Major Auto Manufacturer Business Ethics

As the CEO of a major auto manufacturer, my product affects many lives across the United States. My decisions affect all my stakeholders (employees, customers, community, and investors). I have been notified that 1.1 million of my vehicles in the U.S have power steering problems that could result in a loss of electric power steering assist while driving. There have been fifteen low-speed accidents and two minor injuries believed to be a result of the defect in my vehicles. I can use three different methods to repair this problem, which include updating the software for the power steering control module and in the instrument cluster module, replace the torque sensor or replace the steering control column, which includes upgraded power steering control module software. These repairs will cost me between $50 ot $100 for each repair.

I owe each of my stakeholders a different duty. To my employees I owe fair pay, benefits, training, fair expectations, and safe work environments. To my customers I owe

good service, customer service, reliability, and fair prices. To my community I owe law, meaning I follow all laws that correspond to my business. To my investors I owe a return on their investment in my company. In this case, the main issue is what I owe to my consumers. I should also be delivering a safe and great quality vehicle for what they pay for.

As a CEO, I choose to believe in the work of Freidman rather than Freeman. Freeman believed in the stakeholders theory which makes everyone a stakeholder including competitors both nationally and internationally with no basis for exclusion. Stakeholders theory requires a unanimous decision on topics. Freeman’s ideas are not practical because you can't decide which group (i.e. employees, shareholders, customers, community) should make the final decision because he is not clear on who votes and how many votes they get. Freidman believes that if you focus on your shareholders, it automatically requires your focus on other shareholders because it will cause the company to generate profit. It does not deny social responsibility, by creating wealth & jobs, companies fulfill their responsibility, and individuals are welcome to use their own private sources on social issues. He also believes that private individuals should use their personal money to help solve social problems as he donated his own estate to promote charter schools, a business solution