Question
i need please a summary for those 3 questions about the ethical scandal Explain how the culture of Volkswagen created this ethical scandal? The ethical
Explain how the culture of Volkswagen created this ethical scandal?
The ethical scandal at Volkswagen (VW) is widely attributed to the company's corporate culture, which emphasizes performance and results over ethical behavior and compliance.
A hierarchical management structure, centralized decision-making, and a focus on engineering excellence characterized VW's culture. In addition, the company was known for its
"engineering first" philosophy, which emphasized technical innovation and expertise.
This culture led to a hyper-competitive environment where managers and employees were constantly pressured to meet aggressive performance targets and deliver innovative products.
In this context, there was little tolerance for failure or mistakes, and employees were expected to do whatever it took to meet their goals. According to a law firm Jones Day report, VW's management was under intense pressure to meet aggressive sales targets and gain market share. This pressure was particularly acute in the US market, where VW had struggled to gain a foothold.
One consequence of this culture was that employees felt compelled to cut corners and engage in unethical behavior to meet their targets. For example, during the emissions scandal, VW engineers installed "defeat devices" in diesel vehicles to cheat on emissions tests and meet regulatory standards.
Unfortunately, these devices were also hazardous to the environment since they emitted up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides (NOx). The scandal was first uncovered in September 2015, and it significantly impacted the company's reputation and financial performance.
Another factor that contributed to the ethical scandal at VW was the company's insular culture. The company was known for its strong sense of identity and pride in its engineering heritage, which meant it resisted outside influence and feedback.
Unfortunately, this insularity made it difficult for whistleblowers and external regulators to uncover the wrongdoing and hold the company accountable. The consequences of the scandal were significant for VW. The company had to recall millions of vehicles and pay billions of dollars in fines and settlements.
According to a report by Reuters, VW's total costs related to the scandal could reach $30 billion. The scandal also significantly impacted the company's reputation, with surveys showing that consumer trust in the brand had been severely damaged.
In summary, VW's culture of performance and innovation, combined with a hierarchical management structure and insularity, created an environment where employees felt compelled to engage in unethical behavior to meet their goals.
This ultimately led to an ethical scandal that significantly impacted the company's reputation and financial performance.
How Volkswagen can address its Ethical Scandal?
Volkswagen is accused of violating EPAS' emission-related regulations on cars. It manipulated the emission software of 10.5 million diesel cars to make it seem that their carbon emission was lower. Careful checks identified that the company's cars produce nitrogen oxide which is a threat to the environment and human health. The gas pollutes the environment and is associated with cases of lung cancer. The scandal has made the company lose public trust, have a bad reputation, and have poor market value.
Volkswagen needs to recover from this ethical disaster to be considered honest about its support for ethics and sustainability.
The best way is to ensure that they increase their production of cars with minimal carbon emissions to the environment.
Electric cars are the most viable way for the company since they will not require fuel for use. Companies like Tesla have successfully manufactured electric vehicles implying that the solution is effective. In 2021, Volkswagen announced its plan to ensure that half of the cars produced are electric cars by the year 2030 (Taylor, 2021). The use of battery-powered vehicles will reduce the number of carbon emissions to the environment. The company should adhere to this plan to meet its sustainability requirement of zero emissions.
Volkswagen should further test its cars and recall those with high nitrogen oxide emissions. Its gadget manipulation has so far contributed to environmental destruction and disease (Volkswagen Newsroom, 2023). Ensuring that its cars no longer emit gas is the right step to encouraging customers to embrace electric vehicles. Taking responsibility will improve the company's public image. Equally, the company should develop additional environmental sustainability programs to make up for the scandal. For instance, it can start collecting and managing hazardous substances in new towns to curb carbon emissions.
These suggestions are already in place. The company should follow its ethics and oversee the successful implementation of these measures.
Emissions Cheating
Question 3
The VW ethical disaster will cause stricter regulations ad scrutiny for other car manufacturers in the future since consumers will be less confident and more cautious when purchasing eco-friendly cars, and car dealers will be careful and work hard to ensure the cars they are selling meet the EPA standards and guidelines on emission levels. Big or small companies will be cautious in the future and avoid defeat devices or other engineering manipulations to cheat emission testing to avoid more significant penalties and scrutiny.
Regulators in the future will be on the lookout for devices like the Volkswagen defeat device, which causes the vehicle to run below performance to conform to emissions standards. The VW scandal will lead to severe scrutiny and regulations on environmental claims in the future to ensure all car manufacturers are ethical and do not have engineering devices that cheat on emission levels.
In today's growing world concerns about carbon monoxide emissions and the need for eco-friendly and hybrid cars, the scandal will increase the caution to both consumers and manufacturers of cars. Other big car manufacturers will embrace the importance of taking responsibility for their environmental and ethical claims and ensure they back their statements with physical evidence. In conclusion, the Volkswagen emission scandal will have a significant ripple effect on consumers' trust in car manufacturers and regulators regarding their environmental claims and ensure advanced technology development to detect any defeat devices that may be created to rig the emission results. Also, the scandal will help in environmental preservation since car manufacturers will abide by all EPA rules, leading to a clean and emission-free environment for all citizens.
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