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Essay Available:
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4 pages/β‰ˆ1100 words
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3 Sources
Style:
MLA
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Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:

best utilitarian analysis

Essay Instructions:
A number of critics have claimed that the Ford Motor Company acted unethically in producing the Ford Pinto as it did, knowing that it could have been made safer by adding an inexpensive part. Read carefully the Case Study, "The Ford Pinto Case" in De George, pp 298-99. You are to write a paper in which you decide, on the basis of the best utilitarian analysis you can construct, whether Ford Motor's decision to produce as it did was ethically justifiable. Your paper should show that you understand what using a utilitarian approach to evaluating a moral issue involves. You should clearly describe the action that you are evaluating. You should present the various considerations that lead you to make the moral judgment you make about the action. Be sure to consider all the consequences of the action you analyze for all those affected by the action. Do not focus only on the cost-benefit analysis presented in the case. Although you should go through the steps of a utilitarian analysis before you write the paper, the paper should not list all the steps. Rather, in writing your paper assume you are writing for a general audience (many of whom may disagree with you), and write in such a way as to try and convince your readers, by the strength of your analysis, that you are correct in your moral judgment. Hence, you should present and develop the utilitarian arguments that lead to your judgment, and you should not simply state your beliefs. Your analysis should conclude, as a result of the utilitarian analysis you have made, with the conclusion to which that analysis leads. Be careful not to prejudge the case either by describing it as unethical (or ethically justifiable) to begin with or by concluding it is justifiable (or unjustifiable) before you finish the analysis. To help you through the steps of a utilitarian analysis there's a guide on page 56 in your text. Your paper should be 3 to 5 pages and formatted double-spaced, Font size 12, with one-inch margins and will include a properly formatted Works Cited. There should also, be at least 3 sources cited. In citing Internet sources, even if you use several articles from one website, the website itself is an individual source (this is similar to using several articles from one individual newspaper). No Plagiarism at all, please cite all sources, no specific amount to be used, and site within the text, MLA format. Also please watch grammar. Thank you! The book we are using if you would like to cite from is Business Ethics, 7th ed., by Richard T. DeGeorge. (Prentice Hall, 2010), 523 pages with index. ISBN-13: 978-0-205-73193-0
Essay Sample Content Preview:
The Ford Pinto Case study This paper tries to explain the validity of the utility approach in determining the benefits of manufacture of various products by manufacturers. In this case study, we talk about the validity of the ford Motor Company to come about with their model of Ford Pinto. Utilitarian approach is the approach whereby the benefit of manufacture of a product is compared with the harmful effects of manufacture of the same product. If the benefits derived from utilization of the product outweigh the negative effects, then the project is carried out regardless of whether it is harmful to human being or not. The assumption is that the utility derived is more and hence the product is said to bring more good than bad to the society Basing (Moral Beliefs on Utilitarianism 1). The Ford Motor Company of United States produced the Ford Pinto model of a car with the utility approach in their mind. The car was made using very simple means to achieve very big objective. However, the car posed a lot of risks to life and it could cause accidents within a short period of service. The Ford Motor Company produced it because in their analysis, the benefits derived from its use surpassed the risks associated with its design (DeGeorge, 298). In this analysis I will endeavor to establish the cost versus the benefits of manufacture of the Ford Pinto. Firstly, I would like to clarify that I disagree with the criterion used by the Ford Motor Company in coming up with their design. To begin with, during the crash testing of the Ford Pinto, it was established that if the car was hit from the rear at speeds not exceeding 34 miles per hour, its gas tank ruptured. This is unethical and a risk to life because the car was to carry people and it was the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure that their product met the competence to carry people at the maximum safety (Moral Beliefs on Utilitarianism 1).This point is seen as one of the reasons that I disagree with the utility approach. This meant that it was like a killing device instead of being useful (Leggett 1). Of the eleven Ford cars that were tested, eight turned highly potent to cause serious accidents while the remaining three only survived because their engines were made to order before the testing. In the ethical point of view, The Ford Company of United States made their approach complex to analyze. The Company applied a concept that would allow some people or a cluster of people to die despite he fact that they could have avoided the catastrophe. When critically examined, it is found that Ford Motor Company made a decision that is a complete violation of human rights to life. This means that Ford did not recognize human rights of the injured people and by failing to rectify the worse conditions of the gas tank, made an unethical act (Leggett 1). In the utilitarian point, the Ford Motor Company only considered the utilities of using the car neglecting its risks. In their point of view, the utility derived from the use of unmodified fuel tank were mor...
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