Running head: WHAT CAUSED TOYOTA ACCELERATOR SCANDAL IN 2009?
1
3
WHAT CAUSED TOYOTA ACCELERATOR SCANDAL IN 2009?
What Caused Toyota Accelerator Scandal In 2009?
FirstName LastName
University title
Causes of The 2009 Toyota Accelerator Scandal
Introduction
From 2009 to 2010, Toyota had millons of recalls on their vehicles after facing allegation of unintended acceleration that caused several accidents, one of which killed 4 people on the highway. Many people associated these accidents with sticky pedals and sliding floor mats, believing that the floor mats could slip onto the accelerator pedal, presumably causing unintended speeding. Even then, other people argued that human error was the factor that caused the accident. They claimed that a vehicle is a machine that does not have consciousness and it only does what the driver tells it to do. What went wrong that put Toyota into such a recall crisis?
Concepts
Tracing back to the deadly accident, the driver dialed 911 saying his pedal was stuck and he could not stop the car. He complained that his brakes were defective. Eventually, his car got crashed, killing every passenger in the car. Some later analysis concluded that nothing wrong with the car. It was the driver who intended to press the brakes and lost control out of panic, hence causing the crash. Later on, the public putting the blame on Toyota without careful investigation. Both the driver and the public failed to use system 2 thinking. The driver was in a panic mode, pressing the acceleration pedal without noticing; the public automatically blame the big corporate Toyota rather than conceal crucial information and relevant authorities to defend the brand image (Parrish, 2022).
Probability and Decision making
Toyota designed a new model car for the market, hoping for a pick in their brand. However, the quality of Toyota vehicles has declined in recent years. In 2008, Consumer Reports decided to stop giving preprogrammed ratings on new Toyota models. Between 2008 and 2010, the Toyota recalls influenced its recommendations from a class of over 85% to as low as 47%. Toyota has dictated its contemporary issue, mainly because they had several cautions of their quality problems from Consumer Reports data and other sources. Since October 2009, three recalls have added up to 7.1 million vehicles. Still, Toyota had numerous warnings in 2007 when NHTSA instructed a memory for a related issue. Toyota made a cover for information linked to floor mats and sticky throttles to protect its brand. However, an open discussion and disclosure of such matters should be prompted early to avoid consequences suffered later out of simple and silly mistakes. Even then, every driver ought to understand that they must be watchful while driving and obey put regulations to curb avoidable accidents.
Evidence-Based Decision Making
A California judge passed a settlement that will get back $1 billion U.S. to Toyota car holders affected by a 2009 recall due to malfunctioning throttles. Millions of U.S. proprietors will assume the compensation deal for the deflation of their vehicles. The Japanese company had several complaints made by their product consumers on unintended acceleration problems. The repayment surrounded economic losses connected to the difficulty, which Toyota attributed to drivers’ faults, unstable floor mats, and rigid throttles (Parrish, 2022). An investigation by the Department of Transportation in 2011 said that floor mats only contributed to a small number of accidents. The study maintained that most drivers who reported complaints about their stuck accelerators were inadvertently speeding, thinking they had their foot on the brakes. Data from the black boxes of the cars involved in unintended acceleration exhibited that the drivers never used the brakes in most cases. Toyota was charged with concealing information and misleading its consumers. Although the competition for new inventive ideas and products is tight, I believe companies must stand accountable for the latest creations they birth.
Cognitive Bias
Cars are invented and driven by humans who are prone to mistakes. For example, Toyota made an inappropriate fitting of a floor mat and failed to attach it properly with restraining clips. The company later made a few attempts to change and cover for the mistake in a few countries to protect its brand. This delay in public notification may have been the real cause of the many accidents involving Toyota vehicles. Even then, drivers are advised to focus on the wheel while driving, avoiding distractions from phones, passengers, outside events, or their emotions. Most of the recorded accidents trace back to the driver’s minor mistakes. Destructed drivers are likely to miscalculate their driving skills and end up causing fatal accidents out of panic, especially when events happen abruptly.
Bounded Awareness
Cell phones can distract drivers’ attention, causing deliberate blindness, a significant reason for car accidents. These drivers were prone to silly mistakes like unintended acceleration when they aimed to press on the brakes. If another motorist is nearby, this may become an uncontrollable situation leading to fatal accidents. I would also keenly advise all vehicle companies to highly test their new inventions before marketing them to consumers to countercheck any details they may have overlooked. For example, if Toyota had thoroughly tested their vehicles months before selling them, they would have discovered the floor mats and pedals issue.
Emotions and feelings
A driver must ascertain that their emotions are correct or at least manage them, especially while driving. The driver avoiding using cell phones while driving is a significant way to prevent the distortion of feelings. Receiving the news that either overexcite or anger the driver may influence their decisions. I advise any driver to find a way to stop first, somewhere safe, in case they must use their phones before progressing.
Hidden Profile Problem
Toyota deliberately concealed information even after receiving several warnings and complaints from its consumers (Honaker, 2021). In the chase to protect their image, many lives were lost in Toyota vehicle accidents. Toyota was charged with concealing information and misleading its consumers. The Toyota scandal was correctable if only they came clear early enough instead of trying secret ways to cover for what had already happened.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the 2009 Toyota scandal was a human error resulted case. Toyota, as a company, wronged a big way not only by committing the silly mistake of improper installation of floor mats but also by concealing information from the necessary authority and the public even after receiving numerous warnings and complaints from their consumers. The 2009 Toyota scandal is also attributed to most driver’s errors. Most of the recorded accidents are traced to the driver’s minor mistakes. Destructed drivers are likely to miscalculate driving skills leading to fatal accidents out of panic, especially when events happen abruptly. In the future, it will be hard to imagine a safe journey on our roads without openness and seriousness in manufacturing companies, especially as we move to an era of self-driven cars. More so, without a doubt, as much as we may blame these manufacturers, we are responsible for our own lives. Therefore, any driver behind the week must be qualified and passed by the necessary authorities. Besides that, even when skilled, every driver should be cautious and watchful while driving; otherwise, the case of unintended driving and accidents caused by silly mistakes will be the norm.
PART 2
Internship Experience at Priority Insurance Agency
Organization
Priority Insurance Agency is an all-around insurance organization located in New York, America. It has two branches, one in Flushing and the other in Hempstead. Priority is a company devoted to easing the procedure of procuring an insurance quote for its esteemed clients. Amongst their offered services are: Home, business, and auto insurance. This essay discusses my experience and outlines my roles as an intern in the organization from January 24 to April 6.
Roles
Learning and Acquiring Skills
As a passionate business student, my first significant role was to learn and gain relevant experience. Therefore, I extensively took key concerns on acquiring management skills like clear communication and conflict resolution. These skills are essential while working and relating to others in an organization. Understanding good relationships result in better-managed businesses that equate to a good income is paramount.
Assist and Contribute to the Team
I started by shadowing an employee in the organization to understand her roles before graduating to more tasks and assisting my team. I executed clerical duties, managed social media, handled part of events planning, and contributed to doing research.
Networking
Although networking is not an official concern, it might as well be. Networking requires building relationships with your bosses, colleagues, and clients. It is essential to have the support of people in places to build a promising career. While at Priority Insurance Agency, I found and created a personal relationship with an empathetic mentor, made a perfect peer support group, and maintained a peaceful relationship with my boss and colleagues.
Tasks
In less than a month of working at Priority Insurance, I was entrusted with more crucial tasks. I graduated from handling social media accounts and managing the company’s emails, talking to clients on the phone, and securing events locations to helping design themes to obtain my key speakers. As an intern, responsibilities are only given based on achievements. Therefore, responsibilities are a perfect chance to illustrate your potential to your employer. Often, it contributes to securing a full-time job later. However, interns are only obliged to take in what they can handle.
Relationship to Curriculum
My time at Priority Insurance agency equipped me with the necessary skills and prepared me for running my businesses in future. The responsibility of handling social media accounts and emails and answering clients’ phone calls sharpened my clear and direct communication skills. It is easier to run a business with clear communication (Jones, 2004). This season equipped me with an understanding of what and how to say to clients in different situations. My key lesson from this was hard to take the principle that `the client is always right. This means we always listen to our clients more than we aim to respond and focus on their satisfaction. I also helped instill the spirit of teamwork amongst my colleagues by spreading and maintaining that we are all capable in different ways in which we complete each other if only we purposed to do the best in what we can do best. From this internship, I learned the essence of respect for both workmates and clients of all walks of. I experienced serving my boss’s mother without realizing who she was till he introduced her to me at her exit. Imagine if I had been biased against the old lady. Retaining my internship with this great organization would have been nearly impossible.
Feedback
At the end of my internship season, everyone applauded my contribution to building teamwork among workmates. This helped in more accessible and faster completion of tasks than before joining the team. However, the ways of congratulating and commending the best-performing persons ought to be changed. Those who were not on the notable lists felt left out.
References
Honaker, B. (2021, March 12). What caused the Toyota acceleration problem? Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/what-caused-the-toyota-acceleration-problem/
Parrish, M. (2022, June 17). The 2009 Toyota accelerator scandal that wasn’t what it seemed. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://www.manufacturing.net/automotive/blog/13110434/the-2009-toyota-accelerator-scandal-that-wasnt-what-it-seemed
2009–2011 Toyota vehicle recalls. (2022, November 16). Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20092011_Toyota_vehicle_recalls
Part 2 Reference
Internship roles and responsibilities: Social work. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/departments/social-work/student-resources/internships/internship-roles-and-responsibilities/
PanelGaryBlauPerson, A., GaryBlauPerson, AbstractUsing a sample of new employees from an insurance company, Terborg, J., Sims, H., Porter, L., . . . Jones, G. (2004, July 27). An investigation of the apprenticeship organizational socialization strategy. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0001879188900139
The post Running head: WHAT CAUSED TOYOTA ACCELERATOR SCANDAL IN 2009? 1 3 WHAT appeared first on PapersSpot.
