Case Study
Acknowledged as one of the “big three” automakers, Ford industry was established in Michigan in 1903. The major proponent who was Henry Ford devised an approach to upgrade the initial automobile industry to match the latest advancements. Towards the end of 1970, Ford enterprise built a new car model known as Ford Pinto. The design matched that of a solid automobile that was liked by many consumers globally, thereby increasing their sales and profits. However, as customers increased their purchases making the automobile popular, certain serious issues arose concerning the safety of the car bringing about the Ford Pinto case. In 1986 the month of May, under the leadership of the company’s vice president, Ford Motor Company opted to manufacture a subcompact car model that they produced locally (Birsch & Fielder, 1994).
The main reason behind this new design for the automobile was to create a larger market share because of the increased acceleration mode. The first few years saw the company register higher sales, but there was impending danger in the horizon. The case will be presented in two ways, which will include Grimshaw versus Ford Motor Company and the criminal case (Leggett, 1999). First, in the Grimshaw versus Ford Company, Lily Gray was on the road with thirteen-year-old Richard Grimshaw in 1972 when another car hit their car that was travelling at relatively lower speed. The force of the crash initiated fire in the vehicle killing the child and left Richard with very bad injuries. When the court case ended, the jury awarded the family of Gray five hundred and sixty thousand dollars and over two million to Richard. However, the major controversy came when the jury given out one hundred and twenty five million in punitive damages. The amount was gradually reduced to around three million dollars. Secondly, Ford was involved in another controversial criminal case just six months after the verdict on the Grimshaw case. It was arguable that the fuel system of the automobile caused the death of eight women as a man driving at a relatively lower speed hit their car. The deaths of the women brought major controversies and upheaval among the citizens because the company had ignored to upgrade their fuel system. The debates heightened especially when the public prosecutor of Indiana decided to charge the industry for careless deaths and criminal irresponsibility.
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Analysis
Whereas some thought that the facts raised against Ford were valid because they had ignored the safety of the consumers just to gain profits, others thought that the media had misused their freedom of coverage and were making the story blow out of proportion. Despite the different opinions presented by these two groups, the Ford Pinto case brought many legal and ethical issues. In the quest to determine the appropriate reasoning, the essay will evaluate the case based on social construct theory while assessing other relevant models such as utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and the notion of justice and fairness.
Simply, the social contract theory can be termed as the actual agreement or laws between the society and the state. It is an agreement that is based on the notions for justice and the appropriate application of the moral rules and principles (Rachels & Rachels, 2003). The major proponents of the model such as Thomas Hobbes (1588-1689) and Jean-Jacque Rousseau established that any society without laws and regulations to govern their actions would not be a pleasant environment to live in. According to Hobbes, a society in such a situation would be living in a “state of nature” (Gough, 1958). People in such as state ignored the values of the community as well as responsibilities that promote culture and reduce security fears.
Initially, the industry had encountered international demands from major competitors in Germany and Japan forcing them to enhance the rates of manufacturing new design. This move is what given rise to Pinto, which weighed around two thousand pounds and was relatively cheaper. During an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Pinto to find out if it had the ability to keep up with the rear end impact of around twenty miles per hour with sufficient fuel, the new automobile failed the test. Ignoring the laws and regulations of NHTSA, the industry decided to devise their own test to begin making sales before it was too late. All the automobiles that were cleared by the test had undergone modifications. This included introducing rubbers in the fuel tank to conduct the heat.
There is evidence that Ford relied on cost benefit analysis when making the decision concerning the new model. The industry reasoned that the budget of building the tanks to surpass the future benefits. The company did not consider this an option. It is unfortunate that the managers of the industry opted to leave the initial fuel tanks even after discovering that they would have serious impacts on the road. Many repercussions arose from this crucial decision by Ford Company to introduce the automobile into the market. As state earlier in the case, several death and fires occurred because of the accidents the automobile caused. The most talked about situation was of a family comprising of two siblings and a relative who died in an explosion. The aftermath saw the industry facing several lawsuits concerning their dangerous fuel/gas storage at the back. In certain instance, they have achieved victory in the legal battles but also lost some.
From an ethical or moral viewpoint, the approach of the cost benefit analysis the company assumed in designing the new gas tanks have proven to be complicated. Ford Company took on a policy that compromised the lives of many individuals yet they were in a position to prevent it. At this point, Ford overlooked the value of human life and operated unethically. When viewed from a human rights perspective and the social contract theory, human rights were ignored because the government did not take part in enforcing strict laws to prevent the production of the automobile.
The government and the company failed to come to a collective understanding, which is the social contract. Ford Company kept manufacturing automobiles that were endangering the human race and the NHTSA did nothing constructive to prevent them. Thus shows an imbalance in the society because the rules and laws that are existent are “non-existent” in this particular automobile industry. Utilitarianism is a relevant concept in relation to the social contract theory as it revolves around moral judgements and the well-being of the society in general.
On a more logical basis, Ford Company displayed utilitarian reasoning concerning the Pinto automobile because they failed to assess the different risks it would cause to human beings as well as its consumers. In this case, where utilitarianism is involved, the decision of the industry to avoid changing the fuel tank is perceived as a single factor from the resulting repercussions. Usually, the utilitarianism is based on the principles of moral values and judgments, utility, and the concept of pleasure and pain (Mill, 1901). It is clear that the company assumed the principle of pain and pleasure and opted to dwell on the utility principle. The company failed to recognize the impacts of settling the court cases, as they were more concerned with making profits.
Moreover, closely related to the social contract theory is the deontological ethics that revolves around duty and obligations. Just like social contract, it proposes that before taking any actions, the doers must be governed by moral duties and responsibilities. It stresses on the needs to follow the rules and duties despite the situations and the circumstances people face. Ford Company failed to follow the stipulated rules of NHTSA because they were more focused on realizing profits than satisfying the consumers’ needs.
Pollok (1912) came up with five significant reasons why a society needed to be guided by the rules of law. First, he outlined the concept of harm principle, which was to inhibit the extreme physical assaults against those who are vulnerable to victimization. Secondly, there is the offense principle that assists in inhibiting behaviour that would upset those who might as well be victimized. Thirdly, there is the legal paternalism to stop harm against everyone in general by the use of regulations. Fourthly, there is legal morality to thwart immoral activities such as prostitution and gambling. The last law of the social contract theory is to benefit others. They attempt to inhibit the actions that are crucial to the growth of a particular population.
The problems associated with the social contract theory include too much power to as specific organization that disguise themselves as rational lawmakers but are out to make profits. For instance, in this case, the government and NHTSA failed to protect the right of the citizens not until many lives had been lost and losses experienced by the victims and families of the government. However, it should be noted that the public prosecutor defended victims affected by the accidents thereby enhancing the reasons why laws are important to the society by Pollock (1912).
In conclusion, even though the social contract theory do not direct people or organizations on how they are supposed to behave because it does not create a foundation to understand why the society establishes, rules, regulations and laws. If it were not for the social contract theory, individual’s understanding of the laws would be restricted. When it comes to law enforcement, social contract theory is significant to justify the law enforcement, which will have an influence over the entire population (Evans & MacMillan, 2014). People should keep in mind that the power imbalance possessed by the law enforcement is part of the contract that the society has agreed to in exchange for security. Whenever different contacts become problematic, it means that the power exercised by the law enforcement will surpass what the citizens as outlined in the contract expect. Virtue ethics are important in understanding the products. They dwell on the need for being as compared to doing. Simply, a good person will end up giving good results. Just like the Ford Pinto automobile, the gas tank located at the rear was prone to explosions, which meant that the vehicle was prone to accidents. Ethically, the directors of the company failed to protect the public thereby were accountable for criminal prosecution. Virtue ethics would argue that the company was after making profits, hence, was motivated by greed. However, from a utilitarianism perspective, the case was a success in promoting and enhancing safety for many Americans because the media broadcasted their dangers as well of those of reckless driving. Additionally, the company had experienced many losses during legal settlements and lawsuits issue against them because they failed to observe ethical considerations.
References
Birsch, D., Fielder, J. (1994). The Ford Pinto case: A study in applied ethics, business, and technology.
Evans, P. B. (2014). The capability enhancing developmental state: concepts and national trajectories. In The South Korean Development Experience (pp. 83-110). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Gough, J. W. (1958). The social contract theory Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ362/hallam/Readings/SocialContractHeliu m.pdf
Leggett, C. (1999). The Ford pinto case: the valuation of life as it applies to the negligence- efficiency argument. Law and Valuation Papers Retrieved on 11th October 2016 from https://users.wfu.edu/palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html
Mill, J. S. (1901). Utilitarianism Longmans, Green and Company.
Pollock, F. (1912). The genius of the common law : Ams PressInc.
Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2003). The elements of moral philosophy (p. 20) New York: McGraw-Hill.
