DB Replies 561 Legal issues

11 Aug DB Replies 561 Legal issues

Reply to the threads of 2 classmates who offer views different than yours. Identify the points of difference in your analyses and explain how your application of the relevant law to the facts of this situation led you to a different conclusion. Each reply must be supported by 3 scholarly sources other than the textbook/course materials. Each source must be properly cited in current APA format. Review the Assignment Instructions for Discussion Board Forums, noting especially requirements for word counts, scholarly sources, and biblical worldview integration.

Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen

Lacey Griggs

Liberty University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen

There are many laws in place that keep organizations from harming the public and these laws must be strictly adhered to; however, there are instances where specific laws either do not apply or are vague enough that they are up for interpretation. In these instances, a company must refer to its code of ethics when making decisions. All organizations, regardless of size, are charged with the responsibility of operating within the bounds of integrity and ethics. It is true that remaining within the constraints of all applicable laws, policies, and standards of ethics while also remaining productive can, at times, prove difficult. The Volkswagen scandal presents ethical questions regarding effective inter-communication, intent, and responsibility.

Managerial Perspective

            As a manager, (and in this case, the manager in the engineering department of a large automobile manufacturing plant), one is tasked with the obligation to understand the start to finish process of manufacturing the vehicle, all appropriate benchmarks, and deficits in the current process so that process improvement can take place. There is no explicit proof of intent to prevaricate on the shoulders of the manager, but there are certainly ways he or she could have avoided the poor decisions, omissions, and breakdown in communication that occurred and ultimately led to the scandal. One such action would have been to close the gap in communication. According to Lippe (2015), an engineer in the department “…made a bad (at least in hindsight) design decision to use a cheaper ignition switch, which shut off when bumped in moving cars…Then the switch engineer approved a redesign of the switch without telling anybody…” (p. 2). Had the engineering manager been more involved in the decision-making process of the engineers within his or her department and had effectively communicated the changes that were made to the appropriate people and departments, the original problem could have been resolved and the scandal prevented.  As Lippe (2015) so eloquently put it, “Maybe spend less time broadly claiming to reduce risk, and more time really understanding the business and the sources of the risk… In Volkswagen, not knowing was just as bad as knowing and acquiescing” (p. 3).

Diesel Department CEO Perspective

            After the scandal was made public, it would be imperative for the CEO of the Diesel Department to write and deliver a formal apology, not only to the public, but to the employees of Volkswagen, as well. Delivering this apology as quickly as possible would help fan the flames and temper the frustration, distrust, and inevitable decline in consumer interest in conducting business with Volkswagen. It is also vital that the CEO does not try to pass the buck, but rather offers transparency and genuine remorse for what happened as it relates to his or her personal implications and/or the contribution made by the organizational structure as a whole. According to Crete, Volkswagen didn’t immediately get this right, “In the Volkswagen case, the company’s management concentrated first on identifying the handful of individuals it considered to be responsible for the deception, before admitting few weeks later that organizational problems had also encouraged or facilitated the unlawful corporate behavior [sic]” (p. 26).

As for navigating the future, the CEO has a responsibility to Volkswagen and the public deceived by its fraudulent activities to ensure that such activity will not be tolerated. He or she must cooperate with any investigations and be sincerely invested in seeking the truth, so that Volkswagen can walk away from the scandal having learned a valuable lesson about how to handle business in the future. On that note, the CEO would also be wise to suggest a crisis-communication and management program if one was not already in place for Volkswagen. According to Sims (2009), managing reputation risk includes “assessing reputation, evaluating reality, closing the gaps whether reputation is greater or lesser than reality, monitoring changing beliefs and expectations… and putting one person in charge” (p. 457).

Lastly, it would be essential for the CEO to ensure that Volkswagen engaged in further training of current employees, the hiring of new lawyers, and the firing of employees found to be directly responsible or negligent in the scandal. All the aforementioned would be important in the company’s ability to regain trust form the public. By responding with a commitment to acknowledge blatant and lax ethical violations, the CEO is demonstrating the importance of virtue in business to the employees of Volkswagen, which will help prevent further violations.

Guilt vs. Responsibility in Business

            The Volkswagen scandal also raises an interesting distinction between guilt and responsibility as it relates to business and decisions made therein. According to Gardiner,

Guilt is always personal whereas collective responsibility is always plural, and hence, political. Collective responsibility concerns membership in a particular group with whom we have shared interest…. There is a clear distinction between political responsibilities, which are collective, and moral or legal guilt, which pertains to individual acts. (p. 6)

If we are to subscribe to this way of thinking, then only certain employees and affiliates

of Volkswagen were guilty of fraud. The remaining employees and affiliates who were

within the departments where the deceit originated were ethically culpable because of the

collective responsibility being associated with those departments demanded.

 

 

Biblical Worldview

            While it may seem that operating a business with a biblical worldview would serve to complicate things, adhering to and honoring God’s word in the business realm simplifies. Instead of considering God’s commandments a hinderance to business, they should be seen as a bridge to success. In the Volkswagen scandal, if someone who had knowledge of the fraud had come forward, he or she would have been acting in accordance with God’s word, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, English Standard Version). Not only are we responsible for illuminating the truth, as Christ followers and business leaders, we all must endeavor to view our work as a gift unto the Lord. Colossians 3:17 tells us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (English Standard Version). When we act unethically, whether by deed or acquiesce, we do not please the Lord, as we have altered our motivation to fit the world’s standards, rather than the Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Crete, R. (2016). The Volkswagen Scandal from the Viewpoint of Corporate Governance. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 7(1), 26.

Gardiner, R. (2018). Ethical Responsibility: An Arendtian Turn. University of Western Ontario Business Ethics Quarterly, 28(1), 6.

Lippe, P. (2015). Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers? The New Normal. Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers/

Sims, R. (2009). Toward a Better Understanding of Organizational Efforts to Rebuild Reputation Following an Ethical Scandal. Journal of Business Ethics 90,457.

 

Jhunaiah Bryant

Discussion Board 1

Liberty University

Volkswagen’s most recent disaster including the utilization of a product to swindle diesel motor execution can be seen in alternate points of view. Maybe, one would contend that it was the lawful direction’s shortcoming for not giving the security guidelines to be agreed to. Others may contend generally and state that the designing office deliberately built up an off-base programming to compromise and spare expenses. Taking a gander at the lawful, otherworldly, and moral viewpoints on this issue, I think all divisions are to blame and it is silly to point fingers given the harm it managed to the organization’s business tasks completely. Talking about correspondence and rationality in the work environment, Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., & Jondle, D. (2009) said that “soundness is the dynamic fixing to Enlightened Leadership and stunning things are conceivable when we accomplish lucidness in ourselves, our groups, our industry, and society overall.” This rule additionally thinks about the legitimate part of being a CEO. “Being a pioneer requests that one has a definitive obligation of not exclusively monitoring what procedures your specialties make yet in addition guarantee that both long and momentary arranging has been made preceding executing a noteworthy program, for example, the product Volkswagen utilized for their diesel vehicles”.

Knowledge and acquaintance in an organization’s activities and ideas are basic to guarantee that all areas of an organization are in a similar page. On the off chance that I was a worker in either the lawful office or the designing office, the primary thing I would accomplish for the activity is to prepare myself not just in the field I was enlisted for yet additionally for different branches of the organization. I think cognizance and correspondence among different divisions assumed a noteworthy job in both what occurred and what could have been counteracted had they polished better correspondence among their companions.

Beside this, I believe being a decent CEO requires a proactive mentality. Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., & Jondle, D. (2009) characterizes proactivity as “First, proactive individual condition (PE) fit conduct incorporates proactive objectives to accomplish a superior… inside workplace.” If Volkswagen’s top administration rehearsed this mindset, they could have forestalled a colossal scale problem that kept on influencing their deals definitely” (Lippe, P. 2015, October 13).

Then again, seeing it on the otherworldly viewpoint, Philippians 2:4 guides us to “don’t simply pay special mind to your very own advantages, yet in addition for the interests of others.” Clearly, for this situation, in the event that I was a product designer in the building segment or an individual working in the lawful office, one point must be plainly expressed: it isn’t only about the benefits and outside impressive corporate picture. Volkswagen might be a standout amongst the most very respected European vehicle creators in the business, however absence of correspondence among its specialties and the purposeful utilization of this product can draw us a point of view that they thought about benefits and deals which at that point reflected back against their picture in the midst of this outrage. Moreover, Proverbs 27:17 furnishes us with “Iron sharpenth iron; thus, a man sharpenth the face of his companion.” The idea of authority does depend upon top administration as well as in every representative in the organization through and through. On the off chance that each individual was considered responsible from the base workers to the top administration, the deliberate utilization of a product that would harm Volkswagen as well as the security peril this would cause to customers would have been counteracted.

 

Interfacing it to the moral point of view, Ardichvili, Mitchell and Jondle (2009) characterizes moral authority as, Moral societies depend on arrangement between formal structures, procedures, and strategies, reliable moral conduct of top authority, and casual acknowledgment of legends, stories, ceremonies, and language that motivate hierarchical individuals to carry on in a way steady with high moral gauges that have been set by official initiative. (see p. 446 of Journal of Business Ethics) in reference to the current issue, being a CEO would involve making techniques that would likewise perceive the unfavorable and the useful impacts of every business program to the partners. I believe being a piece of an organization on a noteworthy player like Volkswagen would request a higher standard not just in the approach making methodology as a CEO or an individual from the top administration yet in addition on everyday tasks as a feature of the lawful or building group.

Myself as the CEO, I will assume full liability of what occurred on account of Volkswagen. I know morally an expression of remorse sent to the devoted clients and recently gained shoppers would not be sufficient, however perceiving issue is the primary thing that should be tended to on this issue. Painter-Morland & Werhane has an intriguing interpretation of morals with regards to the corporate world. They believe in different involvements to finding different solutions to a problem. there are several ways to compromise in what actions are needed to be taken. I think that having this idea is more useful. Along these lines, corporate life comprises generally of blame dealing and the fiery avoiding of duty, with a definitive dishonesty motion of accusing “advertise powers” or one’s association for decisions for which one should assume full liability.

In the mist of perceiving shortcoming and guaranteeing proactive deduction in the organization’s next undertakings, a solid answer for the aversion for the reoccurrence of this issue would be adherence. I know there is an inward clash in amplifying edges by setting aside cash and compromising as opposed to spending more assets to hold fast to industry models however on the off chance that Volkswagen did do whatever it takes not to purposefully utilize the off-base programming to spare costs, this issue would have been averted in any case. “Taking everything into account, blaming an individual for mistakes and not tolerating flaw were huge elements that raised this issue to the general population” (Olaisen, J., Revang, O. 2016). This misbehavior was likewise exacerbated by the conceivable certainty that the legitimate advice that should ensure the organization and help them to remember adherence to guidelines and guidelines neglected to convey their activity due to two potential situations: absence of learning of what the product building designers were doing or a purposeful concealment of the designing group’s tasks with respect to this venture which reverse discharges all in all organization and discolored its notoriety.

There are no alternate ways for an organization’s prosperity and putting myself on a huge scale organization’s shoes, I should state that I should be superior to that. Individuals need to be reminded that there are a thousand different ways to skin a feline, however I should dependably make sure to pick the best strategy, that is an important  which is the one, that conveys phenomenal outcomes as well as perceives every single potential hazard and guarantees no tradeoffs are made to other people.