Ethics Assignment

The first ethical issue concerns the numerous safety issues that surround the launch and subsequent production of Dentex’s new subcompact automobile, the Rento. Dentex did not conduct surveys and follow due diligence in performing preliminary engineering procedures, resulting in a car that lacks sufficient crush space, reinforcing side members, a shock-absorbing bumper, and exposed flange and bolt heads. The lack of safety inherent in the car has already claimed two lives as a direct result, with Dentex looking for an escape from impending litigation.
The negligence of the company is brought into the forefront, since a feasibility study and several suggestions regarding modifications to improve safety has been brought to its attention and promptly ignored. Psychological egoism is applied in a corporate sense, since the company is more concerned about cost-cutting and the impact on profitability (pursuit of self-interest) rather than the greater good – the numerous users of the purchased cars. This would be unethical on the grounds of utilitarianism, since the consequences have negative implications - the number of deaths outweighs any financial gain the company might procure. Saving lives also applies on a deontological basis; the company has a duty to not harm customers and since they are conducting business with them, have a corporate social responsibility to them as a stakeholder. Customers are held to a higher regard than stockholders in a model with a utilitarian standpoint. More importantly, the human right to life is a universal right according to the UN, and to subscribe to any other actions toward this end is unethical and the company is morally obligated to comply.
By cutting costs to the point of allowing casualties to occur, the moral minimum approach is even subverted. It is a moral standard requirement “to do no harm,” which they achieve, but “to prevent harm” is willing to be sacrificed for following through on their financial goals. Arguably