Volkswagon - A Case Study in Business Ethics
From the Project Management and Workplace Respect Blog
by Paul Pelletier
This blog is dedicated to raising awareness about workplace respect in relation to project management. Workplace disrespect is a worldwide problem that is exceedingly damaging to projects and business. Incivility negatively impacts project success and results in financial, human resources, productivity, risk management, and legal costs.
There are many things PMs and organizations can do to prevent and address workplace disrespect. This blog aims to help guide the way.
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An excellent article in the Globe and Mail Newspaper highlights one of the most useful business ethics case studies in recent history. Barry McKenna writes on September 25, 2015:
"The folks who think business ethics are an oxymoron are probably saying “I told you so,” right about now. ...German auto maker Volkswagen AG admits that it rigged as many as 11 million diesel vehicles to fudge emission tests, apparently turning a blind eye to the environmental and health effects. For all the talk about corporate responsibility, integrity and putting customers first, some companies are still willing to roll the ethical dice when profits are on the line. It’s bad enough that executives at Turing and Volkswagen apparently saw nothing wrong with behaviour that most reasonable people find abhorrent. They also betrayed their own corporate values."
Do you think the world is waking up to the importance of ethics and appreciating that ethics and profits are closely intertwined?
Posted on: September 28, 2015 02:56 PM |
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Comments (3)
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Manas De Amin
Director| Computer Technology Group Kolkata
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
I believe it's time that organizations embrace ethics in their business policies. Nearly three months ago Nestle has been charged in India for higher levels of Lead and Monosodium Glutamate in their Maggi Noodles than permitted. The test results proved positive. Nestle kept on saying they do not mix Lead or Monosodium Glutamate until firm multiple federal lab reports proved them wrong and a ban has been imposed on them on selling Maggi brand of noodles in India. Now they are pleading in the court that they have lost worth US $ 373134330 due to the ban.
So, essentially they took a chance but got caught like VW. And these incidents clearly show an attitude towards adopting unethical practices for excess profit.
Austin Hundley
Senior Consultant| Nordic Consulting
Nashville, Tn, United States
When a company is fined $250 million for doing something that profited them over a billion... some other company out there will take that as a sign that unethical = opportunity...
fosco frongia
Senior project manager| ENTE PATRIMONIALE CHIESA GESU' CRISTO SUG
Fino Mornasco, Como, Italy
I hope so but, unfortunately, the way seems very long
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