Introduction
Volkswagen is a German automobile company that specializes in manufacturing cars. For a long time, this car brand has been trendy among people all over the world, but in 2015, this company faced a big scandal. The main problem that caused the scandal was violations of the law on environmental protection. The problem was taken up by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which investigated this issue and found as many violations as possible on the company’s part. The company’s main mistake was that Volkswagen diesel cars had unique systems for cheating air emissions tests.
Article by Jacobs and Kalbers
Jacobs and Kalbers conducted research in 2019 and wrote an entire article, “The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal and accountability” (2019), which revealed the primary frauds at Volkswagen. The article’s main focus is on why this situation happened and its consequences for various areas of society. In particular, the authors of the study claim that the main problems that led to such a scandal are “a rigid management style, closed corporate governance, and the shortcomings of family quarrels and nepotism” (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). In the same vein, due to problems in the company itself, especially among the management, the consequences after the scandal actively affected the economic, political, and social components.
Also, this article is essential in understanding the opportunities that open up for the company. Jacobs and Kalbers are trying to demonstrate possible solutions that will allow Volkswagen to quickly improve internal processes and solve new problems. First, the authors propose to consider a new system to control diesel emissions, which should completely update the existing system and create new opportunities. Thus, the main advice is to change strategies in creating cars for the long term (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). That will allow the company to work simultaneously with potential competitors.
Prevention of the Scandal
At this point, it is worth agreeing with the article’s authors, Jacobs and Kalbers, that they should first consider a long-term strategy to avoid such a scandal. In this case, it turns out that the company did not work on the quality of cars but on the quantity of their production and sales. That is, adjusting internal processes would be the most profitable possible solution to create a comfortable work environment and an atmosphere for quality results for the company. As a potential company employee, especially in the engineering department, one would consider all possible options to minimize the risks of creating such a scandal. In addition, an important step would be to make an excellent alternative to avoid such fraud (Strauss & Hãbner, 2021). Still, most companies use various opportunities that would positively impact the climate and the environment.
However, it is essential to understand that the company’s problems in 2015, in particular, the misunderstandings among the management, somewhat complicated the processes of making new decisions and creating the right social solutions for the company (Painter & Martins, 2017). However, perhaps considering the position of the legal service, that could calculate such things. Since the company makes monthly reports, in theory, the company’s lawyers should be aware of all cases and should understand what consequences this could have. Thus, being in the position of a lawyer, each person could predict various possible situations that would happen to the company. Moreover, it could help avoid the situation that arose with fraud.
Response Prevention Future Incidents
As CEO of Volkswagen’s diesel division, the first thing that did after the scandal was to review the company and how it operates. The reaction to the scandal should be simple and should not involve evading or rejecting such accusations (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). It is worth accepting all the facts and using all such opportunities to reorganize the unit. In particular, in this context, it is also necessary to review the existing strategy and all possible options for developing actions for the future.
After all, if a scandal were to find me personally in the position of CEO of Volkswagen, I should perceive the situation as providing a new opportunity for the company. First, it is essential to analyze all the divisions that work on the creation of products and understand what disruptions are feasible and develop new opportunities and strategies (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). Changes can often occur in the staff or the team’s organization. That is the creation of a convenient schedule and the growth of employees. Creating an atmosphere will contribute to the active development of the company as a single team. It can also be well reflected in the market and affect the brand.
Developing this leadership in the company is essential through emotional intelligence and flexibility. In this way, it will help improve the state of affairs at Volkswagen and many internal processes (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). It is worth adding external perspectives and monitors to track any violations immediately and understand precisely where the errors occur. This method will allow everyone to solve existing problems and develop vigilance among employees quickly (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). Well, everyone must adhere to their competencies, for this, it is crucial to conduct special training to teach employees how to act correctly in various situations, that is why such things will allow avoiding problems in the future.
Conclusion
Problems in the company and neglect of various laws negatively affected the situation with engines in 2015 at Volkswagen. The main problem was that the management did not have agreed development plans and aimed to increase their sales. To improve the situation in the company and on the market, it is necessary to reorganize the team and develop a long-term strategy that would normalize all the requirements required for general standards.
Reference
Jacobs, D., & Kalbers, L. P. (2019). The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal and accountability. The CPA Journal, 89(7), 16-21.
Painter, C., & Martins, J. T. (2017). Organisational communication management during the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal: A hermeneutic study in attribution, crisis management, and information orientation. Knowledge and Process Management, 24(3), 204-218. Web.
Strauss, M., & HãBner, A. (2021). EU fines Volkswagen, BMW $1 bln for emissions cartel. Reuters. Web.