Who was primarily responsible for the

tragedy, Firestone or Ford? Explain, with

reasons, why Firestone was the one

primarily responsible or why it was Ford?

Ford and
Firestone
Ethical
Responsibility
Assignment 3

Prof :Luis Silva

Ramakoteswara Rallabandi
300906145
Table of Contents
Assignment Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Thesis statement ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Understanding ethical responsibility ....................................................................................................................................... 2

What is Ethical Responsibility for a company? .................................................................................................................. 2

What is Immoral Management? .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Did not act to warning by management .......................................................................................................................... 3

Very slow to initial response by management ................................................................................................................ 4

Not taking ownership by management ............................................................................................................................ 4

Ford being ethically responsible for tragedy........................................................................................................................... 4

Firestone being ethically responsible for tragedy ................................................................................................................... 5

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5

References .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Assignment Abstract

Who was primarily responsible for the tragedy, Firestone or Ford? Explain, with reasons, why Firestone was the

one primarily responsible or why it was Ford?

Thesis statement

While Both Ford and Firestone fought each other on legal and economic aspects towards a crisis, Ford has

primary ethical responsibility followed by Firestone for stakeholders.

Understanding ethical responsibility

Ethical Responsibilities Because laws are essential but not sufficient, ethical responsibilities are needed to

embrace those activities, standards, and practices that are expected or prohibited by society even though they

are not codified into law.

What is Ethical Responsibility for a company?

Ethical responsibilities embody the full scope of norms, standards, values, and expectations that reflect what

consumers, employees, shareholders, and the community regard as fair, just, and consistent

with respect for or protection of stakeholders moral rights (Archie B Carroll, 2015).

Business has a legal and an ethical responsibility to provide fair and accurate information

about its products or services (Archie B Carroll, 2015), Ford has failed in terms of consumer confidence.

Companies have an ethical responsibility to be sensitive to legitimate stakeholder claims even if the

stakeholders have no power or leverage with the management.

Following inference is Tab Turner, another Bailey attorney, tells CBS News Early Show Anchor Bryant

Gumbel he approves of the agency's decision to release this information but adds, "I don't think this is the

answer. The answer is to redesign these vehicles and quit marketing these vehicles as safe passenger car

replacements or station wagon replacements." (Tire Victim apology seemed sincere, 2000)

What is Immoral Management?

Using immoral and unethical as synonyms, immoral management is defined as an approach that is devoid of

ethical principles or precepts and at the same time implies a positive and active opposition to what is ethical.

Immoral management decisions, behaviors, actions, and practices are discordant with ethical principles. This

model holds that the managements motives are selfish and that it cares only or primarily about its own or

its organizations gains. If the managements activity is actively opposed to what is regarded as ethical, this

suggests that the management understands right from wrong and yet chooses to do wrong; thus, its motives are

deemed greedy or selfish. In this model, the managements goals are profitability and organizational success at

virtually any price. The management does not care about others claims to be treated fairly or justly. (Archie B

Carroll, 2015)

Did not act to warning by management

Both companies have not acted to the warning sign, during Senate hearings about the growing number of

complaints and accidents, evidence surfaced that the company had known about potential tread separation

problems dating back to 1994. The company admitted it had increased production during this time in order to

dilute the failure rate. Additionally, company officials stated that they did not investigate further because failure

rates as determined by warranty claims had not demonstrated significant patterns. Federal investigators were

also unable to find Firestones 1996 tire testing data. (Firestone Tire recall, 2010)
Very slow to initial response by management

Ford missed its chance to come forward early and gain points with consumers, said David L. Blum, a vice

president at Eisner Communications.

"Ford's entry was more reactive than proactive," he said. "If they had come forward with Firestone from the

beginning, I think they would have been portrayed better than they are." (Arney, 2000)

Not taking ownership by management

Firestone and Ford end their business relationship in 2001 because of the disagreement over the recall. John T.

Lampe, chairman and CEO of Firestone, sent Jacques Nasser, CEO of Ford, a letter that read, We believe you

are attempting to divert scrutiny of your vehicle by casting doubt on the quality of Firestone tires. In response,

Ford recalled another 13 million Firestone tires not covered in the recall, citing concerns over quality. (Zielsko,

2001)

Ford being ethically responsible for tragedy

Ford initially recommended a low tire pressure of 26 psi for two reasons. First, lower tire pressure compensates

for the stiff suspension and thus produces a softer ride. Second, the Explorer was designed with a high center of

gravity and short wheelbasetraits associated with high rollover frequency and flatter tires help the vehicle

grip the road. Underinflated tires are problematic, however, because they have greater surface area in contact

with the road, which creates more wear and more flexible sidewalls, ultimately leading to overheated tires.

Moreover, low tire pressure results in diminished steering and responsiveness, which increased the likelihood

that an Explorer driver could roll over because of overcorrecting or making sudden maneuvers. Additionally,

Ford was aware of the increased risks associated with the tires. During product development, a consumer group

tested the Ford Explorer, and Fords engineers found that the vehicle did worse with P235 tires than with P225

tires, but the company chose the P235 despite the additional risk. (Firestone Tire recall, 2010)
Firestone being ethically responsible for tragedy

When Ford analyzed Firestones data, the auto maker noticed ten times more complaints stemming from tires

originating in Firestones Decatur factory, specifically tires made in 1994 and 1995. In particular, questions

have arisen about the skill of replacement workers who filled in at the Decatur factory during a two-year strike.

Some have suggested that quality inspections were compromised as tires piled up on the factory floor and that

old, dried rubber was used in production when employees returned from the strike (Nguyen, 2008).

One factor under consideration was the quality of the Decatur facility itself. Constructed in 1942, the building

was used to store telecommunications equipment for the United States Armed Forces for 19 years before being

purchased by Firestone. The Decatur plant was insufficiently airconditioned and therefore may have had a high

humidity level, which decreases the adhesive properties required to bind rubber to steel. This effect became

apparent when tires produced during the low-humidity winters were of higher quality than those produced

during the more humid summer months. Another contributing issue may have been the age and condition of the

equipment used to mix raw materials and press steel together. In addition, the plants vulcanization process,

which uses heat and pressure to unite the rubber fragments into one product, was suspected of having had

temperature-control problems, which can result in poor tire quality. It appeared that Firestone was aware of the

problem; in 1998, the company changed the design of their SUV tires, addressing the exact problem with the

recalled tires. However, the company says the 5 changes were part of a continuous improvement process and

not intended to specifically fix the tread problem. (Firestone Tire recall, 2010)

Conclusion

On basis of above reasoning, Ford has primary ethical responsibility followed by Firestone for stakeholders.
References
Archie B Carroll, A. K. (2015). Business and Society, 9th edition. Cengage Learning.

Arney, J. (2000, sept). Ford, Firestone in a PR Freefall. Retrieved from The Baltimore Sun:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-09-17/business/0009160001_1_firestone-bridgestone-crisis/2

Firestone Tire recall. (2010). Retrieved from Daniel's Fund Ethics Initiative:

https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/firestone%20case.pdf

Nguyen, T. (2008, June). Ford and Firestone: What went wrong ? Retrieved from Youtuber:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdxiglfVpKQ&feature=youtu.be

Tire Victim apology seemed sincere. (2000, Dec). Retrieved from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tire-victim-

apology-seemed-sincere/

Zielsko, D. (2001). Ford-Firestone breakup 95 year relationship. Retrieved from TireBusiness:

http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20010606/NEWS/306069998/ford-firestone-breakup-ends-95-year-

relationship