Honda
will be facing hefty fines this year. Honda is being fined $70 million due to a
disregard to report safety issues in their vehicles for the past 11 years (Hirsch, 2015) . The failure to
report safety issues was caused because there was data and computer programming
errors. In the last 11 years, 1,729
safety issues were not reported (Hirsch, 2015) . For example, some
of the issues experienced by 8 vehicles dealt with airbags exploding sending
shrapnel into the cars.
Honda’s
decision to conceal crucial information from the public raised numerous ethical
issues such as harming and deceiving another human being. Concealing
information that could result in the end of someone’s life sparks an ethical
issue. Honda’s poor decision could have cost the life of a customer or their
loved ones. For instance, when an air bag explodes it fills the car with
shrapnel which in severe cases can be fatal (Honda Airbag Lawsuits, 2015) . The company failed
to act timely and injuries could have been avoided. Concealing the information
is in essence, lying to your customers because they assume that Honda is known
for providing a safe and reliable car yet, in actuality it is not as safe as we
would like it to be. Honda’s marketing campaign is based on providing a safe
and reliable car and with this ethical mal practice, Honda destroys what they
are originally known for and might be facing major lawsuits.
Furthermore,
Honda did not respond effectively to the crisis. According to LA Times, Honda
recognized that it failed to report to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) about 1,729 incidents late last year. When a company
recognizes that they should have done something and did nothing to make amends;
it creates an ethical dilemma because it causes an inner battle of right vs
wrong inside of them. The duration of time that Honda took to resolve this
issue increases the severity of this ethical dilemma. Even though, failure to
report safety issues was due to computer errors, Honda should not have delayed
their reaction time and have implemented a back-up plan for computer failures. Honda
should have notified their consumers who were directly affected by their
immorality. Also, as soon as Honda discovered that there were reporting errors,
they should have made a public announcement in the media and have Honda
customers come in for inspections and repairs to ensure the safety of the vehicles.
Currently,
Honda is working closely with the NHTSA to correct the errors in reporting
accidental statistical data in order to obtain a more effective safety
management system. Also, Honda is beginning recalls on the affected vehicles. If
Honda does not want to lose any business, product quality and safety need to be
their top priority.
As a
result of their actions, Honda will most likely lose valuable customers due to
immorality and trust. Honda failing to report accurate malfunctions and to
timely handle the recalls denotes questionable business ethics and lack of
integrity of their top management team. People want to do business with people
they can trust. This might cost Honda in the near future.
Bibliography
Hirsch, J. Federal Regulators Fine Honda $70 million in Safety Investigation. Retrieved from LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-honda-fine-20150109-story.html
Honda Airbag Lawsuits. Retrieved from Pulaski & Middleman P.L.L.C.:
http://www.pulaskimiddleman.com
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