Topic: Volkswagen’s Emissions Scandal
Article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/business/international/vw-diesel-emissions-scandal-explained.html?_r=0
In September 2016, it was discovered that German multinational, Volkswagen, was caught up in one of the largest automobile scandals in the past decades. Colloquially dubbed the ‘Diesel Dupe’. The car engines of some of Volkswagens best-selling vehicles were found to have a Defeat Device, which is a software that allows the car to detect when it’s emissions are being tested, in turn, allowing it to artificially reduce their emissions temporarily. This created the illusion of the cars emissions being far lower than they actually were. This unethical decision was made due to a variety of reasons, and has been a conflict of interest with many organizations over the past year.
The most important, cause of VW installing the Defeat Devices, was to be associated with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). According to the EPA, they agreed to subsidize part of Volkswagens production on certain models, so long as they complied with their ecologically friendly requests, which they failed to do, causing them to install the Defeat Devices.
This situation demonstrates how even a multi-billion dollar, fortune 500 company, can sometimes fail to respect their corporate social responsibility. This was extremely unethical on the part of Volkswagen, as a company of this scale should not be behaving this unethically. Firstly, they failed to deliver on their deal with the EPA, where the emissions of most models were significantly higher than the rate that was agreed on, and instead of producing cars with fewer emissions, Volkswagen decided to install devices that falsified emission data. Not to mention, this is also ecologically unsustainable, which is also unethical, as every company has a responsibility to the environment. Lastly, this was unethical towards Volkswagens customer base, as the product they had been sold, was not exactly what they were marketed. While organizations like Fairtrade have proven that a label supporting sustainable practices on a product can boost sales, Volkswagen may have been trying to reproduce this effect in an attempt to boost sales with ecologically-minded customers. Instead, they ended up duping customers who may have been expecting a different product.
To reflect on this issue, I think the party that was harmed the most by these unethical practices were Volkswagen themselves, as their reputation was tarnished significantly. They failed to honor their responsibility to their environment, customers, and fellow organizations. Volkswagen did, however commit one ethical act, by admitting to have placed the software in their vehicles, which slightly improved their image. In conclusion, this short case study demonstrates why it’s important for businesses can act ethically, and the domino-esque chain of repercussions that have to be dealt with if they are caught.