Below is an excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald that relates to Martin Winterkorn's announcement of his resignation as CEO of Volkswagen on Wednesday, 23 September 2015, amid the scandal surrounding the emissions of Volkswagen's diesel cars. 'On Friday the world became aware that Volkswagen had installed "defeat devices" in 500,000 of its American diesel cars that enabled them to pass that country's strict emission standards and then return to non-compliant emissions during normal driving. The news came as a huge shock. But this time WW actually responded well to the crisis. First, it acted promptly as the scandal was still breaking around it. Within 48 hours of the news story first appearing accusing WW of cheating on its emissions data the company had released a statement from CEO Martin Winterkorn in which he took full responsibility and promised action: "I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," he explained in a statement on Sunday. "We will do everything necessary in order to reverse the damage this has caused." Even more impressively, Winterkorn went even further on Tuesday when he announced that the number of cars fitted with "defeat devices" was not half a million, it was 11 million and the deceit was not limited to the USA but had been a worldwide practice for several years. Finally, on Wednesday night Winterkorn announced his resignation, saying "Volkswagen needs a fresh start - also in terms of personnel." The Josephson Institute advocates twelve ethical principles for business executives, namely, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, fairness, concern for others, respect for others, law abiding, commitment to excellence, leadership, reputation and morale, and accountability. Name the ethical principle that best describes Martin Winterkorn's announcement of his resignation as CEO of Volkswagen on Wednesday, 23 September 2015, amid the scandal surrounding the emissions of Volkswagen's diesel cars. Note that the question asks for one ethical principle only. (2 marks; no more than one of the twelve ethical principles in the list above) Below is an excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald that relates to Martin Winterkorn's announcement of his resignation as CEO of Volkswagen on Wednesday, 23 September 2015, amid the scandal surrounding the emissions of Volkswagen's diesel cars. 'On Friday the world became aware that Volkswagen had installed "defeat devices" in 500,000 of its American diesel cars that enabled them to pass that country's strict emission standards and then return to non-compliant emissions during normal driving. The news came as a huge shock. But this time WW actually responded well to the crisis. First, it acted promptly as the scandal was still breaking around it. Within 48 hours of the news story first appearing accusing WW of cheating on its emissions data the company had released a statement from CEO Martin Winterkorn in which he took full responsibility and promised action: "I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," he explained in a statement on Sunday. "We will do everything necessary in order to reverse the damage this has caused." Even more impressively, Winterkorn went even further on Tuesday when he announced that the number of cars fitted with "defeat devices" was not half a million, it was 11 million and the deceit was not limited to the USA but had been a worldwide practice for several years. Finally, on Wednesday night Winterkorn announced his resignation, saying "Volkswagen needs a fresh start - also in terms of personnel." The Josephson Institute advocates twelve ethical principles for business executives, namely, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, fairness, concern for others, respect for others, law abiding, commitment to excellence, leadership, reputation and morale, and accountability. Name the ethical principle that best describes Martin Winterkorn's announcement of his resignation as CEO of Volkswagen on Wednesday, 23 September 2015, amid the scandal surrounding the emissions of Volkswagen's diesel cars. Note that the question asks for one ethical principle only. (2 marks; no more than one of the twelve ethical principles in the list above)
