Organizational ethics issue resolution

Running head : Organizational Ethics Issue Resolution

Organizational Ethics Issue Resolution

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Organizational Ethics Issue Resolution

Introduction

Many business organizations today are confronted by ethical dilemmas on a regular basis . It is important that such business organizations address such dilemmas in an organized manner , with careful consideration of all relevant factors

One good example of an ethical dilemma is the situation that gripped Ford Motor Company in the mid-1960s (Dowie , 1977 . This dilemma concerns the safety features of cars produced by the company . These ethical

br issues are good subjects of ethical inquiry because they involve a person 's valuation of human life

Issue Clarification Ford Motor Company has always been in the middle of discussions regarding car safety , beginning in mid-1960s , when the corporation 's president , Arjay Miller , figured in a car accident which made him witness to the susceptibility to fire of Ford cars (Dowie , 1977 . He thus vowed to passionately pursue the development of safety mechanisms for Ford cars . Unfortunately , a Ford Pinto car figured in a car accident seven years thereafter , which led to the death of a woman and very severe injuries in a thirteen-year-old boy (Dowie , 1977

The disaster involving the Ford Pinto would , at first sight , appear to be far from any ethical considerations . However , the facts and events that led to the car accident brings to fore certain opportunities for ethical deliberation

The Ford Pinto was designed , developed and manufactured at a time when competition and pressure were intense from Volkswagen and other Japanese companies for a dominant share in the market for small cars (Wills , et al . To rise to the challenge , Ford rushed the production of its Pinto model . Thus , instead of taking the usual forty-three months in producing the car , Ford finished production of the Pinto in just twenty-five . The deliberate haste with which Ford pushed production of the car casts a shadow on the adoption of appropriate procedures in production (Wills et al

Another relevant fact pointing to responsibility in the car accident was the discovery made by the Ford engineers that there was a major flaw in the car 's design . They discovered that the Pinto 's fuel system is highly susceptible to rupturing , which could lead to explosion (Wills et al . Despite this , Ford proceeded to manufacture the cars because they were already in the assembly line and they wanted to meet the non-negotiable specifications set by its designer , Iacocca . Thus , Ford threw caution to the wind and went ahead , just to beat competition (Wills , et al

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder analysis involves the identification of people , groups , and institutions that would have either a negative , positive , or neutral reaction to the decision that would become the final outcome of the decision-making process . It also involves the anticipation of the kind of influence that these influential groups of people will have on the enforcement and implementation of the final decision . More importantly stakeholder analysis enables an organization to develop strategies that would most likely support...