Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
Radi us I mag es/G low I mag es W hen we were discussing the notorious Ford Pinto case with a recent undergraduate ethics class, we asked whether Ford should have proactively fixed the problems with its Pinto that exploded upon light impact���and if so, why? Immediately a student raised her hand and said, ���If it didn���t take care of this issue, Ford would take a hit to its reputation and lose credibility.��� Another student chimed in, ���Investors would sell their stock, weakening the company���s ability to raise capital and pay dividends.��� Yet another voiced his opinion that ���Ford would have trouble maintaining a loyal customer base in the future.��� These types of responses were echoed by many other students in the class. Only much later in the discussion did a student raise her hand to say that knowingly selling a dangerous car was wrong because it killed and injured people. So we raised the stakes by showing the 2003 PBS Frontline documentary ���A Dangerous Business,��� which examines the actions of McWane Corporation, a manufacturer of cast iron pipes. The company had a shocking record of negligence concerning employee safety. The filmmakers showed one horrific case after another, including instances of workers who were dismembered and even BizEd January/February 2013 21