Ratan Tata once said, “Here in India we see four people travelling by motorbike … I thought they could travel more safely by car,”. With the vision of helping the Indians to travel more safely in mind, his company produced the most affordable and cheapest car in the world, Tata Nano.
However, ironically enough, the Tata Nano is not safe. The car didn’t pass the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP), and received a rating of zero-star in adult protection, which didn’t even passed the the basic safety requirements of the UN. Yet the car is still selling on the market, 2,500 cars are sold each month since October 2013.
According to Michael Friedman, business has only one social responsibility, which is “to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” And in this case, Tata plays by the rules of the game. Since the Indian government allows Tata Nano in the market, means that Tata didn’t break any regulations, competed fairly in the automobile markets and didn’t commit any crimes. So even though there are evidences that the car has some serious safety concerns, Tata can still sell the car to exercise its “social responsibility”.
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