Case Study Questions
Question 1
The culture of Volkswagen was a fundamental factor in the formation of this ethical scandal. The foundation of Volkswagen was the core facilitator to the eruption of the ethical scandal to gain more advantages in the market. Historically, Volkswagen was founded in NaziGermany in response to revenge after they lost the war. Germany acted as the basis for the formation of ethical scandals in the Volkswagen Company. (“Volkswagen Scandal”) However, many companies opted to support and keepVolkswagen open a factor that enabled it to continue to grow and develop.
The leadership sector of the Volkswagen Company also facilitated the formation of scandal. For instance, Germany automaker installed software intended to defeat emissions testing to enable them to keep their behaviors as secrets. The leadership was in concert with the company’s overall management, which was referred to as confident, cutthroat, and insular that enabled breaching of ethics. Besides, the long history of unethical behavior that influenced the present cheating was basically from Nazi founders leading to severe impact on current ownership (“VolkswagenScandal”). The concern of the leadership was based on the benefit they could gain after the sales. When the sales declined, they introduced new generations of cars and started making acquisitions to increase sales. Thus, the desire of Volkswagen to become a formidable competitor to the global car market made it practice the ethical scandal.
Question 2
Volkswagen can implement new policies and strategies to recover from this ethical scandal. Theperformance of Volkswagen and its recovery from the scandal can be achieved by introducing significant turnaround strategies to the company. For example, replacing the leadership that was corrupt and responsible for the formation of the scandal is an important action. CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned following the pressure after the notice of the violation, and Matthias Muller replaced him. Thus, this is the primary recovery step as it provides a foundation for the organization of the company. Restructuring the organization to have a new look in the market by introducing policies and laws that govern the conduct in the company (Eger & Schhfer, 2018). By restructuring, the company will enable the company to redefine its focus and leadership to make essential decisions effectively.
Developing the strategy to come up with a new and comprehensive strategic plan after the replacement of leadership is a fundamental step. The cost reduction strategy can be an essential step to push away from the scandal and develop new competencies in the market. Moreover, Volkswagen can rebrand the product to form a basis of a newly focused company to continue to grow and move away from the scandal(Bachmann, Ehrlich, Fan, & Ruzic, 2019). Thus, this approach will create a new image of the company and enable it to continue gaining profits and customers in the market.
Question 3
Following this scandal, several approaches and strategies have been made to tighten the companies’ environmental claims in the future. Through advancement in technology, it will be easier to identify the occurrence of such scandals. The impact of technology has provided an opportunity to recognize unethical behaviors that are not legal requirements (Bachmann, Ehrlich, Fan, & Ruzic, 2019). In case of the existence of such outrages, the implementation of the new systems and machines will point out the real performance of the vehicle emissions in the environment. Therefore, through the use of modern technology, all unethical scandals will be realized to make the environment a better place to live.
According to my perception, it will be difficult for the companies to conduct such unethical behaviors in the future following the high fines done from Volkswagen. This company will act as examples to other companies that may intend to involve themselves in such scandals. The penalties after the incidence can make a film to become bankrupt, a factor that discourages them from being involved. Moreover, the government will always be keen to identify these unethical behaviors (Ewing, 2017).Thisscandal had a severe impact on the environment due to the harmful emissions that could cause much loss and damage to the citizens in the surrounding. Therefore, advancement in technology, the establishment of policies and laws, and the implementation of high fines will discourage the films from being involved in such scandals in the future.
References
Bachmann, R., Ehrlich, G., Fan, Y., & Ruzic, D. (2019). Firms and Collective Reputation: a Study of the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal. Doi: 10.3386/w26117
Bachmann, R., Ehrlich, G., Fan, Y., & Ruzic, D. (2019). Firms and Collective Reputation: a Study of the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal. Doi: 10.3386/w26117
Eger, T., & Schhfer, H. (2018). Reflections on the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3109538
Ewing, J. (2017). Faster, Higher, Farther: The Inside Story of the Volkswagen Scandal. Random House.
Volkswagen Scandal. (n.d.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society. doi:10.4135/9781483381503.n1239
Solution Preview
Volkswagen Dilemma
The Controversy
In 2015, Volkswagen’s cars were found to have been fitted with a “defeat device”. A defeat device is a software with the ability to detect when the car is undergoing tests and thus change its performance. The aim of fitting cars with this device was to improve results during testing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2015), reported that at least 500,000 cars in the United States (US) were fitted with the device (Ewing, 2017).
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