Unethical Conduct in Product/service Design and Violated Ethical Principles

Product designers must always give importance to legal and ethical considerations while designing their products.

During the recent times, much attention has been directed towards toy design to remove sharp edges, small pieces that can lead to chocking and toxic materials. Companies who manufacture and distribute toys worldwide must understand and follow the legal requirements. The failure of businesses to follow the growing legislation can lead to legal risks and can tarnish the company’s reputation. Mattel’s failure to adhere to legal and ethical considerations while designing the products had led to over 21 million toys being withdrawn from stores and parents filing lawsuits which claimed that these products had harmed their children.

Similarly, automobiles safety and standard features like seatbelts and airbags has a significant impact on their designing process. One example can be seen in the case of Henry Ford. The company manufactured Ford Pinto which later has a series of problems regarding the design. The safety of the design of the car’s fuel system led to critical incidents and subsequently resulted in a recall, lawsuits, a criminal prosecution, and public controversy. People claimed that the company had known about the design flaw and didn’t change the design due to the high cost involved.

Ethical issues can often come up in the design of products and serves and therefore it is crucial for managers to be aware of such issues and product designers must always stick to the ethical standards no mater the time and cost involved in the design processes. Companies must:

• • Give buyers the value they expect.
  • Make safety and health of the consumers the primary concern.

Years ago, crash safety ratings were not that important to most buyers as affordability and style were more important than safety features and how well the vehicle was built. But right now, 75% of new car buyers says that their purchase decision will be affected by the car safety ratings. The crash safety ratings can be of great importance to new car buyers as they are unknown to the riding experience of most cars.

The degree of importance does depend on the circumstances of the buyer. It can depend on the buyers age group, educational level, geographical location etc. Customers who tend to be more educated gives more importance to the quality of the goods that they buy and hence will give more importance on the safety ratings of the car. Similarly, people of ages 28 and 55 might not like the same type of car. On the other hand, consumers who live in the mountainous or desert regions might buy safer cars then those who live in pain region. It is difficult to say that a certain set of buyers might be more concerned about safety ratings than the other as everyone values their life. Sometimes buyers might prefer a car with less rating for its other quality like affordability, mileage, design etc.

There are several features found in new cars which can sway customers from prioritising on safety ratings. Some of them are as follows:

• • • Crumple zones: found out-side the cabin which helps absorb force produced during the crash.
    • Autonomous breaking: gives warning and provides auto break system.
    • Electronic stability control: this feature automatically helps car control any electronic problems in the car.