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What is unethical about Ford's actions in the Pinto case?

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1) Summarize what is unethical about the actions that Ford took in the Pinto case article. Specifically, they failed to recall the Pinto when they had data that suggested it was dangerous.

2) What you think about their decision to calculate how much they would pay for each death suffered from the dangerous car rather than recall the vehicle. Is this acceptable and please explain why or why not.

Can you include the reference please?

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Solution Summary

This solution thoroughly discusses the Pinto case, including the ethical/unethical actions of Ford. This solution also discusses Ford's decision to calculate how much they would pay for each death suffered from the dangerous car rather than recall the vehicle.

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I am extremely familiar with the Pinto case. This is a common case that is studied in business graduate and undergraduate courses.

1. Almost all actions taken by Ford were unethical. As stated, they failed to recall the Pinto when they had the data that suggested it was dangerous, and actually, that's even misstated. They had information that proved it was dangerous. The data in their possession from research showed (proved) that a low speed impact in the rear of the Pinto causes the gas tank to ignite due to a defective part that was used in the Pinto. This wasn't a suggestion or a possibility, they knew it would happen. Basically, Ford decided that even though they could modify the defective part, they wouldn't. From an ethical standpoint, because their data showed the consequences of a potential impact, Ford decided that it was more ethical for people to die than to make an ethically sound decision and recall the Pintos. The ethical principles that the executives at Ford used in the Pinto case are unjustified under all sound ethical reasoning systems currently used. There is no ethical system that values the harm and consequential serious injury or death to a person over a remedy, particularly when such a remedy is within the power of a person or company. Ford's decisions are ...

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