In 1975, a transistor company that I named Transistor Corp. who was contracted to distribute transistors to pacemaker company by the of Pacemaker Inc. encountered a dilemma on whether or not to stop distributing transistors to Pacemaker Inc. to avoid future lawsuits. There have been numerous cases where doctors are inadequately performing the pacemaker surgery on individuals; in addition, the pacemaker technology was not as extensive. Since the pacemaker was at an early stage of development, Pacemaker Inc. and various doctors were facing numerous lawsuits. Transistor Corp. began to worry about future lawsuits because to their association with the making of the pacemaker. The board of directors felt pressure to make a decision on whether or not to this discontinue the production in order to protect the shareholders. Transistor Corp. had become the sole supplier of transistors since all their competitors have decided to cease production for that same reason. Pacemaker Inc. relied on the Transistor Corp. in order make the pacemaker; therefore, the possibility of shutting down would a great impact on Pacemaker Inc. and all the people that rely on the pacemaker to survive. In the end, the board of directors felt it would immoral to discontinue the production of the transistor and they even made it more efficient. Keywords: utility test, moral dilemma, greater good
After examining the case of the sole remaining supplier corporation’s story, utilitarian theory plays a significant role in decision making process of the board of directors of Transistor Corp. The transistors that the company was producing for the Pacemaker Inc. were providing pleasure instead of pain to many individuals with little to no hope remaining. Furthermore, no matter how much money was at stake, giving hope to people with heart conditions was priceless. The transistors
