The Volkswagen scandal Ethics case analysis

The agency reported that when the vehicles were put under the magnifying glass to measure their level of emissions, they did not give the correct measure of what they polluted. EPA reported that in real driving conditions, the level of pollution caused by the Volkswagen vehicles was 40 times higher (Glinton et al. Therefore, as a result, the top management was put under investigation to answer the charges of conspiracy and fraud. A recent media article dated May 4, 2018, reveals that the former CEO, Martin Winterkorn of Volkswagen was indicted over the emissions testing scandal. The article notes that the former head along with other former VW executives were charged "with conspiracy and fraud in connection with the long year's scheme by the automaker to cheat on their auto emission tests.

Impact on stakeholders Stakeholders of an organization include anyone or anything that is affected by the objectives, policies, and actions of a company. According to the article, it is clear that the recent VW scandal has affected various stakeholders. For instance, in regard to the emission scandals, the VW's stakeholders include the executives and the board members, customers, dealers, employees, the environment and the shareholders. Therefore, due to unethical business practices portrayed by the executive members, all these stakeholders were affected in a different ways ranging from stock market changes, tarnished reputation, environmental issues and loss of jobs. Ethical moral principles and theories There are various ethical theories and principles as discussed below that are applicable in this article and also the entire Volkswagen emission scandal that reveal that business have the moral responsibility to comply with all the set ethical standards.

After series of media reports revolving around this case, many consumers have been left wondering what to do with the defective cars that they had already purchased. Additionally, many employees have lost their job since most of the billions of the dollars that the company has spent on rectifying the mistakes they have done which could have been avoided if all ethical standards were meet (Eger et al. For instance, the article notes that the highest profile which has been charged, Winterkorn was forced to resign. However, I believe that the only thing that VW can do about this scandal is by actually going forward by learning the importance of business ethics. To adhere to this theory, the company should ensure that their actions result in a greater good by appreciating the importance of risk management, auditing, and compliance.

It is not fair as per my opinion that the company used all these people to keep their business and sales running without considering their rights to make their own independent decisions. Virtue theory The virtue theory is a philosophy that is based on Aristotle's ethics and majorly focused on the idea of assessing "what type of person one is. " The virtue ethics tries to discover the character traits that constitute a full and good human life (Ferrell et al. The four main character virtues that these theory advocates include justice or fairness, self-control or temperance, honesty, and courage. After evaluating the article, I am convinced that the top executives facing charges failed to uphold these virtues. The company did lose not only its stakeholders and consumers but also the trust from the investors and the government.