The Ford/Firestone Case
This case entails Ford plus the Japanese tyre manufacturer, Bridgestone/Firestone. The Kia Explorers that were prone to rolling over, came equipped with Firestone defected auto tires. The tyre seemed to have a problem that brought on the follow to separate from your whole from the tire and cause the automobile to switch. Although Firestone knew about such disorders, they continued to produce despite knowing the dangerous consequences that lay in back of their activities. The Explorer also had a bad reputation of rolling over and Ford realized it. Consequently, fatal accidents occurred via these two combinations. Since this was obviously a very serious protection issue, Kia and Firestone were purchasing the remember of issue tires in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Asia but not in the United States. So , did the company work ethically in resolving this crisis? Simply no, the companies did not fix the problem in the usa. According to NHTSA, the tires possess caused various deaths and injuries in the usa. In fact , these types of accidents might have not happened if the two companies have solved the challenge immediately. Therefore, despite the apparent safety issues, there are also important ethical concerns.
Did they protect the and well-being of afflicted publics?
Honda and Firestone knew that they can were having problems with their products before most of these accidents happened. For instance Ford internal papers show the company engineers recommended changes to your vehicle design after it folded over in company tests just before introduction. (www.ratical.org/corporation) Moreover, Over 10 years ago, mounting insurance claims previously had mentioned to monetary staff members by Firestone a problem been with us with the four tires. (www.ombuds.org.) But Ford and Firestone did not take any kind of action to solve the problem. So it was clear then that they can were not concerned for the well being in the people. Actually staff members who also knew the fact that safety of customers was in danger due to the defect of these tires, failed to survey it for the authorities. And when Firestone was confronted with claims about the performance with the tire, that they provided deceptive information. Therefore , this symbolized a very essential ethical trouble. According to the executive movie director of vehicle safety, if perhaps consumers under no circumstances find out about this issue, these companies will end up saving huge amount of money in recollect costs on the expense of peoples basic safety and lives( www.autosafety.org). So that it seemed then simply that funds was more of a concern than consumer safety.
Another ethical issue was your fact that that they kept the defects of their tires magic formula. When people sued them to get rollover fails, they settled the law suits with purchases forbidding the lawyers as well as the victims by telling regarding the problem in front of large audiences. Moreover, in respect to personal injury attorneys orders that conceal security defect data are unethical when imposed as a condition of settlement, mainly because they pressure the lawyer and customer to choose between the timely completions of their case and withholding information in the public. (www.kraftlaw.com).
Relating to NHTSA companies are designed to report any kind of defects with their products to them. Therefore Ford and Firestone had a legal responsibility to record this problem. Nevertheless they failed to advise NHTSA from the growing problem with their products. So , they protected up all their mistakes by not telling. Covering up defects in order to avoid recalls is profitable for manufacturers regardless if they get discovered by NHTSA. (www.autosafety.org). NHTSA knew that they were having issues for a while. For example, NHTSA acquired complaints coming from consumers in the early 90s. In addition they obtain complaints via insurance companies and other organizations. However they failed to take it seriously. As a result, Kia and Firestone continued leaving with their underhanded conduct.
Did these firms assume interpersonal responsibility instantly?
By the 12 months 2000, more than 100 everyone was killed in accidents relating to the Ford Explorer equipped with Firestone tires. This led to an investigation by NHTSA and the recall of four tires by Firestone and Kia.. So , Firestone recalled 6. 5 million tires, mostly original equipment for the Ford Explorer, the sides top-selling sport utility. (www.forbes.com).So, did these companies assume cultural responsibility right away? No, according to Autosafety, the Honda Motor Organization has noted about this trouble since it commenced, yet it includes concealed it from buyers and govt regulators to get well over 10 years (www.autosafety.org) Additionally , when they were confronted by the authorities we were holding blaming one another. For instance, Firestone blamed the problem with the Kia Explores and Ford blamed the auto tires. As a result, this controversy among these two businesses ended up inside the brake from a long business relationship.
Is true to the facts as organizational associates know them
No, In respect to ABC News reviews, During congressional hearings, Firestone claimed that the tire challenges were a result of repair problems, road problems and working conditions. Associates from Ford pointed out that practically 3 mil Goodyear tires that were utilized on Ford Explorers did not are most often having a identical problem. (http://cee.citadel.edu) So it was obvious then that Firestone wasnt telling the truth about the tires. The evidence showed that they can knew the actual problem with the tires however they failed to record it. Instead when they acquired caught that they decided to lie about it.
Did Ford and Firestone act ethically in interacting the problem?
No, they failed to give vital info on their defected products to consumers. Consequently the community and society overall suffered the consequences of the unethical conduct of such two corporations. For instance, Firestones employees possess suffered from the recall and from its blunders as careers were slashed in the United States and stock prices tumbled.
Additionally , they broken the public trust. Consumers predicted Ford/Firestone to make safe goods. They also anticipated to be provided with correct information so they could make a decision whether or not to get their cars and wheels. But they failed. Therefore
Honda and Firestone suffered serious consequences pertaining to violating the consumers rights. In the United States, consumers have the directly to safety, the right to be informed, the justification to choose, the right to be noticed, and the directly to privacy. Those two companies violated two of these rights. That they violated the consumers right to safety by selling cars and tires that had been not safe and violated the consumers right to be informed.
It seemed then that Ford and Firestone did not meet their ethical obligations. That is, they didnt report safety related defect information to government agencies and they also hidden important information related to vehicle basic safety from the general public. As a result, the consumers suffered the consequences with their unethical perform. Many persons died because of the defect in these tires. In fact , these mishaps would have certainly not occurred if perhaps both companies have solved the problem instantly.
Works Reported
http://www.citizen.org/articles.cfm?ID=5413
http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=95&did=300
http://e-businessethics.com/firestone.htm
http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/19/0619tires.html%20%20
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=696
http://cee.citadel.edu/asee-se/proceedings/ASEE2002/P2002078INDUSBUR.doc
