The Volkswagen Scandal

In September 2015 Volkswagen admitted it was using a ‘defeat device’ to cheat official emissions tests. This has had a devastating impact on the organisation. Below is a timeline of events. Read the chapter in Boddy suggested below and answer the questions stated in the Report Guidelines. Consider: • What issues taught in class and discussed in Boddy are relevant to the VW case study? • What assumptions about the role of VW in society appear to have guided what VW have done? Are they closer to Friedmanite or the social responsibility views? • What factors such as the history or current context of VW appear to have influenced the prevailing view? Have any stakeholders tried to challenge company policy? • Have alternative ways been put forward for dealing with these issues based on evidence from other companies? If you can find such evidence, how may it affect VW practice? • What limitations do you find in the ideas and theories presented by Vogel? Can you find evidence in VW for and against Vogel’s view?