MgtS 4461 – Business and Society

Lesson plan: February 12, 2008

The Pinto Fires Case

 

Objectives of the case:

This case discusses one of the most interesting (and to many, upsetting) cases of ethical decision making (or lack thereof) in US business.  When the Ford motor company developed the Pinto, it found out early on that the car had a tendency to explode upon rear impact.  Ford engineers had to decide whether or not to develop a fix for this problem – a fix, that by some estimates, would cost less than $9 per car.  The case and supporting material presents the information about the case.  Students will get to examine FordŐs decision-making process, and wrestle with the question, "WhatŐs a life worth?"

 

Pinto fires case

  1. Read the Pinto Fires case on pages 115-119 of the text, and answer case questions 1a-g on page 119.
  2. Do you agree with FordŐs decision criteria?  Why or why not?  In particular, do you agree with FordŐs decision to put a value on human life?
  3. If you do like the idea of putting a value on human life to help your decision process, why does this seem an appropriate decision mechanism to you?  If you do not like the decision to put a value on human life, why not?  What makes you feel uncomfortable about this?  What other decision criteria could you use to make a decision?
  4. Regardless of your answer to question 3, it seems to me that Ford missed several key elements in their cost calculations (Table 4.1).  (I thank former students for pointing this out to me – itŐs in no way original to my thinking.)  Try to think through this, and identify critical dollar costs that Ford overlooked in their calculation.  Do you expect that including these would have changed FordŐs decision?  Why or why not?
  5. It seems to me like every potential Ford customer would be willing to pay the extra marginal cost to make their car safer.  Given that virtually all FordŐs customers would make this choice, and given that (presumably) FordŐs managers are ethical people, why would Ford end up making a choice that is both contrary to customer interests and desires and ethics?

Now, read the "Reflections on the Pinto Fires case" (pages 138-144).  Think about the following:

  1. Do you believe Gioia's account of the Pinto case?  Why or why not?
  2. Do you agree with his concept of script processing?  How can script processing accurately depict the decision situation that Gioia faced?  Or is it just a justification for his behavior?