Rarely does one individual’s decision or action create an ethical crisis entirely by itself. More often, an unethical or illegal idea is adopted by other members of the company, and the problem grows within the organization until it erupts in headlines, bad publicity, or even criminal penalties. After the fact, the questions always arise: How did that happen? Did no one know what was going on? Why did not someone stop it or report. it? INSTRUCTIONS Volkswagen found itself in just such a position when it was discovered that the software in the company’s diesel vehicles had been programmed to provide false data to regulators regarding the level of emissions produced by the cars during testing. While the scandal was discovered in 2015, the company and the industry are still dealing with direct and indirect repercussions (Strauss & Hübner, 2021). In their article “The Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal and Accountability,” Jacobs and Kalbers (2019) question the role that several groups within the company played in the scandal, most notable, the company’s lawyers and auditors Research and review this situation and write a paper that fully explains the following: 1. As an employee or a manager in either the legal office, engineering department, or audit function within VW, how would you have prevented this scandal? 2. As the CEO of the diesel division of Volksagen, how would you have responded when the situation became public? How would thus response prevent future incidents?
