...The Ford Pinto Ethical Dilemma Written by Learning Team B; C. Riley, F. Foster, K. Jankoski, M. Riner, & R. Price Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility 16 Aug 2010 Paul A. Kramer The Ford Pinto Ethical Dilemma In this presentation, a very important case that transpired from 1971 to 1978 with the Ford Motor Company, under the leadership of Mr. Lee Iacocca, CEO will be explored. During that time the CEO of Ford wanted to manufacture a vehicle to keep up with the competition that was going on with other manufactures. The Ford Company experienced many tragic issues with this vehicle having to pay millions of dollars in lawsuits. This was due to their negligence in not following the proper inspection procedures. It will be observed how this company was affected by the ethical and unethical issues regarding the Ford Pinto along with Ford and the Department of Transportation being the blame for every accident that transpired for not following the normal inspection procedures. A comparison of utilitarianism, deontological and virtue ethics in whistle blowing will be discussed to display how any business today can experience the negative or positive effects of such behavior. The risk taken stirred up a lot of talk nationwide regarding Ford’s action. The question of discussion will focus on whether or not Ford was actually the total blame for each incident that took place. First a possible solution will be looked at for the situation if one was to find themselves...
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...of a popular and affordable vehicle, the Pinto. The vehicle is perfect for the tight budgeted and built by a trusted company (Ford). Then the unexpected happens, it is in a rear end accident. Upon the accident the car explodes. Sounds like a bad dream, right! (See video link in PowerPoint presentation) The following discusses a similar story that will from here forward be in reference as the Pinto Case, in which Ford was accused of being at fault for selling a shoddy car to the public. Were they at fault? What was the ethical dilemma? What were the social pressures? All of this and more is here within in detail. Pinto Case Study When Ford Motor Company had to determine what action to take in regards to the pinto many considerations were made. The company had to decide whether to install a baffle on the Ford Pinto to prevent the possibility of a puncture in the gas tank by a bolt from the bumper. The issue was found during a test done after the car was in production and on sale in the U.S. The gas tank is in the back of the car. During a rear-end test it was found that if a car travels more than 20 miles per hour and is hit from behind it is possible that a bolt from the bumper can puncture the gas tank. This can cause an explosion. Ford had the choice to install a baffle, which goes between the bumper and the gas tank, or spend $6.65 to $11 on each car, totaling $20.9 million. The other choice was to keep the Pinto as is and deal with the lawsuits that arose...
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...the Ethical Dilemma in the Ford Pinto Case On August 10, 1978 three young girls died in a 1973 Ford Pinto after being stuck from the rear by a driver in a van. The Ford Pinto was completely engulfed in flames and the accident resulted in the death of the three young girls. Today, the debate continues regarding whether or not The Ford Motor Company was responsible for this case and many other cases involving the Pinto bursting into flames resulting in disfigurement or death. Ford has argued for over three decades that The Ford Motor Company is not at fault, but rather the other motorists who happened to rear end the Pinto drivers. Many accuse Ford of rushing the Pinto into production without proper testing leaving a faulty fuel system in the car that would rupture with any rear end collision or rollover accident; this resulted in the deaths of over 500 people. Many also accuse Ford of being fully aware of the faults with the Pinto and selling it to the public anyway. Letting the people die because of the Pinto and settling with their families was more economical than recalling the vehicle and fixing the shortcomings of the Pinto. The question remains regarding whether or not Ford put a price on human lives, or if the company was not at fault for simply trying to compete with foreign car companies to put an American made fuel efficient vehicle on the road. Ford was accused of not accounting for benefit and harm in an ethical business decision, zero personal evaluation, and...
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...head: FORD PINTO CASE STUDY PAPER Ford Pinto Case Study Paper Learning Team B University of Phoenix MGT /216 Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility SB09BSB10 Leatricia Cash June 2, 2010 The ethical issues surrounding Ford Motors in regard to the company’s production and release of the Ford Pinto brought the integrity of the organization into question by internal and external shareholders in the 1970s (Engineering.com, n.d.). Understanding the various ethical dilemmas faced by personnel who helped with the design and build of the Pinto provides clarification as to why the organization’s reputation as a quality supplier of automobiles was put into question by consumers. Analyzing the Ford Pinto Case Study, the following information will contain an outside viewpoint in regard to the Ford Pinto case that will illustrate viewpoints on the issue based off personal perspective. A recommendation on dealing with the issues Ford Motors faced with the Pinto are provided to illustrate the ethical approach Ford could have used during the production phase and after the vehicle entered the consumer market. The recommendation will be backed by examples of external and internal social pressures that have influenced the decision to recall the Ford Pinto. In addition, the evaluation of this case during 1971 and in current day is illustrated in the readings to compare and contrast the situation based on the ethical standards...
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...what not is, but what ought to be (Pojman, 1998) Based on the assessment that has been given, it require us to choose an organization of our choice (could be a company or other organization in the private or public sector) that have a relevant reference to the key principles and approaches of the business ethics. However, in this assessment, we need to critically evaluate its performance by applying an appropriate criteria that may identify the extent to which ethical issues are being managed or resolved. With this, we need to include two of the following approaches in the assessment and that is by (1) including an identification and evaluation of ethical dilemmas within the organization by linking to the theories and approaches that has been covered in the module and (2) evaluate a possible ways in which the dilemmas can be managed and resolved. Therefore, I have chosen “Ford Motor Company” as the choice of organization that have a reference to the key principles and approaches to the business ethics. Ford Motor Company is an American automaker and the...
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...PINTO FIRES CASE The assumption that ‘it’s easy to be ethical’ assumes that individuals automatically know that they are facing an ethical dilemma and that they should simply choose to do the right thing. But decision makers may not always recognize that they are facing a moral issue. Rarely do decisions come with waving red flags. Dennis Gioia was recall coordinator at Ford Motor Company in the early 1970s when the company decided not to recall the Pinto despite dangerous fires that were killing the occupants of vehicles involved in low-impact rear-end collisions. In his information and overloaded recall coordinator role, Gioia saw thousands of accident reports, and he followed a cognitive “script” that helped him decide which situations represented strong recall candidates and which did not. The incoming information about the Pinto fires did not penetrate a script designed to surface other issues, and it did not initially raise ethical concerns. He and his colleagues in the recall office did not recognize the recall issue as an ethical issue. From the standpoint of Hooker’s test, we will start with the geralizability test. Hooker (2011) states that to pass generalizability, it must give the reasons for an action have to be consistent with the assumption that others who have the same reasons act the same way. To release the Pinto as scheduled and risk the safety of those who purchased it or spend more time designing the car, thereby seceding more of the subcompact...
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...exciting assignment but I wanted to show some of my more formal writing.) When Ford began development of the Pinto in 1968, the company hoped that the car’s smaller size and price tag would help it compete with Japanese and German competition, who were mounting their takeover of the subcompact auto market. Ford president Lee Iacocca wanted the Pinto to be less than 2,000 pounds and less than $2,000 so it could stand out when released into a division of automobiles Ford did not have much experience in. In order to get the Pinto released as soon as possible, the design and manufacturing process was cut from three and a half years down to two. While testing the Pinto, it became apparent that due to the gas tank in the car was at great risk for fire hazard when struck from the rear, even at low speeds. The necessary improvements to make the Pinto safer were not complex or costly; they simply needed a barrier between the gas tank and the bumper of the car, which meant an added $5 to $8 to produce each car. To prevent the gas tank leaking during rollovers, another $11 would have to be spent on production. Ford was presented with a dilemma: to release the Pinto as scheduled and risk the safety of those who purchased it or spend more time designing the car, thereby seceding more of the subcompact auto market to the competition. After a cost-benefit analysis of the safety improvements and the potential death toll, Ford decided to release the model without the safety improvements. Their estimation...
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...Ford Pinto: A Study of Ethics In the 1960s Ford Motor Company, under pressure from stakeholders and the pressures involved in competing with the foreign vehicle market set out to manufacture a vehicle that was smaller, lighter and less expensive than the competition’s product. This vehicle was designed and moved into production within 2 years, much quicker than the 3 ½ year company norm and is still the shortest vehicle production planning schedule in history. The result: The Ford Pinto. While the Pinto was in the design phase it was decided that the fuel tank would be placed under the rear fender instead of over the rear axel to allow for more trunk room in the car. This design however, was quite flawed. The Pinto being smaller than the other American made cars was not built using the same frame design; a design that was manufactured to prevent the fuel tank from exploding upon a rear impact collision. Upon testing a serious defect was found with the placement of the fuel tank. It was determined that if the Pinto was involved in a rear end collision the fuel tank may rupture and burst into flames causing serious injury or death to the passengers. Team A will be examining the ethical dilemmas involved in the case and the solutions that we would recommend today and the solutions that would have been ethically appropriate in 1971. Lee Iacocca was the president of Ford Motor Company in 1971 and was the directive authority behind the creation of the Ford Pinto. He wanted a...
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...The Ford Pinto Case Back in the 1970s the Ford Pinto was debuted without regard to proper safety features and concern for proper ethics while producing this automobile. Buyers wanted lower pricing and bigger trunk space more than the consideration for safety. Lee Iacocca, president of Ford, ran the business striving for higher profits and cutting costs. His lack of interest for human life initiated many lawsuits against Ford and, in the end, was a far bigger cost than installing safety features in the Pinto in the beginning. The biggest concern regarding the role people played in the Ford Pinto case was the concern for cutting costs and making the biggest profits over the concern for human life. Severally jeopardized in this case were proper corporate morals and ethics. This started when Lee Iacocca acquired the position of president from the former President Semon Knudson. Lee Iacocca celebrated much success with the Mustang and wanted to market small cars to compete with the foreign car markets. Lee Iacocca drove to promote the Ford Pinto by 1971. Because it typically takes three and one-half years for the production of an automobile, to have the Ford Pinto to the showrooms by 1971, only left two years to launch the Ford Pinto. During the production process, crash tests revealed safety issues with the gas tank in the rear of the car. If the car were struck from behind even at a slow speed, the gas tank would rupture, and explode upon impact. Lee Iacocca’s decisions...
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...Introduction The unfortunate tragedies involving the explosion of Ford Pinto's due to a design defect led to a main debate regarding the use of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics revolving around the company’s decision to go further with the initial, defective prototype. Ethical Dilemma Ford was completely aware of the safety issues the prototype was facing, but solving the issue would cause great disadvantage for the company: production schedule had to be modified, resulting in delays to bring the new car on the market, and also production costs would increase. In this context an ethical dilemma raised, so two crucial issues were addressed: either go further with the production of Pinto regardless the defects and the danger to future customers, or delay the production and modify the original model to assure safety and reliability, regardless the higher costs? Ford’s decision was to continue the production of the defective design while basing it on a cost-benefit analysis. In this context another dilemma was created: should such an analysis be used in situations where defects could lead to death or cause tremendous harm, such as in the Ford Pinto situation? Utilitarianism Based on the information provided by Ford, the company assumed and decided that the most benefit would come from going ahead with the production of the initial design. Utilitarianism is defined as a normative, empirical philosophy that is based on the principle that “the right thing to...
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...for Pinto Case In the automobile industry, the Pinto case is a reminder of how business decisions can cause people to act unethical when money and social pressures arise. The Ford Motor Company (Ford) sought to compete with foreign car manufacturers and expedite the production of vehicles even if it meant disregarding red flag signals. Your gut can still be useful in alerting you that something might be wrong—that you’re facing an ethical dilemma—in the first place (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). The Pinto case questions the behavior of employees who acted unethical even when presented with safety issues that would change the lives of consumers. The following summary will provide details about the Pinto case. Key factors surrounding the Ford Pinto case A key factor surrounding the Ford Pinto case was cost and safety. Ford was aware that the Pinto exploded when rear-ended. Dennis Gioia brought his concern to the committee. Because of the lack of evidence, the committee voted not to recall. Even after evidence was found, the committee again decided not to recall because in the word of Lee Iacocca “safety didn’t sell.” Ford became the topic of corporate social responsibility, unethical behavior and decision-making. At a time when fuel prices were on the rise, Ford decided to compete with foreign manufacturers by producing fuel efficient compact cars. The firm pushed to produce vehicles by breaking its ethical code and manufacturing cars that carried a safety hazard. Ford also...
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...an organization to disclose what he or she believes to be wrongdoing in or by the organization” (Griffin). How does one choose if wrongdoing has happened in a utilitarianistic view? To present the process of utilitarian theory in a whistleblowing case, I ran across documentation referencing Ford Motor Company’s manufacturing of the Ford Pinto the early 1970’s. Petersen and Farrell discuss the ethical dilemmas faced by engineers highlighted by the 1980 Winamac, Indiana trial of Ford Motor Company (1986, p.3). The Pinto was created as a response to the Japanese competition emerging in the US. Due to competition, Ford was eager to get the subcompact car released in 1971. Changes were made, and Ford was able to reduce the lead time of production by a year and a half to get the car on the road. Frank Capps, a principal design Engineer charged that management’s weight and price goals along with time requirements resulted in engineers having to place band aid fixes to problems that emerged during testing. Capps raised issues from the safety tests in a series of letters to upper officials and was demoted in his position. Another engineer was fired for a whistleblowing event unrelated to the Pinto fuel system error, but ended up testifying in later years as a witness for one of the burn victims based from knowledge he had. Griffin states...
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...Tracy Davis LSTD3253 CST Final Project Ethical Dilemmas in Business It is almost impossible to pick up any American newspaper and avoid reading an article dealing with the unethical and possibly even illegal conduct of those who run our businesses. Whether it is insider stock manipulation, off balance sheet partnerships, questionable accounting practices, dumping of environmental contaminants, the stories continue to appear. The ethical conduct of U.S. businesses will be examined and compared with that of the past. The ethical climate has changed in the last couple of decades. Unethical conduct is nothing new to the business environment. Unethical practices didn’t necessarily bring a business down ten to twenty years ago, but unethical business practices today can lead to the premature death of a company. Companies such as Enron, Ford, Union Carbide and Johnson & Johnson have all had occasions where unethical practices have reared their ugly heads and each chose to handle things differently, with varying degrees of consequence. Each of these company’s bout with unethical behavior will be examined. In July of 1985 Houston Natural Gas merged with Inter North to form Enron, originally Natural Gas Pipeline Company. In 1989 Enron began trading natural gas commodities. In June 1994 Enron traded its first unit of electricity. In just 15 years, Enron grew from nowhere to be America’s seventh largest company, employing 21,000 staff in more than 40 countries...
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...Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities Dennis A. Cioia ABSTRACT. This article details the personal involvement of the author in the early stages of the infamous Pinto fire case. The paper first presents an insider account of the context and decision environment within which he failed to initiate an early recall of defective vehicles. A cognitive script analysis of the personal experience is then offered as an explanation of factors that led to a decision that now is commonly seen as a definitive study in unethical corporate behavior. IThe main analytical thesis is that script schemas that were guiding cognition and action at the time pre.cluded consideration of issues in ethical terms because the scripts did not include ethical dimensions. In the summer of 1972 I made one of those important tran.sitions in life, the significance of vifhich becomes obvious only in retrospect. I left academe with a BS in Engineering Science and an MBA to enter the world of big business. I joined Ford Motor Company at World Headquarters in Dearborn Michigan, fulfilling a long-standing dream to work in the heart of the auto industry. I felt confident that I was in the right place at the right time to make a Dennis A. Gioia is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Department of Management and Organization, The Smeal College ofBusiness Administration, Pennsylvania State University. Professor Cioia's primary research and writing focus of...
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...Ford Pinto Case Ford Pinto Case If we were involved in the Ford Pinto dilemma we would have used Deontological Ethical reasoning to decide whether or not to disclose the danger that the Pinto posed and/or use that reasoning to determine whether or not to install the part(s) that would make the Ford Pinto safer. Our decision would be to do what is morally right and avoid doing what is morally wrong, regardless of the consequences. True enough Ford was not obligated by government regulation or any law, to disclose the potential hazards of the Ford Pinto however; at the least they should have presented the option of purchasing the part to make the care safer - an option we would have made available to the customer. It is apparent Ford use the Utilitarian Ethical approach to come to their decision – choosing to do what produced the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people; a subcompact car that cost $2,000 and weighing no more than 2,000 pounds (Ford & Newton, 2008, p. 296), sold to 11 million customers as opposed to the only 180 people who lost their lives! Valuing a human life at $200,000 against a part that if individually purchased cost $11, Ford felt that it was less expensive to settle fatality claims at $200,000 per life – so they thought, until jury’s started awarding multi-million settlements – so much for their cost-benefit analysis. When a person comes to a conclusion on a decision, many times there are influences from outside sources that...
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