KT40103

ETHICS AND LAW: CASE STUDY OF FORDS PINTO FIRES: THE RETROSPECTIVE
VIEW OF FORDS FIELD RECALL COORDINATOR

Name: DIANA SELA AUGUSTINE ANJUM

Matric No: BK11110067 (HK01)
Number of Plagiarism (%) = 8%
Number of unique words = 732
1. The Ford Pinto met federal safety standards yet it had design a flaw the resulted in
serious injuries and deaths. Use the stakeholder analysis to demonstrate that it is
ultimately a loss if these injuries and deaths are ignored.
As desire to compete with fuel-efficient Volkswagen and Japanese imports, Ford
introduced Pinto in the 1971 model year. Fords president Lee Lacocca insisted that the
weight of Pinto is no more than 2000 pounds with the promotion cost is not more than
$2000. However, even Pinto met federal safety standards, there is flaw found on the model
car which is a fuel tank prone to rupturing with moderate speed rear-end collisions. Between
June 9, 1978 and 15 September, 1978, six people died in Pinto fires after a rear impact.
Based on the Universalism (duty) beliefs system, moral authority is determined by
the extent to which the intention of an act treats all persons with respect. Includes the
requirement that everyone would act this way in the same circumstances. Referring to the
Pintos fire case, if the injuries and deaths are ignored, the total loss will be observed due to
the risk of unethical integrity will arise due to the injuries and deaths and the all the
individual including the stakeholder of Fords Company will be affected if the decision to
ignore this bad incidences are taken.
Besides that, any manipulation, force coercion or deceit that might harm individual
involved in decision will be identified. Manipulation issue might bring up roaring situation
within the company itself. The higher department will be doubted of trust issue regarding
the flaw of the model car that causes injuries and deaths. The media will tend to dig the
truths and this wills eventually affecting the sales of the company.
Due to the best interest of the company, all the policies and actions provided in
script schemes by the company are truthfully respected by the workers however, the side
effect might affect the individual that practice it. As example, Dennis A. Gioia actions that
opposed the his principal ethical life while working on the Fords Company, instead of
recalling back the flaw design of the Pinto, he chose not to overview the incidents and it
cause deaths to Pinto trapped occupants due to fire.
In conclusions, if the injuries and deaths are seen blindly by the Fords Company in
respect of profit matters, the later effect will cause a million losses overcome the profit that

the company obtained through the Pintos sales. It will affect not only the sales graph but
also will affect the integrity of the workers of Fords Company.

2. Gioia uses the notation of script schemes to help explain why he voted to not initiate
a recall of the Ford Pinto. Why is this method so common in real example? How to
prevent from occurring among honest and principled such as yourself. Please note
that Gioia was an activist protesting social injustice and the social irresponsibility of
business when he was a student.
Based on the Ford Pintos case, the script schemas that applied by Gioia is defined as the
template of information which is structurally arranged without facing any difficulties on
understanding the overwhelming obtained information. This method is considered of
shortcut to the whole long and difficult process of analysing information. However, the dark
side of this script schemas is that the small, matter and important information will be less
care and somehow will be treated as non-exist information.
Gioia is the activist protesting the social injustice and irresponsibility for business matter.
However, after two years working with Fords Company, he tend to discount the obvious
accusation where his values were not really strongly held and he had turned his back on his
values in the interest of loyalty to Ford. This is where Gioia using script schemas terms
where he did aware and know the real problem regarding the Pintos major design flow but
instead to stand on his value, he choose to take the script schemes just because he is
intimidated into making best decisions in the best interest to the company.
Due to making the main interest toward the company only that is the reason why he
chooses voted not to recall the past values he held before. This because, the action taken
by his now is merely based on plausible explanation and looks to the foibles of normal
information processing. The shortcuts feature with ability to act virtually unconsciously and
automatic causing him to giving not sufficient attention to important matters that requires
special treatment.
In order to prevent the occurring, the essential and foundation regarding ethical values
need to be strongly built. Even when the decision might affect the career, the company
where we are working and also affect other involving party, the question need to asked
directly to our self is Is this is the right thing to do and should the action be taken?. When
the unethical activities are sense, instead of just being aware of it, the action needs to be
taken to make it into right things. This is because, holding tight into the values embraced is
not sufficient enough if the steps and action to prevent it are not taken. It will produce the
same outcome which is supporting the wrong things lingering around on. Stronger value is a
must to everyone because without it, other people will take advantage and exploit it.

3. How can organizational context influence the decisions made by organizational

members? Use the incidences in local universities and the rampant plagiarism and
other academic misconduct that occurs as example.
Organizational context is mainly based on the on the good and benefit towards the
organizational itself. This is because; the context must be referring to the main vision and
mission of the certain company. Eventually, the organizational members will give their best
according to the organizational context where the members will tend to make decision that
makes best interest for the organization.
This is because, such as the workers on the company, they will follow the lead of the
company going where all the decision and action taken is solely for the benefits of the
company. The thoughts, the actions and the plans made are accordingly to the company
context. This fact is unknowing happening on the employee. This is described by Gaoia
through the Pintos case where his perspective changed after joining Ford. He stated that
the basic mutual interest is to do a good job and being wanted to do in a right way
unfortunately it turns out to be a different way when he is eventually becoming a person
that value of wanting to do greatest good for the greatest number. This is due to the
coming of accepting idea that it was not feasible to fix everything that someone might
construe as problem. In a simple word, Gaoia finally accept the beliefs that as long as the
problem will not matter him or becoming obstruction towards him even it will be a serious
problem to other people, he choose to ignore instead of fixing. That is the biggest mistake
ever Gaoia had took when he choose to left behind the values he held before and take the
action that only yield towards the company without giving overview of the after effect of the
real problem.
While in university, the plagiarism issue that knowingly being practiced by the student in
any local university. This practice might occur due to the intention of students to yield a
good marks and result thus they will choose as shortcut way to solve the problem given
through plagiarism. If the institute only consider the good marks of the student and
anticipate the good result only without any concern regarding the practice that students
applied thus it will make worse because student will tend to keep on practicing it. Besides
that, when the students is given a space to feel free on doing such things thus this
plagiarism will not stop. The academicals approach should leans more towards the real
practice and soft skill of students on analysing student performance. This because, when the
study conducted not solely based on papers or writing but on the real example thus it is
impossible the plagiarism to occur. The awareness regarding plagiarism on the institute
should be thickened so the students will aware the dangerous of this practice and will stop
on practicing it.
In a nutshell, the member of organizational is most affected by the organizational
context itself. This is because, members will tend to have script schemas the yield to the
togetherness benefit and good which is toward the organization. The decision make will not
only base on individual point of view but also due to the corporate context.

4. If you had been in Dennis Gioias position, what would have you done? Why?

If I was in Dennis Gioias position, instead of choosing to leave the ethical values that he
had been held before this and walk away from the Fords Company, I will choose to stay at
the Fords Company and will be responsible to the mistaken action that I have been
practiced while working at the company.
This is because, Gioias responsibilities included the operational coordination of all the
current recall campaigns, tracking incoming information to identify developing problems and
reviewing filed reports of alleged components failures that led to accidents. These
responsibilities are considered the top most important position where he/she needs to be
truthfully identified the failure of certain products for sake of safety of user that will buy and
using it later. The safety depends on this forensic study field, the damage and failure need
to be identified and if any is found thus the improvement, repair and upgrade must be taken
immediately.
When standing on Gaioas position, it will sure i will facing the same exact situation
where either I need to embraced the beliefs and rule that I held in such a long time to up
stand the right and justice in business or only considering the yield toward the company.
When meet this kind of situation, I will stand still for ethical values instead of my career,
profit and benefit of the company. Why? This is because; the responsibilities that if I choose
to leave will haunt me for forever. This decision making involving the justice for the deaths
of Pintos user as well the injuries that already happened. Instead of seeing the whole
incidents as matter or number of profit, the humanity should be restored by doing the right
things and improved the damage.
It is reported, three of these people from the six people that killed in Indiana in August
1978 when their 1973 Pinto burst into flames after being rear-ended by van was teenage
girls. The Pinto gasoline tanks were prone to catch fire during rear-ends collisions. Sadly,
Ford already knew this defect and failed to warn to the public used or to fix the problems
and defect due to the profit matter. This death can be escaped if the Ford company being
aware the importance of users instead of inly seeing Pinto as a competitive product and as a
centre of profit. The same goes to the Gaoias position, where he failed to make things right
and ensure the justice being taken but he fell to the trapped of Ford context to interest fully
towards the company benefit. The non-guilty victim of the fires of Pinto would be still alive if
the greed passion is removed.
In conclusion, if I was in Gaoias position, I will ensure to take the action that supposedly
to be taken at first step instead only having a good intention towards the whole thing. This
is because, good intention is not enough because people are judged based on the action
taken. What kind of action that someone willing to take to stop the injustice to be happened
is what makes difference with people who are not embraced ethical values.

5. Describe the four key decision-making lessons that Dennis Gioia identifies for
neophyte decision makers. Discuss how you expect or intend to use these four
lessons in your own career.
One of the decision-making lessons for neophyte decision maker identified by
Dennis Gioia is to develop our ethical base value in this given time. This is because; too
many people are taking this issue lightly as they are not giving serious attention to
assessing and articulating their own values. As simply as that, people will not know what
they stand for just because they have not taking this matter into serious consideration.
Sooner or later, when entering into career level, this feature will actually differentiate
someone into their level accordingly. There is group of people will tend to work just to
increase the number and also just to ensure their work will satisfied by the higher
department however if only practicing this working concept, eventually it will cause us to
be trapped on the unethical practice if we have not the needed ethical value base. The
early preparation is mostly needed to overcome any of this serious matter later. If we do
not decide our own values now, do not be surprised if the others will gladly decide them
for us or when we will influence to accept their decision. We are easy prey once we
cannot decide our own values.
Secondly, recognizes that everyone including ourselves is the unwitting victim of his
or her cognitive structuring. It can be seen when people entering into organization will
feel surprised with the provided script and schemas that the provided in order to
understand and act in the organizational world. However, less people aware that
sometimes the very structuring information on the script schemas might hides
information that might be important and require us to confront our values kind of
information. This feature will become a big help to us when entering career stage later
because, sometimes the decision we make will be flexible according to our employer. In
other case also when we will confront the situation where the employer will asked us to
not asking for any important information that might affect our ethics creditability just
because to yield to company that we are working for.
Thirdly, be aware of how strongly, yet how subtly, our job role and our
organizational culture affect the ways you interpreted and make sense of information
thus will affect the ways us to develop the scripts that will guide us. This is because;
organizational culture has a much greater effect on the individual cognition than we
would ever suspect. By knowing fully our job and our role, even the company cultural
might affecting our decision making but it will less influence the overall decision. When
we aware that the flow of working in company later is based on the company cultural
script thus we can always prepare for the worse when any decision making needed us to
stand with our own values regardless the benefit for the company.
Lastly, ensure that we are prepared enough to face critical responsibility regardless
the age. We as individual in the organizational later need to know our own values and
we are recognize much the way we think so that we will know how to make a good
decision. Especially when we are involving on engineer field, civil engineer to be specific,
when working as consultant, the responsible is carried by the person through each sheet
he or she signed. The consultant needs to obey all the regulation, precautions and

standards without any failure. If somehow the company employers asking to shortcut
any information steps for a good sake of the company, then this feature will giving a
good advantage for particular individual where when she or he know enough regarding
his or her responsibility based on scope of work given thus it will not be a problem to
make a good decision.