Business History and Ethics: The Fatal Ford Pinto and Why It's Crucial to Test Your Product Before Selling It!

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Business History and Ethics: The Fatal Ford Pinto and Why It's Crucial to Test Your Product Before Selling It!

Posted by yoni67 under Self-Development
From http://jobshuk.com 4783 days ago

Hundreds dead! 100s of Millions of dollars in settlements.

It would have cost Ford less than $10 to make the Pinto safe.

Think you don't need to test your product before selling it?

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Comments

Written by moneyonlinesorg
4763 days ago

Nice read Yoni,

This is just one, of many, prime examples why the present business model is broken. It's the reason for why people continually suffer, not only from buying cars, but a vast majority of other things as well. It's the reason why things like Enron, BP, or *insert your favorite big bubble burst here* happen.

It's a methodology of greed, putting profit before people, and I don't see it changing until society and business grow to the understanding that profit should be the side byproduct and BENEFIT of serving people. Somehow, over evolution, business minds seem to have lost that simple principle, and ethics seem widely lost.

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Written by m4bmarketing
4782 days ago

This example is tragic Yoni and it reminds me of thinking about short term results and not considering potential consequences.

Susan

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Written by yoni67
4782 days ago

Susan,

Expertly stated. The consequences were deadly and aside from lawsuits and judgements, nobody was ever held accountable!

Yoni

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Written by ronika
4782 days ago

While I am a big fan of cost benefit analyses, there are times (human lives at stake) when the right thing to do outweighs any costs. A disturbing example that all business people should keep in mind when making decisions. Thanks for another great lesson, Yoni.

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Written by yoni67
4782 days ago

Ronika,

Definitely a cost-benefit analysis gone awry. I actually read the Ford Pinto Memo in depth last night and wanted to vomit!

How a company and individuals can have such callous disregard for human life is beyond me!

Yoni

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Written by alinisrael
4783 days ago

Homocide plain and simple! Expertly told.

Alan

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Written by yoni67
4782 days ago

Alan,

Homicide is great summation!

Yoni

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Written by hamed1
4783 days ago

Yonatan this is a terrible story. I don't know how people can live with themselves after doing something like this. In China people were executed for a baby formula poisoning but in the USA probably not. Never the less it is a tragedy.

Peace/Shalom/Salaam

Hamed Ji'Bril

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

Hamed,

China definitely has a rather harsh system when it comes to corporate misdeeds.

Living with yourself is another question. How does one go on knowing he or she has blood on their hands from cutting corners?

Yoni

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Written by ShoshFromJobShuk
4783 days ago

Ten dollars? Ten dollars? Ten dollars? My gosh Yoni, that's the cost of a shirt and they thought it was too much? What is a human life worth if they couldn't shell a lousy ten bucks?

Shoshana

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

Yes Shosh...$10.

Yoni

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Written by amabaie
4783 days ago

The Ford Pinto was hilarious...for anyone who didn't own one. I wonder what hilarious products we are buying right now.

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

David,

The big loser was Iacocca who was president of Ford during the Pinto fiasco and who had presidential ambitions. The episode always reared its head.

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Written by shepherd
4783 days ago

Yoni,

Tragic for the victims and stupidity and criminal of Ford!

Shep

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

Shep,

Tragedies seem much more tragic when they were preventable!

Yoni

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Written by BradenM
4783 days ago

Yoni,

Great history lesson made even greater since it was before my time. It is a stark example of the lengths that a business needs to go to in order to make sure they are delivering the best and safest product to the customer.

Braden

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

Braden,

It seems endemic in the culture of certain large companies to try and cut corners and increase profits. Then changes are made after a fuck-up happens. Poor ethics and morals!

Yoni

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Written by businessavante
4783 days ago

Ya know what scares me, Yoni - it Doesn't shock me that $10 per vehicle was "too much" money to invest to save human lives. If we only knew how many times those with the power to change this decided exactly this way...

Duncan

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Written by yoni67
4783 days ago

Duncan,

As Braden points out it's not just Ford. I think it is endemic that whenever and wherever certain large companies think they can cut corners to try and save a buck, sadly they try.

Yoni

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Written by BradenM
4783 days ago

Good point Duncan. As you can see by my avatar I love planes. I read once how a small airline substituted real parts for fakes to save money. They found out after one of the planes crashed and many died.

Braden

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