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Bic Lighters and tendency to explode- Ethics

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Since Bic lighters were first manufactured in 1972, hundreds of people have been injured by lighters that explode into flames, often when they are not even in use. The Bic Corporation has stopped most lawsuits by offering huge settlements to those people injured by the lighters. One such settlement topped $3M. In these settlements, Bic inserted a secrecy clause preventing the injured party from revealing to the public any part of the incident.

a.Should Bic continue to market lighters knowing of their tendency to explode?
b.Should the corporation settle these claims out of court?
c.Should the secrecy clause be included in each settlement?
d.Are the injured parties acting ethically when they promise to keep quiet knowing what can happen to hundreds of unsuspecting consumers?

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Bic Lighters and tendency to explode- Ethics

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Bic should not continue to market lighters, after knowing of its tendency to explode. Bic should ask its R&D or product engineering team to immediately identify the causes behind this problem in the market and come out with a solution to make the product safe for use by the customers. Bic should not offer new products for sale, until it comes out with a solution to this problem and should recall all the existing products in the market to prevent further threat to the customers.

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Solution provided by:
Sheetal Jain, PGDM
Education
  • BComm, University of Delhi
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Equivalent to MBA), All India Management Association
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