Section 1: Introduction and Situational Analysis
In 1971 Ford released the Pinto in an effort to compete with foreign car makers, specifically Volkswagen, and their more compact cars (Dowie, 1977). In order to get into the compact car market quickly, Ford compressed the time the pinto took to go from draft to the showroom from 3.5 years to 2 years (Philosophia.uncg.edu, 2015). While the Pinto was being built in the factory, Ford was testing the Pinto. They found that rear-end crashes would very easily rupture the Pinto’s fuel system, risking a fire (Dowie, 1977). Engineering teams proposed a couple of solutions to the issues; they suggested the tank be put above the axle and out of the way or that tank shields could be installed in order to prevent puncturing and reinforcements around the filler could prevent the tearing (Wojdyla, 2011).
This is when the ethical dilemma began for Ford. If they slowed or stopped production, they would not make the deadline they set. Also, if they paid to put the necessary safety precautions in, the cost of the car would go up; in fact Ford figured out that it would cost $121 million to fix the issue while it would only cost $50 million to potentially pay off victims (TIME.com, 2015). Arjay Miller, who was president of Ford when the Pinto was in its planning stages, had spoken before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee passionately about improving gas tanks and reducing fires caused by being rear ended (Dowie, 1977). Of course, this adds to the dilemma, as it speaks to Fords hypocrisy in the matter. Also, with pressure on to get into the compact car market, the current president, Lee Iacocca, was willing to ignore issues that didn’t directly cost Ford money. All of these factors came together to create the ethical dilemma.
Section 2: Stakeholder Analysis
There are several stakeholders involved in this dilemma. They are the employees of Ford, the President of Ford, people who purchase Pinto’s, and other drivers who are at risk of hitting pintos. The employees of Ford had the potential to be impacted if the issues with the Pinto resulted in criminal proceedings, and the company had to downsize or go out of business as a result. The President of Ford would have to explain why they felt it was acceptable to continue manufacturing a car they knew was a hazard. Pinto owners have a major stake, since it is their lives at risk. Lastly, the other drivers on the road who are at risk of hitting a Pinto and suffering from the repercussion
Section 3: Analysis Based on Ethical Theories
As far as viewing this ethical dilemma through the perspective of cultural relativism, society would not view Ford’s decision to not fix the Pinto as acceptable, despite the fact it was technically legal at the time. Although their choice may have been for the greater good of the company, which affected a lot of people, it was not for the greater good of the consumer. Ford kept making money, and kept its employees but did so at the cost of people’s lives. The management in Ford had a hard decision to make, since they had the duty to their employees and stockholders as well as to their customers.
Section 4: Conclusion and Recommendations
Although Ford made the decision that was most beneficial to its company, it was not the best decision. They clearly put profits before the lives of their customers. Even if Ford had chosen not to fix cars that had already come off the assembly line, they could have started fixing all subsequent cars. In the future, there should be requirements as to how long a car must take be designed and tested before going to the assembly line. This will reduce the temptation to rush a new car design before all of the issues have been worked out.
Section 5: References
Dowie, M. (1977). Pinto Madness. Mother Jones. Retrieved 10 July 2015, from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/1977/09/pinto-madness
Philosophia.uncg.edu,. (2015). Case: The Ford Pinto | Business Ethics. Retrieved 10 July 2015, from http://philosophia.uncg.edu/phi361-metivier/module-2-why-does-business-need- ethics/case-the-ford-pinto/
TIME.com,. (2015). The 50 Worst Cars of All Time - TIME. Retrieved 10 July 2015, from http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658498_1657866,0 0.html
Wojdyla, B. (2011). Ford Pinto Fuel Tanks: Epic Auto Failures. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 10 July 2015, from http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a6700/top-automotive- engineering-failures-ford-pinto-fuel-tanks/
