Trevino & Nelson Ethical Decision Making (T&N EDM) Model

Instruction:

Details:

1. Gather the Facts.

Safety doesn't sale - Trunk space is what sales

Standard guidelines for the automotive community were in place

3 teenage girls died

Pinto fuel tank had a known issue

Product on the market 2 years

Cost of replacement gas tank $11

Cost of human life $2000

Received reports that Pinto was exploding (multiple cases)

2. Define the Ethical Issues (I) in moral terms (e.g., Is X action morally right, given Y?).

Is it morally right to continue selling the defective car that has a chance to cause harm to a human life without recalling given that you know the solution & cost associated?

3. Identify the affected Parties.

Recall Coordinator - Decision Maker

Iacocca

Ford Motor Co.

Employees of the company

Consumers

Victims

Victims Family

Media

Lawyers

Regulators - NTHSA

Competitors (specifically, Japanese and German)

4. Identify the Consequences. State: (a) the consequentialist principle (CP) used to assess the actions of the decision maker (e.g., egoism, utilitarianism); (b) the standard implicit in this principle (e.g., action in my long-term self-interest); (c) the key potential consequences for each of the affected parties; (d) the extent to which each consequence undermines (U) or supports (S) the issue based on the CP selected.

Utilitarianism - "greatest balance b/w good & bad"

Iacocca & Ford Co.

Increase (short-term)/Decrease Rev. (long-term)

Increase PR issues

In

5. Identify the Obligations. State: (a) the deontological principle (DP) used to assess the actions of the decision maker (e.g., Kant's ethics, prima facie); (b) the standard implicit in this principle (e.g. categorical imperative - Could the action be willed into universal law?); (c) the key obligations of the decision maker for each of the affected parties; (d) the extent to...