The ethical issue in this case that I picked that was the most important was the car manufacturer decision to not get the brakes which can cause people to get hurt and die. The reason it is not just a legal or policy issue is because it is their decision to let the car to be produced and sold to the public when they know it is not up to the standard that they expect. Even though there is going to be a policy and legal issue in the long run when people start to find out that the brakes are bad. It still is an ethical issue because it is their decision to put all of the people buying this car lives in danger because they decided to not fix the brakes. It makes it even more ethical because know the brakes are bad and still are letting people …show more content…
The one who is responsible for this and is the moral agent is the manufacturer of The Hipster model car. I think they are responsible for this ethical issue for a couple of reasons. First, the car brakes on this model car have major defects which can cause a lot of harm to people. Another, reason is that the manufacture knew that the car had brake defects and decided to not get it inspected or looked at again before it was sold to the public. The two reason I mentioned above are the reasons the ethical issue came up. If they would have fixed the brakes before they sold it then there wouldn’t be a …show more content…
The virtue ethics is where everything is about happiness and making money and not worrying about what the consequences are as you achieve happiness. This now leads to what I think a virtue ethicist would advise is the right thing to do in this case. I think they would tell the moral agent to do what makes them happy. That they would also say while doing the thing that makes them happy to not worry about the consequences along the way. That they should do what makes them happy but do not go to extreme about. They would say this to them because it could be that making money makes them happy so if they do not fix the brake they could be making more money right instead of losing money. Therefore, they would advise them to continue what they are doing that makes them
Virtue ethics is an approach that “deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus on the kind of person who is acting” (Garrett, 2005). A person’s character is the totality of his character traits. Our character traits can be goo...
By looking further into this dilemma using various ethical standpoints allows for a broad understanding of principles and complexity in a specific situation with these paradigms. The focuses are three prominent ethical paradigms such as: teleological utilitarianism, deontological duty theories and virtue based ethics. Each of these three paradigms will be applied to the aforementioned dilemma, each will be evaluated and the best option will be revealed.
Opposing ethical principles would program the vehicle in different ways. Immanuel Kant piloted the nonconsequentialist ethical view of morals. If Kant programmed the car, he would not change the car’s intended path to save multiple people because doing so would use other humans as means to an end. Kantian Ethics are based off of categorical imperatives. Put simply, “an action is right only if the agent would be willing to be so treated if the position of the parties were reversed” (Eby 1). Swerving to hit another person would be deciding that person’s fate, without consent, in order to save the larger group. This is not ethically justified by Kantian standards. Therefore, if the car was intended to veer towards the large group, it should continue on that trajectory. Additionally, there is still the possibility of the ten people moving out of the way in time or the breaks of the car could react fast enough to prevent an accident. Why should the car take the life of a bystander given those possibilities? A proponent of Kantian Ethics would advise the car to continue on its path but would enable the breaks.
Consider a business case that challenges ethical behavior and standards. As the new controller for Mega Wheels, Inc., Julie Emerson needs to adhere to the IMA’s Statement of Ethical Profession...
Ethics, in any form, provides a detailed verdict on what is considered right or wrong. This means that it provides assertions of what ought to be done and what should not. Ethics is also universal and affects anything in relation to individuals. These matters keep businesses from abusing consumers. Laws have even been enacted to enforce principles set forth by ethics. But, in some cases, scrutiny of the laws or their enforcements may be too loose and ineffective. This is evident in the case of the Japanese manufacturer Takata and their faulty airbags. While in other cases there may not be laws clarifying how to act in a specific setting, as in Todd Rutherford and his online reviewing company. These circumstances depend on personal ethics and
The world of technology is ever changing and advancing. With the automotive industry in play technology is constantly surpassing what is available today with what can be done for tomorrow. Technology and the automotive industry go hand in hand with constant improvement to components of cars. Due to technology advancement there is competition within the car industry, especially between American car companies and European car companies. European car companies provide their buyers with innovative variety and revolutionary luxuries. European car technology is superior to American car technology due to their safety, entertainment, and luxury features.
Andrew Simms, a policy director and head of the Climate Change Program for the New Economics Foundation in England, presents his argument about the impact SUV’s have on our roadways, and the air we breathe. “Would You Buy a Car That Looked like This? “. The title alone gives great insight on what the article is going to be about, (vehicles). “They clog the streets and litter the pages of weekend colour *supplements. Sport utility vehicles or SUV’s have become badges of middle class aspiration” (Simms 542). Simms opening statement not only gives his opinion on how SUV’s are the new trend, but he also paints a picture of what we see every day driving down our roadways. Simms also compares the tobacco industry’s gap between image and reality to that of SUV’s; stating that the cause and consequences of climate change resemble smoking and cancer. Simms comparison between SUV’s and cigarettes shows how dangerous he believes SUV’s are.
As James Flink points out in The Automobile Age, the village store and the local banks were the businesses most vulnerable to the new competition (47). Robert E. Wood, former vice president of Sears, explains how businesses moved to the suburbs, "When the automobile reached the masses, it changed this condition [the funneling of consumers into the town centre] and made shopping mobile. In the great cities Sears located its stores well outside the main shopping districts, on cheap land, usually on arterial highways, with ample parking space (Wollen 13)." Thus city centers came to be seen as sites of congestion, whereas the surrounding areas were regarded as accessible and convenient. The rapid proliferation of shopping complexes outside of the city center in the 1950s left down town a crime-ridden wasteland of vacated stores. City centers no longer featured traditional shops; instead they contained gas stations, parking lots, and inns whose focus was on the travelers and their cars (Wollen 13).
This case involves Ford and the Japanese tire manufacturer, Bridgestone/Firestone. The Ford Explorers which were prone to rolling over, came equipped with Firestone defected tires. The tire seemed to have a defect that caused the tread to separate from the whole of the tire and cause the vehicle to flip. Although Firestone knew about such defects, they continued to produce despite knowing the deadly consequences that lay behind their actions. The Explorer also had a bad reputation of rolling over and Ford knew it. As a result, fatal accidents occurred from these two combinations. Since this was a very serious safety issue, Ford and Firestone were ordering the recall of problem tires in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Asia but not in the United States. So, did the company act ethically in resolving this crisis? No, the companies failed to fix the problem in the United States. According to NHTSA, the tires have caused many deaths and injuries in the United States. In fact, these accidents would have not occurred if both companies have solved the problem immediately. Thus, despite the obvious safety issues, there were also fundamental ethical issues.
Now “Imagine a famine. [You and your sister are starving and you have only one loaf of bread between the two of you. Your sister is too weak to move so you get to decide who gets to eat. What will you do?]” (Margaret atwood, Bread, 1983, p. 390). If the virtue approach is used in this situation all of the bread will be given to the sister and therefore no guilt will be accumulated. This can be considered a good ethical code for the situation because even if both were to die there would be no regrets or dissatisfaction which is the purpose of ethics in the first place. The virtue approach
Keep in mind that the goal of sound ethical reasoning is not to reach the “right” solution but rather to rationally and systematically consider the ethical aspects of a case and to be clear about the basis on which the decision was made.
Honda, The Car Everyone Needs Beep! Beep! Beep! Goes the alarm clock in the other room. Oh man, surely it can't be time to get up yet, you think to yourself. As you scramble out of the bed and into the shower, the thought crosses your mind, I hope my car starts.
Although virtue ethics is deeply divided in interpreting the virtue of different characteristics and the morality of their manifestations in society, it consists of six essential rules that can be found in all forms of virtue ethics. According to one of those rules, an action is morally correct if a person with a virtuous character would perform the same action in the same circumstances (Oakly & Cocking, 2004), and that rule could explain Sally's case as morally correct action. However, several people could argue that virtue ethics should be practiced without harming others. While Sally is assisting a man in need, she is also working against the company policy. It has been argued that business environments can provide a suitable environment to practice virtues, but the opposition states that it is closer to deontological requirements for following rules that are not necessarily based on personal characters and virtues (Moore, 2002).
Automotive ethics is a subject that is often over looked. Not many people tend to look at what is ethical in the automotive industry; most people are generally satisfied if they can get a good deal on a car. However, in reality, automotive ethics has an affect on how automobiles are made, what regulations the government puts on them, and their hazard on the environment. Before the engine was invented, life revolved around a much more complicated system of transportation. Much advancement in technology has been made to make the common lifestyle today much easier; a few examples are cellular telephones and onboard navigation systems in automobiles. Cellular telephones and navigation systems have become an everyday item, but nobody looks at the dangers that can have while operating a motor vehicle.
Hybrid cars and trucks are beginning to become very popular in our day of time. The inventor and the founder of the hybrid car was Robert Anderson. Anderson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He invented the vehicle in 1839. The hybrid vehicles get better gas mileage than most of the older cars and trucks. Most of the new vehicles that are being made today are some sort of hybrid or ecoboost vehicle. Almost all of your car manufacturers today are trying to create new vehicles that conserve gas which is green to the environment. Gas efficient cars are now taking over diesel car and trucks. Diesel cars and trucks usually get pretty bad gas mileage. Most of the big older trucks have a diesel engine in them. Most of the owners of a diesel vehicle usually don’t drive the vehicle much anymore because of horrible gas and diesel prices this day in time.