Ford Pinto Case Study The Ford pinto lasted from the 1960’s to the late 1970s and was highly controversial. This poorly made automobile came from a production race between the USA and Japan, where the United States promised an affordable, fuel efficient, and reliable car. Because of the hasty production, it left Ford with a flawed, dangerous, and untested product. The outrage over the obvious safety flaws of the Ford Pinto caused leaders to call upon their values, mission statement, and ethics
In 1971 Ford Motor Company decided it needed a way to compete in the small car market that was beginning to be dominated by the smaller, cheaper cars from Japan. The answer Ford came up with has now become synonymous with one of the most debated cases in ethics; production of the Ford Pinto. In this paper we will take a look at Ford’s decision to produce the Pinto under the scope of Utilitarian ethics and ultimately review the lingering question did the ends justify the means? I implore you as the
Ford Pinto Case: The Invisible Corporate Human Pricetag In this essay, I will argue that Ford Motor Company’s business behavior was unethical as demonstrated in the Ford Pinto Case. Ford did not reveal all the facts to consumers about a harmful gas tank design in the Ford Pinto. They tried to justify their decision to sell an unsafe car by using a Cost-Benefit Analysis which determined it was cheaper to sell the cars without changing to a safer gas tank. The price of not fixing the gas tanks
Ethics/MGMT-368 September 6, 2014 Ethical Review of the 1971 Ford Pinto In the mid to late 1960’s American automobile manufacturing was being dominated by Japanese imports. These imports, smaller in size than the domestic vehicles at the time, offered an economical and dependable alternative to what American automobiles offered. In order to remain competitive with these Japanese imports Ford chief executive officer Lee Iacoca instructed the Ford manufacturing company to come up with a vehicle for the
Utilitarian Analysis The Case of the Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto first rolled off the Ford Motor Co. production lines in 1971 and stayed in production in its original state until 1978. The vehicle engineers were tasked to develop the vehicle and put it into production within 25 months, which was nearly half the time in which the average new vehicle is put into production. The Ford engineers were aware that rear-end impact safety tests were pretty standard at the time, but they were not required
Facts Around 1967 Ford Motor Company decided to design a small size car called the Ford Pinto. The automobile industry at the time (and still is) was highly competitive and very cyclical. In the late 1960's, America began to see the influences of foreign vehicles. Prior to that, cars were bigger and less fuel efficient, allowing the Japanese to gain substantial market share with the smaller, more economical vehicles, and the need to react to this pressure was even greater at Ford. Even though they
The Ford Pinto Fires Case A corporation’s social responsibility and ethical actions have long been a discussion for consumers, suppliers and the government throughout the years. “The corporations’ sole responsibility was to provide a maximum financial return to shareholders” (Carroll, 1991). This paper discusses the ethical decision process in regards to the Ford Motor Companies Pinto Case. Discussion of the different methods of ethical decision making and how Ford executives and employees might
Immanuel Kant and The Ford Pinto Case Immanuel Kant¶s theory on morals states that ³nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called good, without qualification, except a good will.´ 1 Kant points to other human qualities such as courage, intelligence, wit and others that are ³undoubtedly good and desirable,´ 2 however, can become bad if the will of the person using them is not good. Kant maintains that in order for an action to be considered moral, it should
Tim Randall "Ford Motor Company has been recognized as one of the world's most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a leading business ethics think tank" (Ford Motor Company.com. Home Page. 2012. PP. 1). This 2010 award of excellence highlights a fundamental transformation for a company that in the mid-1970s was immersed in a scandal regarding the safety of its Ford Pinto sub-compact. The issue which "led to major lawsuits, inconclusive criminal charges, and a costly recall of all
Running head: FORD PINTO 1 FORD PINTO 8 Introduction Context This paper explores how ethical issues of Pinto case have affected the Ford Motor Company business environment. A number of factors suggest that Ford Motor Company was negligent and violated its code of ethics. In this paper, we will review the corporate culture mindset which prioritizes profit over the value of human life for the purpose financial gain. Purpose There are many different cases where people