Toyota

Toyota’s Ethics Choice: Promote Self-Interest Ali Adili Florida Atlantic University Dr. Richey Global Environment of Management MAN 6937 November 24, 2010 Introduction This paper discusses the decisions Toyota has made involving the issue of ethics. The purpose of this paper is to discover the position Toyota has taken in response to ethical issues and the avenues Toyota will take to promote the company’s self-interest. Topics that will be discussed in this paper are (1) effects of overlooking ethics and (2) bad ethics makes Toyota think backward. Effects of Overlooking Ethics Business ethics should be given a good deal of consideration in any industry, especially the automotive industry Toyota participates in. Companies such as Toyota should pay attention to ethical issues since most business industries are associated with customer service; a slight deviation from practicing good ethics not only can result in legal consequences, but also can result in a loss of a company’s reputation as well. Furthermore, a company with a solid understanding of good/bad ethics is better prepared than its competitors to deal with situations that do not have a straightforward solution. Although surveys of American consumers generally indicate Toyota is an ethical and thus reputable company, a closer inspection conducted on the company suggests the contrary viewpoint. About a decade ago, Toyota owned a financial services group known as Toyo Trust and Banking (Ejaz). The financial services group merged to form UFJ, also known as United Financial of Japan (Ejaz). The problem with UFJ was that the financial services group was accused of engaging in corruption by the Japanese government when efforts by a government agency to inspect the institution were impeded (Ejaz). One does not have to an expert in business affairs to recognize an allegation of corruption occurring internally within a nation, Japan is of all nations the one which has a worldwide recognized reputation of being secretive, becomes problematic for countries outside of Japan not only to engage in business transactions with Toyota, but also with every Japanese company as well. Bad Ethics Makes Toyota Think Backward In the summer of 2009, Toyota was alleged to have manufactured an electronic defect in the accelerator pedals of some of its models (Government: Toyota electronics aren't problem, 2010). After the U.S. government concluded in its investigation that the electronics did not cause crashes in Toyota vehicles, the general American public’s suspicions about Toyota was put to rest (Government: Toyota electronics aren't problem, 2010). However, after the U.S. government’s investigation was concluded, Toyota admitted that the company had engaged in unethical behavior regarding the issue of vehicle safety (Ejaz). A couple of years earlier in 2007, Toyota had been accused of delaying government recall investigations regarding the safety issue of its vehicles in an attempt to save the company money (Ejaz). According to the Associated Press, Toyota’s delay on a rule that was supposed to impose tougher door lock standards saved the company $11 million (Ejaz). Aside from the monetary aspect, Toyota has not been ethical as far as expectations from the company’s employees (Ejaz). Toyota’s reputation in Japan by its own employees is characterized as a slave driver with no workers compensation benefits if an employee became injured on the job; Toyota’s treatment to its domestic employees has contributed to high suicide rates at the manufacturing plants (Ejaz). From the standpoint of most other nations around the world, Toyota’s behavior is nothing short of not only unethical, but also unacceptable as well. Conclusion The topic of ethics may be overlooked by a lot companies, but giving special attention to the field of ethics is important because practicing bad ethics has costly damages. Reference List Ejaz, M. R. (n.d.). Learn How to Conduct Business Ethically. Retrieved from Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/31604081/Ethical-Issues-on-Toyota Government: Toyota electronics aren't problem. (2010, August 10). Retrieved from Autos on msnbc.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38645077/ns/business-autos