentino and chief Ford attorney James F. Neal battled dramatically over this issue in a rural Indiana courthouse. Meanwhile, American business anxiously awaited the verdict which could send warning ripples through board rooms across the nation concerning corporate responsibility and product liability. The Pinto controversy In 1977 the...
Words: 2378 - Pages: 10
...century. According to Psychiatrist (Noll, 1992), “the progression of Renfield’s Syndrome is a pivotal event that often leads to the development of vampirism. This usually occurs in childhood, and the experience of bleeding or the taste of blood is found to be exciting. After puberty, this excitement associated with blood is experienced as sexual arousal.” (Noll, 1992) speaks of three stages about the transformation of a Vampire and they are: “Auto-vampirism that is generally developed first, usually in childhood, by initially self-inducing scrapes or cuts in the skin to produce blood. This is then ingested, to later learning how to open major blood vessels drink a steady stream of warm blood more directly. The blood was then ingested at the time of the opening or may be saved in jars or other containers for later or for other reasons. Masturbation often accompanies auto-vampiristic practices. Zoophagous (eating of living creatures, but more specifically drinking their blood) may develop prior to auto-vampirism is some cases, but usually is the next to develop. Persons with Renfield’s syndrome may themselves catch and eat or drink the blood of living creatures such as insects, cats, dogs, or birds. The blood of other species may be obtained at places such as slaughter houses and then ingested. Sexual activity may accompany these functions. Vampirism in its true form is the next stage...
Words: 1027 - Pages: 5
...Business Ethics - Assignment 1 Case Study: At the beginning of the 1960's, the Ford Motor Company was facing great competition from foreign automobile manufacturers. The Japanese companies, Toyota and Datsun, were importing fuel-efficient, low-cost automobiles. Every year the Japanese companies were capturing larger portions of the U.S. automobile retail market and profits of American auto manufactures were spiraling downward. The president of Ford at that time was Lee Iaccoca, who was desperately in need of a new model car that could be quickly and cheaply manufactured. The “Pinto” was the result. It was small, weighing only 2000 lbs.; it was cheap, costing less than $2000 to make; and it was quick, going from design to market in only two years. Because most automobile designs require four years to materialize for the public, the pinto was truly a rush job. The styling of the Pinto required that the fuel tank be placed behind the rear axle. This placement made the fuel tank more susceptible to puncturing in a rear-end collision, spilling of fuel into the passenger space, and greater likelihood of related fires following accidents. During early crash testing of the Pinto, Ford determined that in rear-end collisions below a 20 mph impact speed the gas tank would sometimes rupture. Based upon three general criteria, Ford engineers decided to proceed with the manufacture of the Pinto. 1) Engineers and executives of Ford considered the Pinto to be as safe as...
Words: 421 - Pages: 2
...Appendix 2: Ford Pinto Case and Cost Benefit Analysis Edited by Richard Brooks In 1968 in response to strong foreign competition, Ford decided to build a subcompact car — the Pinto — on a 2×2×2 plan (2,000 pounds, $2,000, in 2 years). In pre-launch tests, Ford discovered that rear end collisions propelled the gas tank onto the real axle, which had protrusions that ruptured the tank and caused the car to catch fire. Yet Ford did Figure 1: Ford Pinto not modify the Pinto’s rear axle. Nor did it follow through on an idea to place a rubber bladder in the fuel tank. Why? The reason seems to have been that these changes would have increased the price, lowered sales and reduced profit. That reason is given credence in a cost/benefit study done on modifying the Pinto. So the Ford Pinto went on sale with dangerous design faults in the position of the fuel tank and nearby bolts, and the tendency for the fuel valve to leak in rollover accidents. Design and production was rushed and cost of the vehicle kept down to sell it at $2000. It sold well, until 1972 when four people died and one young boy was horrendously burned and disfigured; these are only a few of the incidents that resulted from the Pinto’s flaws, many more followed, costing Ford millions in compensation. The engineers were fully aware of the flaws, yet the company continued to sell the car as it was, without safety modifications. Ford applied a generic cost/benefit analysis to accidents based on National Highway Traffic...
Words: 703 - Pages: 3
...In the article, Ford Pinto Fuel-Fed Fires, “the Center for Auto Safety petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall Ford Pintos due to defects in the design of the strap on the gas tank which made it susceptible to leakage and fire in low to moderate speed collisions,” (Ford), clarifies the conception that improvements are indefinite. Not in this case, “Mark Dowie of Mother Jones Magazine, published documentation that Ford Motor Company was aware of the weakness in the fuel tank before the vehicle was placed on the market, but it would be “cheaper” for Ford Motor Company to pay liability for burn deaths and injuries rather than modify the fuel tank to prevent the fires from occurring. Dowie also showed that Ford Motor...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...MGT 3319 – Final Case Analysis (Fall 2013) For our final management effort, we will do a case analysis. Each question is evaluated on: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identification of the key problem. Determining who are stakeholders in the decision making process. Clarifying the alternatives to a decision based on stakeholder values. Decision that solves the problem Effective management of the control process; support why the assessment is sound and explains results. Evaluation of the case will also consider grammar, logical flow of arguments, discussions and conclusions based on your research. I would highly recommend you use University resources to help you with grammar, logic and format. Your added research from scholarly sources is expected – at least 2 scholarly references plus the text is the minimum. I suggest the focus of your external sources are management sources; stay away from technical issues. Remember we are not engineering experts; we are managing. While no minimum page requirement is stated, expectations are you will use 4 to 6 pages in answering the questions; add a cover and reference page (total 6 to 8 pages). This case is an individual effort. The Student Motor Company You are the owner of an auto-manufacturing firm and dealership. The upstart Student Motor Company started about one year ago and based on your degree from Texas Wesleyan University, you are the CEO, competing against Ford and GM. With annual sales of over six million cars and trucks worldwide, it has...
Words: 1608 - Pages: 7
...THE PINTO CASE A SHORT SUMMARY In the early 1960s Ford’s market position was being heavily eroded by competition from domestic and foreign manufactures of subcompacts. Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, was determined to regain Ford’s share of the market by having a new subcompact, the Pinto, in production by 1970. Then Ford engineers crash tested an early model of the Pinto. They found that when the automobile was struck from the rear at 20 miles per hour, the gas tank regularly ruptured. Stray sparks could then ignite the spraying gasoline, engulf the car in flames and possibly burn the trapped occupants. Nonetheless, Ford management decided for several reasons to go ahead with production of the Pinto as designed. First, the design met all applicable federal laws and standards then in effect. Secondly, the Pinto was comparable in safety to other cars being produced by the auto industry. Third, an internal Ford study indicated that the social costs of improving the design outweighed the social benefits. According to the study it was estimated that a maximum of 180 deaths might result if the Pinto design were not changed. For purposes of cost/benefit analysis the Federal government at that time put a value of $200,000 on a human life. Consequently, the study reasoned, saving 180 lives was worth about a total of $36 million to society. On the other hand, improving the 11 million Pintos then being planned would cost about $11 per car for a total investment of $121 million. Since...
Words: 391 - Pages: 2
...1 MGT 3319 – Final Case Analysis (Fall 20 13 ) For our final management effort, we will do a case analysis. Each question is evaluated on: 1. Identification of the key problem . 2. Determining who are stakeholders in the decision making process. 3. Clarifying the alter natives to a decision based on stakeholder values. 4. Decision that solves the problem 5. Effective management of the control process ; support why the assessment is sound and explains results. Evaluation of the case will also consider grammar, logical flow of arguments, discussions and conclus ions based on your research. I would highly recommend you use University resources to help you with grammar, logic and format. Your added research from scholarly so urces is expected – at least 2 scholarly references plus the text is the minimum. I suggest the focus of your external sources are management sources; stay away from technical issues. Remember we are not engineering experts; we are managing. While no minimum page requirement is stated, expectations are you will use 4 to 6 pages in answering th e questions; add a cover and reference page (total 6 to 8 pages). This case is an individual effort. The Student Motor Company You are the owner of a n auto - manufacturing firm and dealership . The upstart Student Motor Company started about one year ago an d based on your degree from Texas Wesleyan University, you are the CEO, competing against Ford and GM . With...
Words: 1653 - Pages: 7
...Arab Open University Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) Academic Year 2015 - 2016 | Semester: First | Branch:kuwait | Program: Business Studies | Course Title: Business functions in context II | Course Code:B203B | Student Name:Waleed Khalid ali alshaikh | Student ID: 131876 | Section Number: | Tutor Name: | Mark details | Allocated Marks | Questions | Essay Question | Total (100) | | Weight | 100 | | | Marks | | | | Deduction | Criteria | Presentation(0-4) | Referencing(0-4) | Word Count(0-4) | E-Library(0-4) | Total deduction (0-16) | | Marks | | | | | | 100 | Student’s Total Mark (total marks – total deductions) | | Notes on plagiarism: A. According to the Arab Open University By-laws, “the following acts represent cases of cheating and Plagiarism: * Verbatim copying of printed material and submitting them as part of TMAs without proper academic acknowledgement and documentation. * Verbatim copying of material from the Internet, including tables and graphics. * Copying other students’ notes or reports. * Using paid or unpaid material prepared for the student by individuals or firms. B. Penalties for plagiarism ranges from failure in the TMA to expulsion from the university. Declaration: I hereby declare that the submitted TMA is my own work and I have not copied any other person’s work or plagiarized in any other form as specified above. Student Signature ...
Words: 1382 - Pages: 6
...image into the worksheet. Crop the image as appropriate. 1. Describe a normal distribution in no more than 100 words (5 point). Answer: A normal distribution is a continuous random variable distribution with a bell shape, and has only two parameters: the mean, and the variance. A normal distribution can be represented by the formula: y=e^(-1/2)(x-μ/σ)/(σ√2pi). The mean can be any positive number and variance can be any positive number, so there are an infinite number of normal distributions. The shape of the distribution when graphed is symmetrical and bell-shaped. Use this information to answer questions 2-4. Following a brushfire, a forester takes core samples from the ten surviving Bigcone Douglas-fir trees in a test plot within the burn area, and a dendrochronologist determines the age of the source trees to be as follows (in years): 15 38 48 67 81 83 94 102 135 167 2. Construct a normal quantile plot in Statdisk, show the regression line, and paste the image into your response. Based on the normal quantile plot, does the data above appear to come from a population of Bigcone Douglas-fir tree ages that has a normal distribution? Explain (5 point). [pic] [pic] Answer: The data does appear to come from a population of Bigcone Douglas-fir tree ages that has a normal distribution because the normal quintile...
Words: 1895 - Pages: 8
...Industry The automotive industry is a competitive yet lucrative business industry. Everyone is designing and developing the latest revolutionary model car. Automotive manufacturers and dealers are able to price their products at exorbitant prices if they so choose because in most cases the consumer does not have a choice but to purchase a car. We all need transportation and with that in mind automotive traders basically determine product pricing. The market structure of the automotive industry is relative to the number, size, kind and distribution of buyers and sellers (ModernIr LLC [MILLC], 2008). Needless to say the automotive industry is a very huge market. The automotive industry is considered to be in the perfectly monopolistic competition market structure, having many sellers of a similar product yet each seller’s product is somewhat unique to the producer. There are no seller or buyer entry barriers and there are numerous buyers and sellers within this market structure. One main purpose of the producers of the automotive industry is profit. As with any industry the introduction of a new company, leads to the assumption of new and better products. In the case of the automotive industry that case might be very true in a dwindling economy where there is no foreseeable relief on the rising gas prices. Consumers are now concerned with the cost of gas consumption and are ready to opt for more cost effective means of transportation. Companies promoting the hybrid and gas saving...
Words: 1781 - Pages: 8
...For the most, the auto is a vital share of routine life. Automobile has moulded our beliefs besides our scenery. The industries that shape and serve autos formulate a strategic chunk of a country economy. The auto is not deprived of its responsibilities, nevertheless autos frequently are cloaked by the designing, presentation in addition added characteristics which make today’s automobiles thus desired. Nonetheless, while an invention is broadly used, its culpabilities can count to immense undesirable consequences. At the conference Transport (2007) Meyer compared only 21% in 2000, approximately 23% of worldwide carbon emanations from energy-consumption blameable for universal transportation energy usage. Annex I proves, apart from the vehicle (+24.4%) also energy industry division (+7.6%), in compare with the current developments in sum totalled greenhouse gas emanations. There is a generally deterioration from 1990 to 2004 in main energy-use segments. Considered that scenario would set up a melodramatic rise in emanations of added 85% from 2000 to 2030. To scrutinize, venture universal decentralized auto stock claims besides allied CO2 emanations equal to the year 2050. Meyer, on the other hand, proposes on-motorway automobile subsidizes a bulk portion: that is nearly 80% of entire worldwide auto energy demand correspondingly, interrelated CO2 emanations are emitted encompassing commuters and freight conveyance. Global Warming on the Road maintained to clinch to the core...
Words: 2620 - Pages: 11
...2. Computing games showing violence seem to be increasingly prevalent. Should such games be censored? Refer to one or more countries as examples. In recent years, computing games increasingly influence modern society especially teenagers and children. There are increasingly more game makers trying to design the best games that could gain rapid popularity and are favourable among gamers. Currently, computing games that show violence seem to be increasingly prevalent. For the purpose of this essay, ‘computing games’ can be defined as electronic entertainment that is designed for the society. This essay will argue that computing games showing violence should be censored. The reasons for the argument followed by these points; firstly, sensitivity to culture, secondly, the promoting brutality in behaviour and thoughts and lastly, Inculcation of prejudices on certain groups of people. The country in reference are China, Japan, South Korea, and United States of America (USA). Firstly, computing games showing violence should be censored for concerns on sensitivity of certain cultures. This is because some games are based on real-life characters. For example, Battlefield 4 which adopt the storyline of dethronement of Chinese Government has been censored in China and been regarded as “culture invasion” (Jiayi, 2013). Another example, Fallout 3 which is a game relating to nuclear issues has been tweaked to be released in Japan. In addition, there is a nuke launcher named as Fat...
Words: 1061 - Pages: 5
...THE PINTO CASE A SHORT SUMMARY In the early 1960s Ford’s market position was being heavily eroded by competition from domestic and foreign manufactures of subcompacts. Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, was determined to regain Ford’s share of the market by having a new subcompact, the Pinto, in production by 1970. Then Ford engineers crash tested an early model of the Pinto. They found that when the automobile was struck from the rear at 20 miles per hour, the gas tank regularly ruptured. Stray sparks could then ignite the spraying gasoline, engulf the car in flames and possibly burn the trapped occupants. Nonetheless, Ford management decided for several reasons to go ahead with production of the Pinto as designed. First, the design met all applicable federal laws and standards then in effect. Secondly, the Pinto was comparable in safety to other cars being produced by the auto industry. Third, an internal Ford study indicated that the social costs of improving the design outweighed the social benefits. According to the study it was estimated that a maximum of 180 deaths might result if the Pinto design were not changed. For purposes of cost/benefit analysis the Federal government at that time put a value of $200,000 on a human life. Consequently, the study reasoned, saving 180 lives was worth about a total of $36 million to society. On the other hand, improving the 11 million Pintos then being planned would cost about $11 per car for a total investment of $121...
Words: 727 - Pages: 3
...Content Page 1. Introduction………………….………………………………………….3 2. Company’s Overview…………….…………………………………....3 3. Change Analysis Model...……………………………………………..3 3.1 SWOT………………………………………………………………3 3.2 PESTEL…………………………………………………………….3 3.3 Type of Change…………………………………………………....6 4. Change Model……………………….…………………………………..6 4.1 Kurt Lewin’s 3 steps Model…………………………………….....6 4.2 John Kotter’s 8 step Model…………………………………….…7 5. Leadership Theories for Change Management……………………...7 5.1 Transactional …………………………….………………7 5.2 Transformational…………………………………….…...7 5.4 Relationship………………………………………………8 5.3 Contingency …………………………..………………….8 5.4 Situational………………………………………………....9 6. McKinsey’s 7S Model ………………………………………………..….9 7. Critical Analysis of Change and Leadership Theories……………… 10 8. Recommendations….…………………………………………………....11 9. References………………………………………………………………..13 10. Appendices……………………………………………………………..19 1. Introduction 1.1 Change and Change management Change is the need of all organization’s to remain in completion and satisfy the increasing demand of the clients and achieve the desire objectives of the firm. The need to change is driven by internal factors such rapid technology advances or innovations, or external factors such as competition or new legislations (Chahal and Price, 2006). According to (Jeff and Timothy, 2003), Change management is the implementation of systematic...
Words: 4602 - Pages: 19
