Firestone and Ford; The Tire Tread Separation Tragedy
1. What are the major and minor ethical issues involved in this case?
The major ethical issue is Ford and Firestone’s negligence of the technical problems. They knew that something was wrong yet they did not do anything about it and therefore ignored their consumers’ safety and health. They used a utilitarian decision model where they were looking to accomplish the greatest good for the greatest number. Another major dilemma is that Firestone did not report deaths and injuries to the government and they were very reluctant to recall their defective tires even though it was clear that they were a danger to the consumers. In addition to this, Ford failed to …show more content…
3. Conduct a CSR analysis of both Firestone and Ford. How do they measure up in fulfilling their various social responsibilities?
Based on the Tire Tread Separation case neither Ford nor Firestone would be able to pass a CSR analysis.
The only responsibility both Ford and Firestone fulfilled was the economic one. They were very profitable and maximized their profits. Also, by ignoring the deficiencies in their products they minimized their costs. What they did not realize was that they only held this responsibility over a shorter period because once the scandal hit the news their profits declined and the cost to fix the problem and the cost of recovering was massive.
What we also learned from this case is that Ford and Firestone both disobeyed the laws and regulations. They both were negligent to the deficiencies in their products. Many might say that Firestone acted illegal because they hid previous damage reports, complaints and other related information. At this time this was not an illegal act but it is most definitely an unethical act.
Neither of the companies succeeded to take their ethical responsibility. They had been well aware with the problem but still ignored it. Even though they had many complaints and reports that warned them about the issues they kept trying to cover it up. Their behavior and ignorance also led to injuries and damages of many