Reference no: EM133889805
Homework: Business Values and Ethics
A number of vehicle manufacturers have been found guilty of falsifying their data on car emissions in order to make the vehicle appear to meet vehicle emission standards set by their governments. This means that the cars were emitting more pollutants that are damaging to the environment than scientists had previously thought. Using the VW case study from the recommended textbook and/or the related documentary Hard NOx (Dirty Money), answer the following questions:
Length: 3000 words.
Task
A. Outline the main points of the VW emissions scandal.
B. Analyse, using Rest's four stage model of ethical decision-making, at what stage VW deviated from the model in its decision-making processes regarding the attempted cover-up.
C. How can individual decision-making theories (e.g. Cognitive Moral Development and Moral Intensity) be applied to this case?
D. What does this case say about sustainability? How can we apply sustainability and other CSR theories to this case? How would Milton Friedman (shareholder theory) perceive this case?
E. Do you think that VW's senior management handled the scandal well? Could earlier admission of the fraudulent activities have reduced the negative impact on the firm?
F. How could VW seek to improve their approach to ethics management in the future? Can claims that the firm has so quickly changed its culture stand up to scrutiny?
G. What does this case (and other cases mentioned on this module) reveal about the relationship between technology and ethics? How can companies (including your own company) ensure that technology is used ethically?
References Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA. Gibney, A., & Gibney, A. (2018). Hard NOx. Dirty Money.