Volkswagen and the Emissions Scandal

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b) Assess in general the reaction of the company to the scandal. Which measures would you have advised the company to take and what would have been their impact?

If we would have been advisors for Volkswagen, verifying the fraudulent nature of the operation, the first thing to do had apologized with all the stakeholders publicly, with a full taking on responsibility and the promise of change and cooperating with the authorities. Then, starting a process in two directions: internal and external, with absolute priority. In this case is necessary calling all the cars with the software and offering to repair them free of charge. Simultaneously, opening an internal investigation in order to identify the people involved in the plan and take the appropriate measures according to the law. We would have suggested also the creation of a commission ad hoc with the task to control the quality standards of the production and to avoid every possible other alteration of the tests; and also an ethic commission for the writing of an ethic code and the surveillance of it. Since the fraud affected the environment, lying about the cars emissions, we also would have thought about the creation of a foundation committed in the promotion of ecological issues, with a continue information stream to communicate with the community the goals reached.

All these measures are assessed in order to change the negative reputation of the group and show a true willpower in improving the activities and the management of the firm. In order to be the convincing and sincere, the reaction should have firm and all the non-essentials projects should been cancelled or delayed, fostering transparency and openness. Of course, this new goal of the company affected the investments strategy and the profitability of its activities.