A Philosophical Approach
In the 1978, three teenagers died after the Ford Pinto they were in was involved in a low spread rear-ended collision. This was not the first time that a death was the outcome of Ford Pinto being involved in a low speed rear end collision. The Ford Pinto was designed and released in a quick time period in 1971 (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. 64). Although it was discovered during the testing of the Pinto that the gas tank had a flaw, Ford decided to move forward with the release of the vehicle. A young recall coordinator received reports on the Pinto, but never moved forward with a recall. A recall for the Ford Pinto was not executed until 1978 when the company received pressure from the media, government, pending court …show more content…
The consequentialist theories base the decision on the results of the decision (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p40). This was demonstrated when the recall coordinator shifted his values. When he was young and in school, his values leaned toward doing a good job and doing what was right. Once he was promoted to the recall coordinator position his values shifted to doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. 99). This meant he focused on problems that would prevent the most harm to people. Utilitarianism the best known consequentialist theory, states an ethical decision should maximize benefits on society and minimize harm (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. …show more content…
Deontology is based on what is right or wrong (Regis University, n.d.). A deontologist would have based the decision on what is right and what would be respectful of human beings. Placing a value on human life, as Ford did, does not seem like the right thing to do. A cost-benefit analysis on the value of a human life is not treating human life with respect and for this reason, I would issue a recall. In order to issue the recall, I would have needed to be aware of the issue. The scripts that were in place during the time of the Pinto fires made these incidents blend-in with the other
In the 1978, three teenagers died after the Ford Pinto they were in was involved in a low spread rear-ended collision. This was not the first time that a death was the outcome of Ford Pinto being involved in a low speed rear end collision. The Ford Pinto was designed and released in a quick time period in 1971 (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. 64). Although it was discovered during the testing of the Pinto that the gas tank had a flaw, Ford decided to move forward with the release of the vehicle. A young recall coordinator received reports on the Pinto, but never moved forward with a recall. A recall for the Ford Pinto was not executed until 1978 when the company received pressure from the media, government, pending court …show more content…
The consequentialist theories base the decision on the results of the decision (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p40). This was demonstrated when the recall coordinator shifted his values. When he was young and in school, his values leaned toward doing a good job and doing what was right. Once he was promoted to the recall coordinator position his values shifted to doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. 99). This meant he focused on problems that would prevent the most harm to people. Utilitarianism the best known consequentialist theory, states an ethical decision should maximize benefits on society and minimize harm (Trevino & Nelson, 2014, p. …show more content…
Deontology is based on what is right or wrong (Regis University, n.d.). A deontologist would have based the decision on what is right and what would be respectful of human beings. Placing a value on human life, as Ford did, does not seem like the right thing to do. A cost-benefit analysis on the value of a human life is not treating human life with respect and for this reason, I would issue a recall. In order to issue the recall, I would have needed to be aware of the issue. The scripts that were in place during the time of the Pinto fires made these incidents blend-in with the other