A Flaw in the Design of the Car Manufactured by the Company - Essay Example

The paper "A Flaw in the Design of the Car Manufactured by the Company" is a good example of an essay on business. Having gotten hold of a memo with the information about a flaw in the design of one of the cars manufactured by the company and finding out that the firm has no intention of correcting the flaw, one should be responsible enough to question management’s decision to just pay for legal fees in case of accidents or death caused by the flaw instead of rectifying the error.

Any defect of a product made by a company should be a major concern for the manufacturer.  Learning about this information, one should advise management to release such information to the public immediately and have a product recall in order to correct the defective product.  This is part of their corporate social responsibility and the business ethics of the company.  The company should not be content with paying legal fees to victims of the accidents caused by the defective car.  It is not in line with proper business ethics.  It may not even have a negative impact on the manufacturer because the consumers may perceive them to be responsible businessmen who put the interest of the public first before their own interests.  Just because the organization has money to pay the legal fees does not mean that it is already right for them to simply keep a close eye on the defective product.  The life of a person is more valuable than any profit that will be earned by the company.
Since the company is aware of the defective part and that it could cause the death of a driver in case of a car crash, they should not choose to pay legal fees only, but rather, they should correct the defect.  They should come up with steps to repair it because if they do not do so, there is an intention to deceive the consumers. It reflects poor ethical judgment on the company’s part.  One must insist on management that a product recall should be made.
If the company chooses to recall the product and correct the defect then it is acting ethically. Although the recall might result in higher costs for the company, it can be compensated by the good image that they will project.  More importantly, their conscience will be clear knowing that what they did is the right thing to do.
One thinks that seeing this memo and not doing anything to question it is inappropriate and highly questionable behavior.  It is the responsibility of every employee in an organization to be truthful in dealing with their consumers, especially about the product features, specifications, and qualities.  The consumers must be made aware of the defects in the products because of the potential dangers that they will face.  Not disclosing the information to them would mean endangering their lives. 
Getting hold of the memo would place one in an ethical dilemma.  It might mean losing one’s job if he questions management’s decision about the case.  Although one has a duty to treat company policies confidential, he also has a duty to the public which they serve.  If the situation involves putting human lives at stake, then it is of utmost importance that this memo is questioned for lack of concern for ethical values in the decision that management came up with.