The Legal, Spiritual, And Ethical Perspectives Of Volkswagen

Volkswagen is one of the largest automakers in the world and it has a global reputation as a high-quality German auto brand. Social responsibility is included in VW’s corporate culture and it seems that Volkswagen made some advances in Corporate Social Responsibility because the corporation was ranked 11th 2015 in the Global CSR Rep Track 100, which listed companies by reputation (Reputation Institute, 2015).However, the company has been threatened by an emission scandal which broke in September 2015, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disclosed that Volkswagen had installed defeat devices on diesel cars which were sold in the US. These devices equipped on VW cars cheated regulators in such a way that it could detect

The organizational culture of arrogance, noncompliance and risk- taking contributed to the accident. The company did not consider corporate social responsibility important and hence it did not drill the oil in a sustainable way to protect the stakeholders and the environment. Instead, the company considered profit making a priority instead of the safety of the stakeholders and the public (Arnold & McKay 20). Whistle-blowers were laid off and intimidated if they exposed the company’s unethical activities. As a result, the company undertook many projects and it was focused on working on the frontiers and managing the risk. Besides, the organization protected itself from stakeholder who questioned the firm’s decision to take the risks. The executive managers did not entertain opposing views. In addition to that, failure to put in place safety measures and risk management policies contributed to the accident. The OSHA identified flaws in the company’s regulations after the explosion at the Texas oil refinery, but the firm did not address the issues. Instead, the organization continued to take risks and cut costs and violated the United States law in order to reduce the costs of producing oil.

The Volkswagen (VW) corporation experienced a major scandal after it conspired to manipulate data for diesel emissions. Business ethics, legal issues, and a Biblical worldview are common areas of failure and are clearly present in this case. Lippe (2015) stated that these acts were deliberate and examined the responsibility of legal counsel to mitigate such acts. If not for road testing by engineer, John German, excess emissions may not have been detected, and due to outcry, VW admitted to their technologically sophisticated fraud (Patra, 2016). God’s Word reveals, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:2 New American Standard

Kantian ethics and rule utilitarianism disagree on the morality of creating a “defeat device.” This device determined when its engine was undergoing emissions testing then switched from its normal operating mode into a lower emission mode. The normal emission mode was 40 times the limit dictated by the Clean Air Act [1]. By creating a dirty engine, Liang contributed towards the destruction of the atmosphere. This will negatively impact the quality of life for many future generations of people. Because damaging the environment negatively impacts millions of people, rule utilitarianism declares it to be morally wrong. The prosecution of six executives of Volkswagen, including the head of engine development, indicate that Liang’s superiors were involved in this conspiracy from the beginning [2]. The most applicable maxim to this situation is “I shall fulfill

The automotive industry globally involves the processes of manufacturing as well as sales of cars and other automobiles. The business of this industry is also inclusive of retailing activities like services; sale of spare parts, gas-station retails etc. by the year 2015, and the growth rate of the industry is expected to have a rise of 5.5% (Market Line, 2012). Moreover, as per International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, this industry is the leading driver in terms of global economic progress and the largest employer. The changing trends and rising demand for technically advanced cars are giving out more opportunities. This essay is going to be a presentation on the analysis of the Volkswagen positioning strategy with respect to the Porters models of competitive strategies. This essay would be vital, as this analysis would help in revealing the company’s competitive and strategic position in the industry.

In 2014, questions began to arise surrounding the Volkswagen and the emissions that their diesel cars produced. It came to light that the company was violating U.S. environmental regulations by installing software in their cars that was able to sense when emissions were being tested and limit the operations that increase emissions during the test thus producing a lower score. The result of this was that Volkswagen had produced and sold approximately 10,000 vehicles that violated U.S. law. In the early part of 2017, the FBI arrested Oliver Schmidt, a Volkswagen official, in Florida based on his connection to Volkswagens criminal activities. This case illustrates an ever growing issue in the world: international white collar crime. Globalization

Kenneth Floyd’s speculates that the CEO of Volkswagen may not have known, or was completely unaware of the defective devices because of poor communication (Floyd,2017). While this opinion might be possible my opinion dissents from Floyd’s as I believe that all things rise and falls with leadership, and for this reason the CEO complied and was fully aware of the deception that was occurring within the VW organization that led to fraud. At the core, many levels within the VW organization was participating in a culture of unscrupulous, immoral behavior to deceive the American public over a lengthy amount of time orchestrated by unapologetic leadership (Elson, Ferrere & Goossen, 2015). Knowing the strict regulation of the Clean Air Act Winterkorn,

In today’s society we often come to many debates on several issues that go on in our world today. Recently there was an ethical debate on whether or not it is ethical to release vehicles with software that defeats emission testing by the EPA. Volkswagen is being accused of using illegal software designed to hide emissions during testing by installing cars with a software. The EPA accused Volkswagen of using the device in nearly over a half a million cars (Davenport). The cars are reportedly to have been installed with a software that had the ability to turn off the emissions controls when driving normally and turns them on when the vehicle is undergoing an emissions test. With all of these assumptions of Volkswagen cheating the emissions testing does that question their ethical corporate responsibility?

It is not hard to see that the scandal would cause a horrid blow to VW’s image. Until the incident, VW had, like many other German companies, the reputation of “German engineering” (Robertson, 2013). However, instead of using that innovation to develop diesel-fueled cars compliant with U.S. standards, it decided to try to scam its way in the market. Not only did the company admit to having 11 million cars with software intended to cheat tests (Gates, Ewing, Russell & Watkins, 2017), it also plead guilty to “destroying evidence in an elaborate cover-up” (VW Admits Emissions Cheating and Cover-up, 2017); building further distrust among its consumers.

technology project. The BPTO produced weekly status reports and monthly budget reviews helping the company gauge where it was heading towards. Thus the alignment started advancing (Austin, 2007).

As an employee of the engineering department I would follow policy and not look for an easier way out, this employee who made this decision possibly faced an ethical dilemma. As stated in Kubasek el al (2016) “an ethical dilemma is a problem about what a firm should do for which no clear right decision is available. According to the text, it is the responsibility of both the business and the lawyer to make sure the ethical guidelines are met. When Volkswagen made the decision to release the vehicles with faulty parts, that decision also affected

Volkswagen (VW), the world 's best-selling automotive OEM, has been caught in a vehicle emissions scandal of unprecedented proportions. At least 11 million diesel-powered VW cars worldwide use a specially-coded piece of software to purposefully cheat during emissions testing. The result is that VW 's diesel cars appear sufficiently clean to government regulators – enough to be eligible for sale – but when consumers drive their cars in the real world, the vehicles ' software switches the engines ' behavior: In consumer hands, these VW diesel engines switch into a mode where they perform better (more power and more fuel efficient) but pollute up to 35 times more than during official testing.

This incident would serve as the initial event that jumpstarted the public’s concern for exactly what was going on with many Toyota models. In this paper, we will explore the ethical issue that was present in this case, whether or not Toyota acted ethically in its handling of the unintended acceleration of its vehicles. In order to do this, we will examine the situation in the light of the six-step Hosmer’s moral reasoning process. This will include, among other aspects, an examination of the event in consideration of shareholder, stakeholder, and virtue theory. In addition to that, the authors will apply the Total Integrity Management model to Toyota’s actions in order to examine the moral integrity of the company as it pertains to trust. To conclude the paper, the authors will provide a normative statement regarding the actions of Toyota. To

Volkswagen Group a German multinational car manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany has got itself into a major legal issue. In return, it has effected many different stakeholders throughout the world. The legal issue in this case is that the car company was exposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for installing a “defeat device” in diesel cars that lead the car to be able to emit toxic gases 40 times the legal limit. This device would recognize when the car was being tested and changed the emissions of the car so it would pass emissions tests. The company has admitted in September to installing this specific device in 11 million cars around the world, more specifically 500,000 in the United States and 8.5 million in Europe (Hakim). It is also important to note that Volkswagen owns the brands Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda. Class actions suites have already started pouring in from the United States and group litigations have also started in Europe, Netherlands, Ireland, with a shareholders suit in the company’s home of Germany.

Peter has been working for with the Bigness Oil Company's local affiliate and established a trusting relationship with Jesse, manager of the local facility. Jesse was pleased with Peter's work and recommended that he be retained as the corporate consulting engineer. One day, Jesse started telling Peter a story of a mysterious loss in one of the raw petrochemicals he receives by pipeline in the 1950's. Since there was no