Business Ethics - Ford Pinto

Kelly Johnson

Business Ethics – Paper 1

In the late 1960’s the Ford Motor Company made the Ford Pinto in an effort to keep up with the competition from Japanese auto makers. The Pinto was manufactured in less time than normal and costs were kept low. After the Pinto was manufactured and put out on the market it was discovered that the fuel tank was placed in such a place that it would be punctured by a bolt from the bumper and could possibly burst in flames. ("Business Ethics" 298-9) Ford decided not to make the necessary repairs to the vehicles because of their cost-benefit analysis that made them believe that the cost to add the part needed far exceeded what they expected to pay out in lawsuits. ("Ford Pinto")

Those affected by the decision, both directly and indirectly, where the Ford Motor Company, the people that purchased the vehicles, and their families. It is reported that 27 total deaths were attributed to the fires, and 180 total deaths were attributed to the Pinto, a figure that was average for all cars at the time. The Ford Motor Company saw the cost to them as either spending the $121 million to make the necessary repair or the estimated $49.53 million for the injuries and deaths ("Fatalities Associated with Crash-Induced Fuel Leakage and Fires"), these are the only numbers that the company considered when making their decision. The owners and drivers of the vehicles had the cost of this as their lives, something that many people would say you cannot put a price on, and their families had the loss of a family member, and the support that they provide.

Ford Motor Company believed that they were making the best decision for their company, and looking at the statistics one would have to agree that it was in the best interest of the company not to make the repairs, purely out of cost to the company. However, if you apply the utilitarian analysis to this case, one would have to agree that Ford did not act in the best interest of those...