The Volkswagen Scandal: Case Study

The Volkswagen Scandal: Case Study

Unit Title	Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility
Assessment Type	Individual Assessment
Assessment Title	Individual Case Study Report  on ‘The Volkswagen Scandal: An Admission to Emission Fraud’
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping)	Students able to: 1.      Compare and contrast diverse approaches to ethical decision making 2.      Evaluate the implications of the legal pressure for ethical behaviour in organisations 3.      Examine ethical issues as they relate to basic values and the challenge of determining an ethical issues in business 4.      Understand how moral philosophies and values influence individual and group ethical decision making in business 5.      Apply and enhance problem-solving skills in solving and managing ethical dilemmas within an organisation.
Weight	30 % of the total assessments
Total Marks	30%
Word limit	Not more than 2,000 words
Submission Guidelines	•     All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page. •     The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers. •     Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.

 

Assignment 2 Specifications

Task: Individual case study analysis (Report)

Topic: Case Study on “The Volkswagen Scandal: An Admission to Emission Fraud”

You are require to complete a detailed analysis and present your case assessment, analysis, and outside research to the class based on the case study on ‘The Volkswagen Scandal: An Admission to Emission Fraud’.  The case study is available on your prescribed textbook:

Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J. and Ferrell, L (2018), Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 12th ed, Southwestern, Cengage LearningYou are required to answer the questions located at the end of the case study and the questions are as follows:

1. Explain how the culture of Volkwagen created this ethical scandal

2. While Volkswagen claimed to support ethics and sustainability, how can they recover from this ethical disaster?

3. Do you believe this scandal will lead to tougher scrutiny of companies environmental claims in the future? Why or why not?

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• The scandal explained: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772
• VW executive pleads guilty: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/07/25/jailed-volkswagen-exec-pleadguilty-u-s-diesel-scandal/508525001/
• How a West Virginia lab detected the VW scandal: http://www.npr.org/2015/09/24/443053672/how-a-little-lab-in-west-virginia-caughtvolkswagens-big-cheat
• The scandal’s impact on VW’s long-term future: https://www.wired.com/story/vw-dieselscandal-future-automakers/