Case Study Discussion & Executive Summary – Ford Pinto

Case Study Discussion & Executive Summary – Ford Pinto

Team C

MGT/216 Organizational Ethics and Responsibility

University of Phoenix

The goal of Team C is to discuss the key factors of the Ford Pinto case and research the current mission statement, values, and guiding principles of the Ford Motor Company to date. To discuss how each team members personal values align with that of the Ford. The role of people, product, and profits and how they play in the decisions Ford made in the case of the Pinto and if, Ford had to follow the current mission statement, values, and guiding principles they exhibit now back in 1970 what would the outcome be in the case of the Pinto and what would the organizational culture look like? Then our team will summarize the alignment of our values and that of the Ford Motor Company. Our objective is to provide specific examples of how each team member principles compare that to Ford’s values.

The Ford Pinto was introduced to the U. S. market on September 11th, 1971 and built through the 1980 model year. It was the premiere subcompact car of the Ford Motor Company built to compete with the VW Beetle and Japanese imports in this growing category. Unfortunately, after entering the marketplace with much promise and hope, the Ford Pinto became a disappointment and subject of many lawsuits regarding the design of the automobile. It was proven that the fuel tank on the Pinto was easily damaged in rear-end collisions at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour, many of these collisions resulted in lethal explosions and fires.

Ford Motor company president, Lee Iacocca wanted a subcompact ready for release in 1971; to that end he rushed the engineering department to cut their time for design to production from 43 months to 25 months an unheard of production schedule at this time. The most important mandate for the design and engineering teams was that this car must weigh less than 2,000 pounds and cost under $2,000 dollars.

The...