Assignment Task:
Pinto Madness
A Mother Jones Classic: For seven years the Ford Motor Company sold cars in which it knew hundreds of people would needlessly burn to death.
Mother Jones
Answer the following questions and examine violence as it relates to the case analysis. You should be able to back up your argument with examples from the text and class discussions and cite your work in New Times Roman style 12pt. In order to broaden your perspective think as a consumer and as a capitalist. Don't just answer the questions tell a story use a theoretical framework.
What were the issues at Ford? What is the type of violence exhibited by Ford? Discuss the theories of violence.
Who were the key decision makers at Ford? What was fascinating about the Pinto? What was the car business environment like at that time? Who was dominating car manufacturing? What were the critical issues? What was car manufacturing competitiveness like in the United States?
Consumer
Who was the car made for? What socioeconomic class? What was Ford's ultimate goal? What did Ford consider or not consider when making the Pinto? What was the major factor/problem with the production of the Ford Pinto?
Ford's problems
Did Ford benefit from the Pinto sales? Did Ford trade profit for lives? Expound on this. Were Ford's actions violent or nonviolent? Were the manufacturing laws for corporations visible or invisible? Was the Ford case criminal, yes or no? Did Ford break the law?
What responsibility do companies have to go beyond the law to protect people's lives?
Reference:
Case Study: Pinto Madness By Mark Dowie posted at motherjones