Introduction to Business Ethics- Volkswagen Case 2016

In simple terms, ethics can be defined as “the moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behaviour”. As the world has a foundation built on business activity, there are several ethical implications within the field of business. In simple terms, ethics can be described as the right or wrong business behaviour portrayed by a company, individual or stakeholder in the world of business. It is commonly linked with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as this tends to be an accurate depiction of ethics in the business world.

There have been several cases where businesses have done morally right, as well as, unfortunately, morally wrong. From Apple with Foxconn to Nike with minimum wage to Walmart with mistreated employees, there have been several cases that exhibit business ethics being ignored. This tends to be common amongst companies as it is easy to eschew the ethical responsibilities faced in order to obtain success. There are several examples of business ethics practiced since the beginning of businesses to the present day.

Focusing more on the present day as apposed to history, German automaker company, Volkswagen Group, famous for their cars have recently been controversial regarding their moral principles. It has been reported that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act towards the business, after the discovery that the automaker company had programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines , in order to activate specific emission controls during testing.

To break down this very technical description, essentially Volkswagen cheated the system in order to meet all the regulations and safety requirements that need to be met for auto vehicles. It is further reported that the fraudulent behaviour exhibited by the automotive industry leaders was going on for over 10 years. They are now dealing with several cases against them, as they breached ethical practices in order to obtain easier success.

This is a prime example of a company abstaining from following business ethics. Success and profit as a company is obviously important, however, taking shortcuts and timesavers, that avoid the norms of business ethics eventually lead to controversy and long term loss, as shown with Volkswagen.

My personal insight is that ethics play a crucial part to keeping the business world stable, bringing the best and safest products and lifestyle to all stakeholders. Companies like Volkswagen should attempt to incorporate more CSR into their business practices in order to thrive in more manners than just profit.

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