Caleb Arnold

Cpre/EE 394
04/25/2021
Ethics Essay

A code of ethics is valuable in that it serves as a guideline for our treatment of

others that will help to navigate through inevitable challenges in work and life. Ethical

decisions are fluid in the sense that we have new ethical decisions to make each day

that are unique from every other decision we’ve made. For this reason, a code of ethics

serves as a guideline or thought process rather than an actual set of rules.

My personal ethical process starts with considering who benefits from the

situation, and who may be negatively affected by it. The end goal is always to make a

decision where the benefits far outweigh the damage done. Some other major factors to

consider are following established rules/laws as well as how disproportionately one

benefit can affect multiple people. Laws and policies often, although not always,

encourage ethical decisions and can be factored into a decision. 

Considering how different parties can be separately affected is valuable in

making the right decision as well. If I hypothetically had ten million dollars to give to any

individual, giving it to somebody who is poor would be more ethical than giving it to a

billionaire. Although the benefit is the same, it has different weight based on who it

affects. The same is true for those who may be negatively affected by an ethical

decision. If I could only save one life between an elderly person and a child, the child

would take priority because the elderly person has less years left. The same decision

often leads to a different result for many different people.

We discussed four different ethical situations in class. The first involved someone

analyzing medical data and making the decision whether or not to incorporate data

illegally given to them by their boss. The second involved data gathered by smart
devices, namely the Amazon Echo in this case, being used as evidence for criminal

cases. The third involved Volkswagen using a limiter to limit vehicle emissions

exclusively during emissions tests. The last addressed Ford knowingly leaving a flaw in

their Pinto model that led to an increased amount of deaths from rear-end collisions.

This decision was made on the basis that the cost of the deaths would be outweighed

by the cost of fixing the flaw.

Our class discussion mostly came to a consensus on the issues presented. For

the Pinto issue we came to a unanimous agreement that Ford’s decision showed a

complete disregard for human life and that their decision was based on greed rather

than any code of ethics. For the medical issue, all were in agreement that the data

shouldn’t be used due to the risks for whom the data came from. The one issue with a

bit more variance was the Echo issue. Some said that the data should be readily

available to police, while others were concerned about potential government overreach

as well as the risk of Amazon misusing this data. The most common idea was

somewhere in the middle, stating that law enforcement should have access to data

stored by smart devices but that it should only be accessible when absolutely

necessary.

The issue I focused on was the Ford Pinto issue. I believe honesty, integrity, and

responsibility are the three virtue ethics most relevant to this situation. Honesty was

absent in Ford’s failure to disclose the Pinto’s dangers to the public. Integrity is relevant

in how Ford admitted internally that their vehicle design would result in additional

deaths, but disregarded that fact on the basis of cost. Responsibility is relevant for
similar reasons as the other two, as Ford failed in their responsibility to create a safe

product and be transparent with the public.

The other virtues are relevant, but less at the forefront. Fidelity is related to

responsibility in how Ford failed to be faithful to their customers. Charity is absent as it

isn’t inherently related to the capitalistic nature of the issue. Ford is running a business

and their car production isn’t relevant to charity, it’s of a transactional nature instead.

Self-discipline is somewhat relevant to the lack of discipline on any part of the

administrative ladder that approved the Pinto. Though all of these virtues (or lack

thereof) are relevant to this case, I believe these three take a backseat.