Chapter 8 Ford And Firestone Have Been Named Defendants

Business Ethics, 8e Jennings

UNIT EIGHT – ETHICS AND PRODUCTS

True/False Questions

received a notice from your seat belt buckle supplier that the buckles shipped to you and

used in the cars made between June 94 and September 94 are defective. The defect

means that the buckles will come undone if pressure is placed on the belts at any speed

over 10 miles per hour. You must encourage your firm to issue a recall.

breach.

sudden acceleration.

attentiveness from its cereal boxes.

present in the liquid product forms of the company’s analgesics.

was revealed.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Ford and Firestone have been named as defendants in lawsuits brought by owners of Ford

Explorers who have been involved in rollover accidents in their vehicles. For Firestone to be held

solely liable for the accidents:

2. For Ford to be held solely liable for the accidents:

3. If Firestone establishes that Ford provided incorrect instructions for owners on inflation of tires

and that the tires were underinflated at the time of the accidents:

4. What was Lee Iacocca’s objective in designing the Pinto?

5. What dictated the placement of the Pinto gas tank?

6. In addition to the crush space issues, what other problems did the Pinto design have?

7. What was the cost of partially or completely fixing the Pinto gas tank to better withstand rear–end

collision impact?

8. What did the memo entitled, “Fatalities Associated with Crash Induced Fuel Leakage and Fires”

analyze?

9. What value did Ford put on human life in its analysis of its Pinto issue?

10. What happened to Mrs. Gray when her Pinto was rear-ended by a Galaxie?

11. Who is Richard Grimshaw?

12. What did the state of Indiana do with regard to Ford’s Pinto?

13. Which car that GM manufactured had issues similar to the Pinto?

14. How did Patricia Anderson’s car get rear-ended?

15. Who is Edward Ivey?

16. What did the GM internal memo estimate the cost of the exploding gas tanks would be to GM?

17. What memo did GM have that was different from the Ford Pinto situation?

18. What was the original verdict against GM in the LA Malibu case?

19. What temperature was Jack–in–the-Box cooking its burgers at when the E-Coli illnesses and

deaths occurred?

20. What was the required legal temperature for cooking burgers at the time of the E-Coli illnesses

and deaths?

21. What temperature were most fast-food chains using at the time of the Jack–in–the-Box E-Coli

illnesses and deaths?

22. Why was Jack-in-the-Box cooking at a different temperature from other fast food chains?

23. What was the impact of the E-Coli poisonings on Jack–in–the-Box sales?

24. How many Jack–in–the-Box customers were affected by the E-Coli poisonings?

25. How much did Jack–in-the-Box have to have set aside for payments in the suits filed against it?

26. What changes did Jack–in-the-Box make after the E-Coli poisonings?

27. The sale of a product with a known defect or with knowledge of its potentially harmful impact on

users:

28. Jack-in–the–Box, Inc. cooked its hamburgers according to the temperature required by law. Other

chains cooked their hamburgers at a higher temperature and for longer. Jack–in-the-Box:

29. What was Coke’s strategy for expanding fountain sales?

30. Why did Burger King want a test market?

31. What area was picked for the test market?

32. How did Coke get better numbers in the test market?

33. Who is Matthew Whitley?

34. How did Coke managers react when an employee brought the Boys and Girls Club issue to their

attention?

35. How much did the Boys and Girls Club plan increase sales in Richmond, Virginia?

36. Which of the following resulted from the Burger King Frozen Coke issues?

37. What did Coke do to the employees involved in the Burger King/Frozen Coke activities?

38. How much did Coke pay to the employee who filed suit alleging wrongful termination?

39. Coca-Cola’s test marketing of Frozen Coke:

40. Which of the following is NOT an example of an express warranty?

41. Sal was at home going through his normal workout when he bent his barbell bar. Sal is a

professional bodybuilder. Sal went to his local sporting-goods store and was approached by a

clerk wishing to assist him. Sal told the clerk about his problem and the clerk asked Sal to wait

while an appropriate bar was located. The clerk presented Sal with a bar that the clerk said “is

just what you need for your type of weight requirements.” Sal paid for the bar and was returning

home when he stopped at a health food restaurant. The drink that he ordered had an unusual

taste, but the food establishment refused a refund. Sal became ill from the drink, which, as it

turned out, had a toxic substance in it. Sal had to be hospitalized. When Sal was able to work out

again, he attached the weights to the new bar and lifted the bar under his chin. The bar snapped

in the middle and severely cut Sal. Sal is angry about the drink and the barbell.

With regard to the barbell bar:

42. Which of the following would not be a basis for a negligence product liability suit?

43. At the heart of the Marsh McLennan mess was:

44. “Conscious parallelism” is:

45. Which of the following categories was involved in the Skecher’s ads for its Shape-Up Athletic

shoes?

46. Which of the following claims were made in Skecher’s ads for its Shape-Up Athletic shoes?

47. Which of the following is a continuing form of tobacco regulation?

48. Why did Audi enter into a settlement with 8 Mile and Eminem?

49. The claims in the Skecher shoe ads:

50. The criminal charges involving Peanut Corporation of America relating to Salmonella:

51. Which of the following was not in the e–mails found in Peanut Corporation of America’s internal e–

mail system?

52. What problems did Tylenol experience between 2010 and 2012?

53. How did McNeil resolve its problem that occurred between 2010 and 2012?

54. Buckyballs have been:

56. Why does the DEA want to revoke the licenses of several drug store chains to issue controlled

substances medications?

Short Answer/Essay Questions

1. Stanford University medical researchers conducted a study on the correlation between the use of

fertility drugs and ovarian cancer. Their study, published in the American Journal of

Epidemiology, concludes that the use of the fertility drugs, Pergonal and Serophene, may

increase the risk of ovarian cancer by three times. The lead author of the studies, Professor Alice

Whittemore, stated, “Our finding in regard to fertility drugs is by no means certain. It is based on

very small numbers and is really very tenuous.”

FDA Commissioner David Kessler would like the infertility drug manufacturers to disclose the

study findings and offer a warning on the drug packages. He notes, “Even though the

epidemiology study is still preliminary, women have a right to know what is known. We’re not

looking to make more of this than there is.”

If you were a manufacturer of one of the drugs, would you voluntarily disclose the study

information?