Reference no: EM133145236

National Automotives assembles a safety system for passenger automobiles.  This system substantially reduces severe injuries to drivers involved in accidents.  To increase profits, the National Board of Directors recently decided to take steps to cut costs and increase production.  This will mean using less expensive components.  These components increase the system's estimated failure rate from 12 to 15 failures per 10,000 accidents.  Despite this increase, the company will continue to meet the government's safety standard of 20 failures per 10,000 accidents. As the main supervisory engineer of the company, you will oversee the process of assembling the parts using the less expensive components.

1. Is the action illegal? Why/Why not?- provide 2 research url of reliable sources to support your answer. These must be direct links to the specific articles you have used, not just the website on its own
2. Does the action violate company or professional standards? Why/Why not? 
3. Who is affected, and how (positive effect/negative effect), by the action? 

Based on the above analysis, the National Automotive's actions were: ¨ ethical   ¨unethical.

1. Based on the changes in procedures to assemble the safety system, how would you feel about continuing your work with National? Why?
2. Are there any decisions that you would make considering the role that you play in implementing the new process? 

Bonus - Regardless of your personal opinion, what is the idea, based on that Milton Friedman has on the role of businesses and morality?  When business breaks the rules of social responsibility, as defined by Friedman, who should step in? Are businesses allowed to deceive?