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Car industry history essay
Car industry history essay
Car industry history essay
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Ford Pinto Case The humankind history has probably never known one completely successful product - a product that would never break down or malfunction. "The ideal product is a myth because in reality, there has been and always will be mistakes and flaws in the technology and production. When there are only a small percentage of defective pieces, it is easy to blame the individual product. It is when there is repetitive malfunction of the same system under the same conditions that people begin to ask the question." (Birch, et. al. 21) Who is at fault? Is it the production line error? Is it the engineer who designed it, or the person who developed the process? Ford Pinto is one of the examples of such repeated malfunction of a product, which led to death of many consumers. In accordance with the case, the American automobile industry was constantly challenged by the foreign car manufacturers in 1960-70s through offering better and yet cheaper cars. Another problem that was haunting the industry was the gas consumption, which, in the period of the Arab oil embargo in 1970s, became a really critical issue. The survival for the American automobile industry was in designing and building of subcompact cars which would be affordable for masses, consuming as less gas as possible. Such car for the Ford Motor Company became Ford Pinto that was presented to public in September of 1970. Since competition between domestic automobile manufacturers was very intense, the Ford Motors Company decided to build Ford Pinto in only 25 month versus normal 43 months. The General Manager of Ford Pinto project, Lee Iacocca, was so obsessed with the idea of creating an affordable car and winning the market, that he specifically set a certain goal... ... middle of paper ... ...ography: Birch, et. al. "The Ford Pinto Case: A Study in Applied Ethics, Business, and Technology", Boston: McGraw Hill, 1994 Mallor, et. al. "Business Law and the Regulatory Environment", 11th edition, Boston: McGraw Hill, 2001 Mark Dowie. "Pinto Madness" Mother Jones (Sept. 1977): 38 pars. 28 Sept. 1977 http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1977/09/dowie.html Ford Pinto Case: Valuation of Life as it Applies to the Negligence - Efficiency Argument, Christopher Leggett, 1999 University of Illinois. Spring 1999 http://www.sprynewmedia.com/clients/wakeforest/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html Velasquez, Manuel G. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002
The automobile went from being a toy for society’s elite to being an essential item within the economic reach of nearly every American, all thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Henry Ford. His dedication to quality and attention to detail earned him not only dozens of racing titles, but also the reputation of a respectable businessman. Ford understood his market so well that he knew what the people wanted before they could even ask for it, always ahead of the curve. Ford was a pioneer of American commercialism, and so his production methods were centred around efficiency and mass production, thus allowing him to increase productivity and decrees cost to meet the demand of the masses. Lastly, consideration of the working class and philosophy of raising the wages instead of raising the price point and focusing only on profit. There are a great many lessons to be learned from distinguished businessmen in history, and Henry Ford is no
In February of 1978, Ford Motor Company was sued for $128 million, which amounted to more than three times the amount that had been previous...
The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile; 425 of them were sold in 1901 and 5,000 in 1904--this model is still prized by collectors. The firm prospered, and it was noted by others, and, from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23. The company produced 1,700 cars during its first ...
The birth of the automobile was truly something special. Once a far fetched dream is now what many people believe to be the back bone of the American economy. When people think about the automobile the name that comes to mind is most usually Henry Ford. Although he is not credited with the invention of the automobile, Henry Ford played a crucial role in the development of mass production. The automobile was first invented Europe in 1771 with a top speed of 2.3 miles per hour. A man by the name of Gottliech Daimler produced what was known as the milestone car in 1889, this vehicle traveled at 10 miles per hour (Brown, 105). Not more then a handful of these cars were produced over seas. Not many people had ever seen one, let alone had one. It wasn’t until Henry Ford invented the assembly line, that anyone knew what a car was. Henry Ford and the invention of the assembly line altered the American economy and revolutionized travel everywhere.
The estimated risk to consumers, along with the potential financial cost of loss of life is deemed lower than the financial burden of making the modification to the cars in question. If Ford were to add the extra part to the Pinto, there would have been an added cost in production, which would then have been passed on to the consumers by way of the purchase price for the vehicle; nevertheless, the risk would have been greatly diminished or eliminated. Using this approach, Ford did the right thing. The company was happy because they saved money on production, consumers could purchase what they considered to be a quality vehicle at a reasonable price. This course of action led to a greater yield of happiness than the alternative. Adding the extra part would have resulted in
Americans soon not only had one car, but they had two! Teenagers now drove cars as part of the iconic 1950s culture with their friends. Fast food places like In-N-Out and McDonalds were built on the fast paced nature of the automobile. The US interstate was built for more convenient travels, and also for cold war preparations. Having a car was part of the American way of life and the American way was to buy an American car that was made in Detroit Michigan. The best selling car companies of the 1950s were Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Buick, and Oldsmobile. (Zyla, 1) If someone drove a car that did not sport an american badge on the grille, they were a
Ford had a solution to fix the problem in the Pinto car, but it was cheaper for Ford to pay off the lawsuits then to pay to recall all the cars and fix them. Ford choose to keep the cars out for sale. This endangerment is morally wrong and needed to have consequences more severe than to allow payouts. Although the results, Ford though the payoff of the lawsuit was smarter to save them money, but the ethical codes we not being kept by not being honest in making the right
The decision by Ford not to recall any of its cars before the design flaw was discovered and taking the chance with their consumer’s life can be proven unethical by using the Hedonistic Calculus. On the other hand, death was probably happening, but not certain. Purity goes to pain, 50 lawsuits were brought against Ford, and Forbes lists it as “Worst Cars of All Time” in 2004. Propinquity goes to Ford and pleasure, Ford felt pleasure as soon as the first Pinto sold, whereas, lawsuits and deaths took place over years; the car was recalled in 1978, seven years after the release date.
Being struck in the rear of the car, the gas tank would rupture. Ford, presented with a choice to adjust the gas tank for a cost of $5 to $8, made the decision to continue in a “business as usual” manner. Using utilitarianism and a common currency, Ford’s reasoning for this came down to cost-benefit reasoning. If Ford fixed the issue with the rupturing gas tank, the cost would outweigh the cost of deaths caused, injuries, and the vehicle itself. The total amounted to $49.5 million dollars. Some studies were done to conclude that human life was worth $200,000. It is for this reason that life is integrated into Ford’s cost-benefit analysis. Nevertheless, the cost to replace or fix the gas tanks would be near $137 million dollars. Using a common currency to weigh a moral decision, it is morally ethical of Ford to not fix the rupturing gas tank because the cost of solving the issue outweighs the cost of future problems with
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases: 2011 custom edition (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
To say that Henry Ford dilly-dallied around before finally establishing a serious car company would be invalid. The 40 year old man had been acquiring valuable knowledge regarding business, engines, management, and most importantly cars. Now it was time to take a leap of faith.
The automobile changed American life, but the process was gradual. Though historians argue the date and inventor of the first automobile, we can say that Henry Ford’s creation of his Ford Motor Company in 1903 marked perhaps the major milestone of the early twentieth century automobile industry in America and around the world. Five years after the company’s inception, Ford’s legendary Model T of 1908 would revolutionize transportation and the world economy. Before the Model T, automobiles in the US were associated with only the wealthier class. Ford sought to make cars available to every American. His cars would assume the general build that continues to characterize automobiles today, and his innovation and system of production would make him a legend.[i] The automobile led to an extremely advanced system of roads and contributed to an American mentality of freedom to move.[ii] Early drivers saw both benefits and difficulties as the automobile became the standard American mode of transportation.
When Henry Ford was born on June 30th, 1863, neither him nor anyone for that matter, knew what an important role he would take in the future of mankind. Ford saw his first car when he was 12. He and his father where riding into Detroit at the time. At that moment, he knew what he wanted to do with his life: he wanted to make a difference in the automobile industry. Through out his life, he achieved this in an extraordinary way. That is why he will always be remembered in everyone’s heart. Whenever you drive down the road in your car, you can thank all of it to Henry Ford. Through his life he accomplished extraordinary achievements such as going from a poor farm boy to a wealthy inventor who helped Thomas Edison. When he was a young man, he figured out how to use simple inventions, such as the light bulb. He then taught himself the design of a steamboat engine. His goal was to build a horse-less carriage. He had come up with several designs and in 1896, he produced his first car, the Model A. When Ford’s first car came out, he had been interviewed by a reporter and when asked about the history of the car, he had said “History is more or less bunk.” Ford worked in Thomas Edison’s factory for years and the left to become an apprentice for a car-producer in Detroit. While working there, he established how he was going to make the car.
Toyota issues in automotive industry resulted from a lack of moral and ethical obligations to loyal customers. In fact, people encounter ethics at one time or another. A business expectation is to act in manner upholding society values. According to authors Trevino and Nelson, (2004) states, “a set of moral principals or values, or the principals, norm, and standards of conduct governing a group or individual.” On the other hand, three ethical criteria determined in this discussion like obligation, moral ideas, and consequences which this article highlights an ethical dilemma with automobiles makers.
Until recently, Ford Motor Company was in possession of most of the production and distribution of all materials and parts needed to produce cars. Ford Motor Company owned everything from steelworks needed for the frame of the car down to the rubber farms needed for the tires and hoses. Ford Motor Company even retained railways so that supplies and finished cars could be transported to their intended destination (Muthusamy, 2014). However, owning all the supplies in the world would be ineffective if the company was not capable of using its resources in the appropriate manner. For that reason, Ford Motor Company revolutionized the Industrial Era with its concept of the assembly line which would enable it to dominate its industry for a long