Ford Pinto
AHMED SULEMAN
ID – 1033046
COURSE – PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
CASE STUDY
THE FORD PINTO
Q1.What moral issues does the pinto case raise?
The moral issues raised in Pinto case are that business should not put a value on human life and avoid known dangers. As ford thought they could get away with a dangerous automobile by paying off those lawsuits from people who were injured and the families of the dead. Ford thought it was more cost effective not to fix the dangerous condition than to spend the money to save people.
Q2. Suppose ford officials were asked to justify their decision. What moral principles do you think they would invoke? Assess fords handling of the pinto from the perspective of each of the moral theories discussed in this chapter. The Ford officials would probably invoke the principles of utilitarianism. Ford had claimed that the strict cost-benefit analysis was made based on the statistics information provided by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an organization of the federal government. Ford then counted life as an economic product at a cost of approximately $200,000. According to the cost-benefit analysis, the $49.5 million benefits and $137.5 million cost suggested that Ford implementation of safety improvements would totally offset their benefits
Ford did not give equal consideration to the interests of each affected party. During the preproduction crash test, Ford’s engineers had already discovered that the potential danger from the ruptured fuel tank. However, the company’s leader still decides to rush Pinto into production and proceed with the Pinto’s. 1. Put yourself in the role of the recall coordinator for Ford Motor CO. It’s 1973, and field reports have been coming in about rear-end collisions, fires, and fatalities. You must decide whether to recall the automobile. In August of 1978 three teenage girls were driving a Ford Pinto and were struck from behind. The
ID – 1033046
COURSE – PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
CASE STUDY
THE FORD PINTO
Q1.What moral issues does the pinto case raise?
The moral issues raised in Pinto case are that business should not put a value on human life and avoid known dangers. As ford thought they could get away with a dangerous automobile by paying off those lawsuits from people who were injured and the families of the dead. Ford thought it was more cost effective not to fix the dangerous condition than to spend the money to save people.
Q2. Suppose ford officials were asked to justify their decision. What moral principles do you think they would invoke? Assess fords handling of the pinto from the perspective of each of the moral theories discussed in this chapter. The Ford officials would probably invoke the principles of utilitarianism. Ford had claimed that the strict cost-benefit analysis was made based on the statistics information provided by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an organization of the federal government. Ford then counted life as an economic product at a cost of approximately $200,000. According to the cost-benefit analysis, the $49.5 million benefits and $137.5 million cost suggested that Ford implementation of safety improvements would totally offset their benefits
Ford did not give equal consideration to the interests of each affected party. During the preproduction crash test, Ford’s engineers had already discovered that the potential danger from the ruptured fuel tank. However, the company’s leader still decides to rush Pinto into production and proceed with the Pinto’s. 1. Put yourself in the role of the recall coordinator for Ford Motor CO. It’s 1973, and field reports have been coming in about rear-end collisions, fires, and fatalities. You must decide whether to recall the automobile. In August of 1978 three teenage girls were driving a Ford Pinto and were struck from behind. The
Bibliography: safety exchange. (2009). Retrieved from safety exchange: http://www.safetyxchange.org/tools/cost-benefit-analysis-the-ford-pinto-example Scribd. (n.d.). Retrieved from scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/125084466/the-ford-Pinto-case-study