Can designing and selling low-quality products be ethical?

Science and Engineering Ethics 3 (2):153-170 (1997)
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Abstract

Whereas previous studies have criticized low-quality products for inadequate safety, this paper considers only safe products, and it examines the ethics of designing and selling low-quality products. Product quality is defined as suitability to a general purpose. The duty that companies owe to consumers is summarized in the Consumer-Oriented Process principle: “to place an increase in the consumer’s quality of life as the primary goal for producing products.” This principle is applied in analyzing the primary ethical justifications for low-quality products: availability and applicability. Finally, a low-quality product should be designed afresh, not by altering an existing high-quality product.

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Citations of this work

The engineer’s responsibility for quality.Michael C. Loui - 1998 - Science and Engineering Ethics 4 (3):347-350.
Defining web ethics.Marsha Woodbury - 1998 - Science and Engineering Ethics 4 (2):203-212.

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References found in this work

Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases.Manuel G. Velasquez - 1988 - Journal of Business Ethics 7 (8):592-604.
Ethics and Economic Progress: Compte rendu par Thierry Sebagh.James McGill Buchanan - 1994 - Journal des Economistes Et des Etudes Humaines 5 (1):196-204.

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