Question

Dieselgate Questions

1. How well did VW respond to the Dieselgate scandal with reference to the three-phases model of crisis management?

2. Briefly discuss the differences between German and Anglo-American corporate governance structures. Comment on the corporate governance structure of the VW Group.

3. What were the causes of corporate misbehavior on such a large scale? What could be done to prevent a similar crisis in the future?

4. What should corporate social responsibility (CSR) truly mean? How can the VW Group integrate CSR throughout the company?

Answer 1

Diesel gate scandal refers to emission scandal by Volkswagen to fit defect devices in vehicle to fake the tailpipe-emissions tests. The devices allowed showing less emission of nitrogen than actual to gain advantage in market.    

Three phase model of crisis management divides the crisis into three phases, as follows:

1. Pre-crisis,
2. Crisis response,
3. Post-crisis

The company failed to act at all the phases. At first, pre-crisis phase become absurd for the management as management was willingly involved in the scandal with management having all the information.

During crises: When the Crisis broke, the company failed to give appropriate response as it was never ready for its own lying and misrepresentation and intentional wrongdoing. They failed to respond however, the damage was already done. Neither had it ordered a timely recall not accepted the mistake.

Post crises: The company hired public relations firms to put together the pieces of the brand shattered by the crises but failed miserably.