VW CULTURE TO BLAME FOR SILENCE OVER EMISSIONS SCANDAL, EX-MANAGER SAYS IN TRIAL BRAUNSCHWEIG, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A former Volkswagen manager, who is on trial over the carmaker's emissions-cheating scandal, blamed company culture on Thursday for his and others' silence on the matter, but said he would have acted differently had he known the consequences. Hanno Jelden, who prosecutors said was in charge of the development of the illegal software at the heart of the scheme, attributed the long silence over the software malfunction in part to Volkswagen's company culture, which he described as one where problems were to be solved quickly rather than analysed. Jelden said at an earlier hearing that he informed superiors about the software that sparked the socalled "Dieselgate" scandal, but was pressured to keep quiet. Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating U.S. diesel engine tests, sparking the biggest crisis in its history and costing the carmaker more than 32 billion euros ($37.7 billion) in vehicle refits, fines and legal costs so far. "I never made a secret out of this function [of the software]," Jelden said in a courtroom in the city of Braunschweig, where the trial is being held. "If I had known the legal consequences this could have, I would never have let it happen." The company has previously said the software function which ultimately disabled the car's emission filter was designed for another purpose, namely to reduce unpleasant noise from the engine, a defence Jelden repeated on Thursday. Source: REUTERS, 2021

QUESTION ONE [25]

Analyse the article above and discuss the contribution of VW's organisational culture towards the emissions scandal.

QUESTION TWO [25]

Critically discuss the potential impact of the VW emissions scandal on VW's overall performance.

QUESTION THREE [25]

As an organisational developer and advisor to VW, apply and discuss the five (5) steps of the decision-making process.

QUESTION FOUR [25]

Critically discuss five (5) conflict management strategies that would be useful to VW.