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?
