This
is the case of two famous corporation, Ford (US automobile giant) and Bridgestone/Firestone
(Japanese tire manufacturer).
The
Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford in 1903 in Dearbon, Michigan. It
is one of the largest family-controlled organizations in the world and has been
under control for more than hundred years. While the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
was established by Harvey S. Firestone in 1900 in Akron, Ohio. Firestone is now
part of a Japanese global tire company purchased by Bridgestone Corporation. Henry
and Harvey had a historically strong relationship, aside from being personal
friend, the two families linked in marriage with their respective
grandchildren. Their partnership began when Firestone supplied Ford with tires
for their new model T.
But
the sad part of the story, there were injuries and death due to Ford-Firestone
product failures. War of finger pointing and recrimination had unfolded between
the two companies. Ford executives managed to put some blame on Firestone by
saying that the accidents and death occurred mainly due to tire blowouts and
therefore it’s not a vehicle problem and recalled the tires for replacement. On
the other hand, Firestone argued that many of the accidents were mainly due to
the vehicle’s lack of stability and were not due to its tires.
In
public, the two companies tried to portray themselves as working closely
together. Ford told their customers and dealers that the tires on the Explorer
could be inflated to anywhere in a range from 26 to 30 pounds per square inch.
This is based on the assumption that Explorers rarely are driven off road and
the lower inflation provides a smoother rider. Firestone recommended 30 pounds
per square inch while Ford stuck to the range of 26 to 30.
Why
does inflation matter? If a vehicle’s tires were initially inflated to 26
pounds per square inch, then over time the pressure might decrease to 23 or 24.
The lower pressure would put more of the rubber in contact with road surfaces
that would generate more heat and could result to tire blowout.
I
think both companies should work together to solve the problem and stop blaming
each other. Most of all be responsible for what happened. They should be
responsible to fix the problem before pointing out their fingers.
I have
learned that business should take care of their companies as well as their
customers. In any relationship, we built trust and mutual respect. When
responsibility for a problem is not shared by companies, trust is lost not only
between them but also with their customers. Remember that if both companies
cannot even trust each other, why would customers trust them? Our goal in
business should not be simply for money. Avoid the temptation of greed and we
should stand by our core values despite the cost.
Mark 8:36 ”What good
is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
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| Image Credit: https://rebeccaluellamiller.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/worship-the-dollar.jpg?w=300&h=300 |
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