Chapter 5: Product safety
This lecture was about product safety. Companies should always provide customers with safe
products that do not cause harm or injury while using it. It is viewed as unethical and unsafe to
sell defective products to customers. As a result the manufacturer or seller is liable for any
damage or harm caused to the customer (Ryan 2003.
However Governments and independent authorities act as regulators to prevent firms from
supplying unsafe goods and services to customers. Like for instance, in Australia, The
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission caters for consumers as they make sure
that firms sell safe goods and services. It also provides information about safety, product recalls
and people can also complain about a defective product (ACCC 2017).
The ford Pinto case
According to Cowley (2016), there was an issue regarding product safety in the automobile
industry in 1978. The automaker Ford commercialized the Ford Pinto which caused 27 deaths
and 24 injuries. (Cowley 2016). The car was not safe as its fuel tank was too close to the rear
bumper which made the car explode in accidents (Gioia 1992). The company knew the issue but
did not take any actions because re designing the car will make the trunk smaller in space and at
that time a large trunk was highly demanded by customers. Following this, the pinto model was
recalled and auto safety regulations were implemented to minimize similar problems in the
future (Lee 1998). To conclude, it was unethical that Ford sold the Pinto as it was harmful to its
users. The company did not cater for their customers but instead focused on maximizing sales of
this car.
Chapter 6: How can you reconcile competing values and priorities? (e.g. your personal values
and organisation values)
Personal values
Each of us has a set of moral guidelines and beliefs which guides us in our life. Personal values
can be trust, forgiveness, love and honesty. Our personal values help us to take decisions in a
given situation and also help us to distinguish between what we think is right and wrong (Suar
and Rooplekha 2010).
Organization values
Organizational values are the qualities and standards that an organization follow and put forward.
It may include integrity, equality and commitment which form part of their organizational culture
(Jaakson 2010). These values will help the organization to achieve their goals and objectives set.
Reconciling personal and organization values

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