2 Hardly anyone would argue that Pich is not an authoritarian executive. Do you sense that he is Machiavellian as well? Do you think these characteristics have a positive or negative impact on the way Volkswagen is run? Explain your answer. While many of today's organisations are shifting towards more democratic, participative types of management, one is not: Volkswagen (VW). In fact, Volkswagen's former chief executive and current Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ferdinand Pich, rules his realm with an iron hand. After a long executive career at such prestigious carmakers as Audi and Porsche (Pich's maternal grandfather was Ferdinand Porsche), Pich took over as Volkswagen's CEO in 1993. He immediately centralised power in the organisation, firing managers who questioned his ideas or who didn't follow his lead. He dived into engineering projects himself, proposing new projects, tinkering with designs. He presided over meetings with the demeanour of an autocrat, with the occasional result that 'critical questions aren't asked, because people know things can rapidly get uncomfortable', noted one former executive.