...Case Analysis Report In August 2000, Ford Motor Company and Firestone Tire Company recalled 6.5 Million ATX and AT tires that had been installed on Ford’s Explorer model SUV. At the time, it appeared as though Ford and Firestone were doing the right thing. They had found out that the tread separated on Ford Explorers in states with intense heat, such as Florida and Texas. However, it later came to light that both Ford and Firestone had known about these problems earlier than 2000 and that Ford had even had a similar recall in 9 countries the previous year. Firestone however had disagreed with the recalls prior to 2000. Many of these countries were in the Middle East where temperatures are frequently in excess of 100° Fahrenheit. The Stakeholders There are numerous stakeholders in this case some, such as Ford and Firestone by not being forthright with the consumer had a lot to gain and others such as the consumers had a lot to lose. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is one of the largest stakeholders in this case. They had the most to gain from selling the Explorers and not publicizing the potential problems with Firestone tires. By issuing a recall, they would lose both money and customers if the public thought their SUVs were unsafe. My problem with Ford is that they knew that there was a problem with the Ford Explorer before it went into production. Ford engineers recognized that by using the larger P235 tire, there was a potential for more rollovers...
Words: 3611 - Pages: 15
...the mechanic tells you that you need new tires. You don't know what size tires you need, what kind to buy, or even why you need new ones. Do you just trust the mechanic, or do you venture out on your own? Okay, so you are going to go for new tires, where do you begin? First of all, it's not a bad thing to have trust in your mechanics. They are going to have to fix a whole lot more than bad tires in the future. But, tires are one thing you have a little control over with just a little bit of knowledge. This way you can make sure you are getting exactly what you need for the price you deserve to pay. The first step is to know why you need new tires. The reality is that all tires wear out eventually. Obviously if there is a huge hole in your tire, you need a new one. The rule is that if there is a puncture that is more than a quarter inch deep, you need to replace that tire. Some punctures are fixable, so make sure they are not trying to pull one over on you for more money. They will...
Words: 2090 - Pages: 9
...Firestone Case Study Robert Workman Jessica Jurkowski Michael Wilding Webster University Firestone Case Study BACKGROUND In 1900 Harvey S. Firestone established The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, the company started with 12 employees. They started out by supplying rubber tires for wagons and buggies. In the 1908 Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone formed a partnership with firestone supplying tires for the new model T this was a natural relationship because they had mutual friends. (Noggle and Palmer, 2005) Today Firestone is known as Bridgestone/Firestone after the two companies merged in 1990 for $2.6 billion. Today the company markets 8,000 different types and sizes of tires along with other products. Firestone has had a substantial history of scandals relating to tire safety In 1978 Firestone recalled 14.5 million tires—the largest tire recall at the time—after excess application of the adhesives binding the rubber and steel resulted in 500 tread separations and blowouts. The company was also fined $500,000 for concealing safety problems. ("e-businessethics.com") However in the late 90’s Firestone would be put into serious jeopardy and be threatened with going bankrupt. The Ford Motor Company was started by Henry Ford in 1903 in Dearborn, Michigan producing only a few cars a day. Ford was the first company to use assembly line production and has grown into one of the largest family run organizations in the world In 1999 Ford had a staff of 360,000 employees...
Words: 3655 - Pages: 15
...Running head: Total Recall the firestone company recall of tires Total Recall The Firestone Company’s Recall of Tires Seth Jackson Current Trends in Electronic Management ABSTRACT This paper discusses the recall of Firestone Tires in the United States .and the relative complicity of Firestone, Ford Motor Company and its consumers. Because of Firestone’s knowledge of the tire defects and lack of action, fatal and critical accidents resulted from tires used on the Ford Explorer. Firestone chose, instead, to blame Ford and its consumers for the tires defects. INTRODUCTION In 1906, Henry Ford purchased 8,000 tires from Harvey Firestone, who began producing tires at a small factory in Akron, Ohio in 1900. The sale initiated a long, growing relationship between two eventual leaders in their respective industries. In a matter of just a few short months in 2000, a very robust business-to-business relationship, 100 years in the making, had been destroyed by a lack of communication, poor quality management, and the disregard of consumer concern were the rules surrounding ethics used in the ethical decision made from Ford or Firestone? How did the recall affect how everyone viewed and interpreted the entire tire manufactures? These are just a few of the questions we will discuss throughout this paper. Webster Online defines ethics as the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and what really stands out is the idea how one company...
Words: 1340 - Pages: 6
...of the case study and the possible biases that might result from that perspective: The author, Archie B. Carroll is professor at University of Georgia. He may neither work for any company nor be a significant decision-maker in a company. Therefore, he analysis and perspective may different from perspective of important decision-makers. Since he is a professor, he may not know much about car and tire and the difference impact of different tires on different car. He may be a loyal customer of Ford, so he may bias toward Ford and give favorable information and perspective for Ford. 2. My perspective as the analyst: Ford is one of my favorite brands because of its bold image. Therefore, I may be more interested in favorable facts and deny negative numbers of Ford. I don’t know much about automobiles, so I may not understand the consequences of tire tread separation when driving. B. State what you are bracketing: They would do bad things to lower the costs of tire which led to tire tread separation. They would have blamed each other and their customers for their own fault. They would keep all customers’ complaint and lawsuit private from public. They would continue to use low quality tires. II. The Situation : A. List the facts relevant to the issue(s) identified: • The first lawsuit against Firestone was in 1991. • Lori Lazarus was trapped in her car and rescued later because of roll-over • Jessica LeAnn Taylor died because of tire tread separation...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...Running head: TIRE MANUFACTURER’S AND Tire Manufacturer’s and the Legal and Moral Responsibilities Possessed Matthew Damon University of Kentucky Abstract Vehicle tires undergo many different tests before they are approved for use. The manufacturers of these tires can have some legal responsibility, but is there a moral responsible. Two major tire manufacturers have had controversies involving the use of their tires. Firestone had their controversy with the Ford Motor Company, while Michelin had their controversy in the racing world. Each manufacturer had legal battles, but only Michelin realized the fault in the company tires and deemed them unsafe for use. Automobiles have long since been a major part of our society and for the vast majority of the world. The automobile might be one of the greatest inventions ever, but what is the most important feature of the automobile that is actually in contact with the ground? The answer is simple, the tires. The tires that we think of today are pneumatic tires, meaning that air is enclosed in the void area between the inside of the tire and the wheel, thus reducing vibration and increasing traction. The first pneumatic tires were used on bicycles, not on cars, but that same technology would come to be a major part of the automotive industry. Since their early uses, there have been safety concerns for tires. This prompted many tests ensure the safety of the product. There are countless numbers of tire manufacturers...
Words: 1913 - Pages: 8
...What is Tread Separation? Tread Separation occurs when the rubber tread begins to separate from the steel belt inside the tired. [pic] What is Product Design? The determination and specification of the parts of a product and their interrelationship so that they become a unified whole. PRODUCT DESIGN: A KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Product design is an essential activity for firms competing in a global environment. Product design drives organizational success because it directly and significantly impacts nearly all of the critical determinants for success. Customers demand greater product variety and are quick to shift to new, innovative, full-featured products. In addition, customers make purchase decisions based on a growing list of factors that are affected by product design. Previously, customers made purchase decisions based primarily on product price and/or quality. While these factors are still important, customers are adding other dimensions such as customizability, order-to-delivery time, product safety, and ease and cost of maintenance. Environmental concerns are expanding to include impacts during production, during the product's operating life, and at the end of its life (recycle-ability). In addition, customers demand greater protection from defective products, which leads to lower product liability losses. Safer and longer lasting products lead to enhanced warrantee provision, which, in turn, impact customer satisfaction and warrantee repair...
Words: 1099 - Pages: 5
...Ford and Firestone Case Study Safety issues involving Firestone tire tread separations specifically on Ford Explorer SUV’s and resulting vehicle rollovers were brought into the public’s view in early 1998 as a result of several tragic accidents. Tire tread separation photo, Associated Press, 2000 One accident involved a junior high school girl named Jessica LeAnn Taylor from Mexia, Texas. Jessica was a passenger in a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires, during the accident the tire peeled off and forced the vehicle to lose control and proceed to roll. This young girl died from complications caused during this accident. Another accident involved a Ford Explorer driven by Victor Rodriguez from Laredo, Texas. The Firestone tire shredded off while Victor was driving. His car flipped and Mr. Rodriguez’s 10 year old son Mark Anthony died at the crash site. On February 7, 2000, Anne Werner, a reporter at KHOU-TV, in Houston, TX, introduced Cynthia Jackson, who described how her husband of a year and a half had died and how her own legs were amputated above the knee because their Ford Explorer fitted with the original Firestone Radial ATX tires flipped after the front tire came apart1. Firestone later reprimanded Robert W. Dechrd, CEO of A.H. Bello Corporation (owners of KHOU) and Peter Diaz, President and General Manager of KHOU, for airing the story which, according to them, “contained falsehoods and misrepresentations that improperly disparage Firestone and...
Words: 862 - Pages: 4
...would recall more than 6.5 million tires, most of which had been mounted as original equipment on Ford Motor Co. Explorers and other Ford light trucks. Bridgestone/Firestone had become the subject of an intense federal investigation of 46 deaths and more than 300 incidents where Firestone tires allegedly shredded on the highway. The Firestone tires affected were 15-inch Radial ATX and Radial ATX II tires produced in North America and certain Wilderness AT tires manufactured at the firm's Decatur, Illinois, plant. This tire recall was the second biggest in history, behind only Firestone's recall of 14.5 million radial tires in 1978. The 1978 tire recall financially crippled the company for years to come and the August 2000 recall threatened to do the same. Consumers, the federal government, and the press wanted to know: Why didn't Ford and Firestone recognize this problem sooner? Let us look at the series of events surrounding the tire recall and the role of information management. 1988---Financially weakened from its 1978 tire recall, Firestone agreed to be acquired by Bridgestone Tires, a Japanese firm. To increase its sales, Firestone became a supplier of tires for Ford Motors' new sport-utility vehicle (SUV), the Explorer. March 11, 1999---In response to a Ford concern about tire separations on the Explorer, Bridgestone/Firestone (Firestone) sent a confidential memo to Ford claiming that less than 0.1 percent of all Wilderness tires (which are used on the Explorer) had...
Words: 3139 - Pages: 13
...Case 22 Analysis Firestone and Ford; The Tire Tread Separation Tragedy 1. What are the major and minor ethical issues involved in this case? The major ethical issue is Ford and Firestone’s negligence of the technical problems. They knew that something was wrong yet they did not do anything about it and therefore ignored their consumers’ safety and health. They used a utilitarian decision model where they were looking to accomplish the greatest good for the greatest number. Another major dilemma is that Firestone did not report deaths and injuries to the government and they were very reluctant to recall their defective tires even though it was clear that they were a danger to the consumers. In addition to this, Ford failed to inform that the Ford explorer had been recalled in other countries than the US due to danger. Another key issue is that none of the companies agreed to take responsibility of their products as well as their actions. Minor issues were the fact that the companies tried to cover the news and evidence to reach the public. Firestone had an issue with how they responded and dealt with the crisis. Firestone was also very ignorant with their manufacturing property in Decatur, Illinois. They did not take necessary actions to manage it properly. We can also see a problem in the way they handled the relationship between the two companies. Instead of working it out they had a corporate divorce that resulted in major damages for the both companies as well as...
Words: 1038 - Pages: 5
...Ford and Firestone Controversy Centuries ago Ford Motor Company and Firestone Company developed the perfect collaboration and built a strong and wealthy business relationship in which Firestone manufactured tires to be used on Ford’s motor vehicles. Unfortunately, this relationship came to a screeching end after a fatal crisis began around 1999 in which Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone’s Wilderness AT, radial ATX, and ATX II tires caused a series of serious fatal accidents. When the treads of these wheels peeled off the casings vehicles going at highway speeds would enter into ghastly rollover crashes. Although the root cause of the crisis that occurred remains an overall mystery, Ford Motor Company and Firestone Tire Company both act as examples of two organizations in violation of business ethics and further illustrate how ones disregard to act in compliance with ethical and lawful actions, especially in the business setting, is simply not acceptable and could lead to catastrophic consequences in the end. Ethics, which deal with personal moral principles and values, and Law, which deal with societies values and standards that are enforceable in the courts, are leading factors that play huge roles in the day-to-day business environment. According to the Ethical/Legal quadrant provided in the Marketing textbook by Kerin, both Ford and Firestone clearly fall within the unethical/illegal section, due to the fact that both displayed in their actions a blatant disregard...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...in New Jersey and now live in the “sunny South,” but we have our share of wintry storms, usually delivering more ice, than snow. That makes for treacherous driving conditions, something I’ve learned to avoid by waiting for roads to clear before heading out. I’ve written extensively about tires, including the importance of checking air pressure regularly (at least monthly), rotating tires, and replacing them once tread levels fall to 2/32 of an inch. Tires are the only thing that separates thousands of pounds of vehicular mass from the road — if they’re not in optimum condition, the risk of a flat or a blowout increases, what may lead to a serious accident....
Words: 1704 - Pages: 7
...Tort and Regulatory Risk In this essay I will explain how regulatory risks may be identified and managed through preventive, detective, and corrective measures for such torts as negligence, product liability and defamation. For most businesses such torts are better handled before they happen. Companies make sure many issues are addressed in the company policy and regulations manuals when new employees are hired as well as in training sessions for topics such as sexual harassment and safety. For a Company such as Firestone Tires and Rubber for example, one type of negligence could be Negligent Hiring. If an employee in a supervisory position verbally abuses another or in an extreme case, assaults another employee with a tire iron used in the performance of his duties, the victim could claim negligent hiring on the part of the company where they both were employed. This could be the case if the aggressive supervisor has had a history of this type of behavior at a previous place of employment. This begs us to ask the question: Has the company made enough effort to fulfill its obligation of providing a safe working environment for its employees? As it was touched on before there are measures that can be taken before something like this happens. For one, the hiring manager could have followed up on references to possibly find out if the candidate for employment has had a history of violence in the workplace, or perhaps public criminal records...
Words: 992 - Pages: 4
...Graduate School of Management MM522 Marketing Management Zach Yabs 1.0 Executive Summary The Twheel is an innovation on the pneumatic tire that uses an internal structure of spokes instead of air pressure to hold a tire together. The Twheel will provide value to customers via increases in performance, safety, and durability, as well as decreasing maintenance times, and environmental and personal costs. There are issues to contend with such excessive vibration and safety concerns that must be corrected. The Twheel will be introduced to the U.S. market in a three phase roll-out. The Twheel will gain acceptance in the market through an initial deployment into auto-racing, which will showcase the effectiveness of technology to the masses. Coinciding with the auto-racing deployment will be heavy advertising and promotions budgets, as well as celebrity endorsements that will establish the brand image. The roll-out will then proceed to the luxury car segment at premium pricing, and then conclude with mass retailers and most car manufacturers at reduced prices. The time frame of the initial roll-out will be approximately 5 years. Future targets will include military, construction, and specialty personal transportation vehicles. 2.0 Situational Analysis 2.1 Market Summary The tire industry is well developed, yet the emerging Twheel will have its own industry characteristics. This industry analysis will describe the threat of substitute...
Words: 3781 - Pages: 16
...auto run well. Case in point, this, a Hummer H2 has a high drag coefficient, likewise has an extensive motor. Therefor the high drag coefficient ruins the gifted motor, making an ineffectively performing auto in both top speed and fuel benefit. To welcome this solicitation it is basic to comprehend the laws of advancement. Newton's first law imparts that request being developed stay being developed unless outside qualities follow up on it. In a split second this musing is vital to perceive when taking corners, however not very basic to perceive in the drag, (for occurrence, while picking most important pace). Regardless,...
Words: 1390 - Pages: 6
