Ford Pinto Case Study Essay - 797 Words

Amanda Nevill Pinto Case Study February 6, 2012 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. A. Identify the relevant facts. In August of 1978 three teenage girls were driving a Ford Pinto and were struck from behind. The three girls died because the Ford Pinto’s fuel tank ruptured from the collision and burst into flames. There was a big debate about the safety of the Ford Pinto to its proneness to its fuel tank catching on fire in low-speed rear-end†¦show more content†¦Ford convinced NHTSA that cost/benefit analysis would be appropriate for determining not to change the fuel tank. The costs were eleven dollars per fuel tank to change which ended up equaling 137.5 million dollars. This number is very large and much bigger than the benefit if they would have not changed it, which was 49.5 million dollars. B. Identify the pertinent ethical issues and points of ethical conflict. All of the relevant facts discussed above lead to many ethical issues. Ford was aware of the problem with the gas tank leaking and could have changed it before others died from their mistakes. Putting a price value on a life to beat the Japanese in the small car market is unethical. Safety should be a company’s number one priority, not beating the completion. There was a legal issue of NHTSA and Ford. Ford was aware that the fuel tanks were not working correctly but did nothing to change it because the NHTSA, at the time, had no laws against it. C. Identify the relevant affected parties. a. Customers (Ford’s victims) b. Drivers of Pinto c. Ford Employees d. Manufactures of Ford e. Suppliers of Ford f. Dealers of Ford g. Stockholders h. NHTSA The customers (drivers of Ford) are the number one stakeholders that lost the most. They might not have lost much money or reputations, but they lost the one thing that you can never get back, their life.Show MoreRelatedCase Study: Ford Pinto598 Words   |  2 PagesCase study: Ford Pinto The actions of the Ford Motor Company during the manufacturing of its infamous Pinto vehicle are an illustration of how a negative organizational culture can impede clear thinking, even amongst highly-accomplished executives. Ford wished to create a vehicle that was inexpensive for consumers, but early tests of the Pinto showed that the Pinto had a tendency to blow up upon rear impact. 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Because of this monumental taskRead MoreLearning Team Assignment: Case Study Discussion Executive Summary1420 Words   |  6 PagesLearning Team Assignment: Case Study Discussion Executive Summary MGT/216 University Of Phoenix Learning Team Assignment: Case Study Discussion Executive Summary In 1968 the Ford Motor Company decided to introduce a new subcompact car to compete with foreign imported vehicles in the subcompact category. The Vice-President of Ford at the time Lee Iacocca felt that in order to grab a larger share of the market Ford must remain competitive and a decision on putting money before human