Case_Study_the_Ford_Pinto_Fires

Case Study: The Ford Pinto Fires Allen Hayes MGT/216 May 10, 2010 Bob Brantley Case Study: The Ford Pinto Fires What Would You Do' In 1962 President John F. Kennedy gave a speech which laid the foundation for what would later be called The Consumer Bill of Rights. These rights were as follows: 1. The right to safety 2. The right to be informed 3. The right to choose 4. The right to be heard This was the setting in the late 1960s when Ford Motors developed the idea for the Ford Pinto. Foreign automobile manufacturers dominated the small car market in the Unites States at this time. Ford designed and produced the Pinto in a time of a little less than two years instead of the usual three and a half years. The first production year was 1971. To meet the deadline for production, much testing was done concurrently. Out of eleven Pintos subjected to rear end collisions, eight failed the test. Only the three with baffles between the tank and bumper and a special interior tank lining met safety standards. The project was almost complete and it was not possible to make redesign revisions and meet the deadline for the release of the Pinto. The car met with favor from the American public. It was not long before reports of leakage and explosions with the gas tank reached Ford. The problem was discussed and based on a cost/benefit analysis determined to be too costly to recall and repair. The value assigned to a human life was $200,000. The baffle which could repair the problem cost $11.00. Reports of fiery crashes and deaths continued until the media and government pressure came to a head in June 1978 when Ford recalled all Pintos built between 1970 and 1976. Based on utilitarianism, Ford’s decision to not implement a recall seemed the one that would benefit the most stakeholders with the least cost. This decision made the mistake of putting a financial value on human life and regarding life as a mere product. The decision did not take into account the social pressure that would arise out of the Pinto tragedies. If the decision had been mine to make, I would have handled it differently. At the first report of an accident involving loss of life due to a possible design flaw, I would have ordered an investigation to determine if the loss of life was indeed due to a construction flaw. If the design of the Pinto tank was at this time shown to be responsible, I would immediately issue a recall on all vehicles. There is a social responsibility to protect the consumer from unsafe products. The consumer has a right to be heard when there are concerns and also has the right to know the truth about products. There is no price that makes it okay to sell a defective product at the cost of even one human life. Deontological ethics would deem this wrong due to neglect of duty. Virtue ethics would find the decision wrong because it violates the virtues of honesty, fairness and many others. In 1970, business ethics was just emerging as a study of social responsibility. Although the recall of the Pinto would have cost around $137 million dollars, it would have given Ford the status of being a socially responsible company at the time when this was beginning to be a popular stance with society. Consumer activist Ralph Nader wrote a book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed in 1965 which depicted the auto industry as totally corrupt. Nader’s Raiders, an activist group for consumer rights, mercilessly pursued General Motors concerning production flaws with the Corvair. Ford Motors could have learned from GM’s mistakes and emerged as a shining star in the public eye by responding promptly and recalling the Pinto. The Ford Motor image would have gained much favor with the public by responding to public concerns over Pinto safety. The favorable image and trust that would have resulted would have outweighed the cost of recall in the long run. References  (2010). Bibliography of Ralph Nader. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader Trevino, L.K., & Nelson, K.A. (2007). Managing business ethics: straight talk about how to do it right (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.