Managerial Ethics & Social Issues - Essay Example

Managerial Ethical and Social Issues Management as a discipline in business involves working with or through the people to ensure that the organizations goal are achieved. Managers are the top organ in the organization and are tasks with sole role of decision making; they are also charge with day to day operation of the activity in the organization. Decision making is always geared towards positive growth of the organization and it involves interacting with people involves. Management involve both ethical and social issues since it involves interacting with people (George and Lazareth 2003).

Management varies from organization to organization, in analyzing the case study involving the controversial conflict between the Firestone Tire Company and the Ford Car Company the managerial, ethical and social issues are brought clear into the play. The ethical and the social issues concerning management require that the management is involved in making decision when tough challenges arise and the decision should not be biased. .Both the Ford Car Company and the Firestone Tire Company had been enjoying mutual benefit not until the controversy happens.

No one was ready to take the blame on the basis of damaging the reputation of the company. The National Highway Traffic Administration was tasked with the obligation of investigating why there was tire failure on the Ford Explorer Sport Utility Vehicles. It come clear that Firestone tyre had very high failure rates with threads peeling off causing the over rolling of the vehicle killing the occupant. Management of Firestone tyre Company could not take the blame easily sitting that the tyres were functioning well with other vehicles so the problem was the Ford SUVs.

In my view both companies had to be blamed reason being they have been enjoying mutual benefit for quite a while and the problem could have been due wrong tyre size specification. Its objective of the management to ensure that product or service delivered or offered to the customer should be satisfactory incase of any problem the organization should be held responsible. In the case above Ford should be responsible to the victims while Firestone Company should be responsible to the Ford Car Company.

In applying the three ethical theories in regard to manufactures responsibility; starting with the contractual theory which is more customer based, it concerns the contract between the customer and the organization. It entails the agreement that is duly signed, it requires that the customer is correctly informed about the product and incase of any problem the organization is held responsible. Ford knew the defect with tyres and did not inform the client until the intervention of the (NHTSA) which is unlawful hence should they held responsible.

Second theory is the due care based on the “vulnerability of the customer, who has less information and expertise than the firm” (Archie and Buchholtz 2008).The client need to be thorough informed about the product so as to exercise due care and this was not the case in the controversy. Ford lack clear information about the complicated nature of the tyre. The third theory is the social cost view which is basically the compensation provided to the affected victims. When the product cause harm to the customer the organization held responsible and offer some form of compensation.

In my view the third theory should be given much priority in the case study above. REFFERENCEArchie, B.C and Buchholt, C.K. (2008). “Business & Society ; Stakeholder Management”. Chorlatte.George, R and Lazareth, S. (2003).” Moral and Ethical Issues Facing Managers” . Retrieved on 19 march2013 http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/moral-and-ethical-issues-facing-managers-4881732.html.