Assignment: Automotive Industry
This section of your report requires a very detailed, persuasive, and thoughtful response to demonstrate your ethical reasoning and critical thinking skills regarding the sale of unsafe products and the behavior of executives.
You can quote articles regarding ethical concepts and ethical issues in the automotive industry to support your point of view, but you must provide in-text citations and include them in your bibliography.
I. Unsafe Products
How would you classify companies selling an unsafe car?
i) Ethical and legal, ii) ethical, but illegal, iii) unethical, but legal, iv) unethical and illegal?
Suppose a car manufactured by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance will explode when rear-ended and the driver and passengers will be burned alive. A cost benefit analysis is done which determines the company can save $100 million if they don't recall the cars and instead give money to the families of those who were killed when the car exploded.
What is the ethical dilemma? Explain fully your point of view.
Discuss fully if it is ethical or unethical sell defective products and your rationale.
II. Executive Actions
Based on the case study and the YouTube videos I posted, we know the Renault executive is accused of doing a variety of things that some consider controversial, unethical and even illegal. For example, having the company pay for a lavish event on his birthday.
Describe two such actions he took and explain fully why you feel his actions were either:
i) ethical and legal, ii) ethical, but illegal, iii) unethical, but legal, iv) unethical and illegal?
Imagine you are a consultant...
What are your concerns and what actions would you recommend to the Renault executive team and Board of Director?
Listed below are some relevant ethical concepts that can help your reach a point of view. You can provide an summary of a relevant ethical concept as part of your response.
1) Utilitarianism
2) Moral Idealism
3) Personal benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for the individual in question.
4) Social benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for society.
5) Principle of benevolence: help those in need.
6) Principle of paternalism: assist others in pursuing their best interests when they cannot do so themselves.
7) Principle of harm: do not harm others.
8) Principle of honesty: do not deceive others.
9) Principle of lawfulness: do not violate the law.
10) Principle of autonomy: acknowledge a person's freedom over his/her actions or physical body.
11) Principle of justice: acknowledge a person's right to due process, fair compensation for harm done, and fair distribution of benefits.
12) Rights: acknowledge a person's rights to life, information, privacy, free expression, and safety.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.