DIESEL GATE 1
Diesel Gate
Acanthia S. Jordan
School of Business, Liberty University
Professor John Strohman
Legal Issues in Business
May 22, 2022
DIESEL GATE 2
Diesel Gate
In Proverbs 11:3(King James Bible, 1769/2022), “The integrity of the upright shall guide
them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” When someone opens a
business, one can only imagine that they would operate it with integrity and honesty. People tend
to try and take the best possible approach, however, this is not the case at all times. That was not
the case with Volkswagen, according to the article by Lippe (2015), the actions of Volkswagen
are very serious, and they involve a concerted fraud aimed at deceiving the public about the
company’s clean diesel technology. It’s not just about the emissions, but it also affects the core
value proposition of the vehicle.
In 2015, Lippe discussed the various roles that lawyers and engineers could have played
in the diesel gate scandal. The one that I believe that it is mostly to have occurred is "The
Volkswagen engineers neither discussed with nor hid what they were doing from Volkswagen’s
in-house lawyers, and the in-house lawyers didn’t realize what was going on." As a manager of
an engineering department for Volkswagen, I would have prevented this scandal by creating a
process that involved both the internal and external teams. This would have allowed them to
come up with new ideas and submit them to a committee for approval. The process would consist
of three steps. The first one would involve coming up with an idea or update that would be
presented to the management team. If it's approved, it would then be sent to a more diverse group
that would specialize in reviewing and verifying the correctness of the data. The third and final
step would be for all data and previous recommendations to be submitted to a committee
composed of key stakeholders including one to two lawyers. The committee will then make a
final decision regarding the submission of the data.
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As the CEO of Volkswagen's diesel division, I would have been very transparent about
the situation when it was revealed. Usually, companies tend to make mistakes when they ignore
the conversation. In the article from Benedetto Neitz (2015), it was mentioned that a culture of
secrecy can lead to illegal activities and harms the public. This can also result in a barrage of
lawsuits and government investigations, being honest with your customers is very important to
building a stronger reputation and building trust with your customers. I would also apologize to
our customers and be hands-on with a team to resolve the issue. In order to rebuild their
reputation and build trust with their customers, I would like to make a public apology and create
some form of incentive for them. I would also make a plan of action that is transparent so that
their customers can see the steps that are being taken to prevent this from happening again.
Somera & Holt (2015) point out that it can be determined that integrity is a necessary component
of any organization's operations. Without it, basic business functions would not be performed
properly. Many organizations are prone to making ethical and damaging mistakes when they are
not integral to the organization's core values. Although there are other traits that are generally
desirable and undesirable, integrity is the most important factor that determines a company's
approval or disapproval. Being honest with them would allow them to see the progress that your
company is making to ensure that this doesn't happen again. I would also give an update on a
quarterly basis to show that we are committed to doing everything in our power to put our
customers first.
Conclusion
Having a successful business with a large number of employees can be a challenge. As
leaders, we have to make sure that our company is run in a way that protects its integrity and that
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it is proactive in addressing its customers' needs. One of the most important factors that
businesses need to consider is the environment they create. In order to promote a culture that is
proactive, we need to adopt a set of values that are based on integrity. The good book of Proverbs
is full of ideas about integrity. In Proverbs 10:9 (King James Bible, 1769/2022), "He that walketh
uprightly walketh surely, but he that perverteth his ways shall be made known."
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References
Benedetto Neitz, M. (2015). Where were the lawyers? The ethical implications of the General
Motors recall scandal in the United States. Legal Ethics, 18(1), 93–96.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2015.1084800
King James Bible. (2022). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
(Original work published 1769)
Lippe, P. (2015, October 13). Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers? ABA Journal.
https://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers
Somera, K., & Holt, M. K. (2015). Integrity in Business: An Evaluation of Integrity across
German and American Culture. International Journal of Business and Social Science,
6(2), 32–36.
