This is a geat book on so many levels, I read it in one day!!
Besides the great attention to detail covering the Ford/Firestone debacle, it shines a spotlight onto corporate ethics. That might be the greatest most overriding point of this book. It should almost be required reading for people promoted to management.
What Adam didn't indicate in his book (I don't recall seeing it), is that while Ford engineers pointed out during numerous pre-production design stages the Explorer was shown to be unstable and what the costs would be to re-design accordingly to make it more stable. Remember, at that time, Ford was getting away from the Bronco II which had a roll-over fatality rate of 1 in 500 Broncos sold!! So Ford should have been more than extra cautious given all the Bronco lawsuits at the time. And get this: Ford was making piles of cash! In 2000 Ford had $24 billion of cash on hand as reported in the book, High And Mighty (also a good book). It would have been far cheaper to stop and make the necessary changes up front (which they ultimate did re-design) than fight the flurry of lawsuits, investigations, fines and reputation dragged through the mud.
Even though this book is getting on in years, it still has significant relevance in terms of corporate ethics and like I say, should be required reading for corporate managers.
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