Year 4 Problem Based Learning

Now that you are in your groups, I will assign you your problem. The basic problem can be found at:

http://www.bized.co.uk/current/pbl/2006_07/050307.htm and http://www.bized.co.uk/current/pbl/2006_07/050307problem.htm

2 groups will be undertaking this. The other 2 groups will look at a similar problem, given below:

Learning Objectives

• 
  At the end of this PBL activity, students might have covered some of the following areas:
  The meaning of 'ethical responsibility' in business
• The meaning of the term 'stakeholders'
• An understanding and appreciation of the responsibilities and conflicts that businesses have to their stakeholders
• The wider effects of legislation and cases brought by those who are affected by a businesses activity
• The nature and meaning of the term 'cost-benefit analysis'
• The extent to which a business should be responsible for the damage they inflict on consumers
• The difference between legal responsibility and stakeholder theory

(some of these are the same, some different)

Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto was a subcompact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market, first introduced on September 11, 1970, and built through the 1980 model year. It had a similar car sold under the Lincoln-Mercury brand, in the Pinto's case, the Mercury Bobcat first appeared in Canada for 1974, and subsequently in the U.S. the following year.

Through early production of the model, it became a focus of a major scandal when it was alleged that the car's design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the event of a rear-end collision which sometimes resulted in deadly fires and explosions. Critics argued that the vehicle's lack of a true rear bumper as well as any reinforcing structure between the rear panel and the tank, meant that in certain collisions, the tank would be thrust forward into the differential, which had a number of protruding bolts that could puncture the tank. This, and the fact that the doors could potentially jam during an accident (due to poor reinforcing) made the car a potential deathtrap.

Ford was aware of this design flaw but allegedly refused to pay what was characterized as the minimal expense of a redesign. Instead, it was argued, Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay off possible lawsuits for resulting deaths. Mother Jones magazine obtained the cost-benefit analysis that it said Ford had used to compare the cost of an $11 repair against the cost of paying off potential law suits, in what became known as the Ford Pinto Memo. The characterization of Ford's design decision as gross disregard for human lives in favor of profits led to major lawsuits, criminal charges, and a costly recall of all affected Pintos. While Ford was acquitted of criminal charges, it lost several million dollars and gained a reputation for manufacturing "the barbecue that seats four."