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How Volkswagen Diesel Scandal Would Have Been Prevented

Rarely does one individual’s decision or action create an ethical crisis entirely by itself. More often, someone’s unethical or illegal idea is adopted by other members of the company, and the problem grows within the organization until it erupts in headlines, bad publicity, and sometimes criminal penalties. After the fact, the questions always arise: How did that happen? Did not anyone know it was going on? Why did not someone stop it?

Recently, Volkswagen found itself in just such a position, when it was discovered that the software in the company’s diesel vehicles had been programmed to provide false data to regulators regarding the level of emissions produced by the cars.

In his article “Volkswagen: Where Were the Lawyers?” Lippe (2015) questions the role that several groups within the company played in the scandal, most notably the company’s lawyers and engineers. See http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers/.

Review this situation from legal, spiritual, and ethical perspectives. Fully explain the following:

1. As an employee or a manager in either the legal office or the engineering department, how would you have prevented this incident?
2. As the CEO of the diesel division of Volkswagen, how would you have responded when the situation became public? How would this response prevent future incidents?

Lippe, P. (2015, October 13). Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers? ABA Journal. Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers/

Your thread must also bea at least 1,000 words and follow the guidelines outlined in the Student Expectations.

To successfully post your thread, you must both (1) upload a Microsoft Word copy of the thread to the provided SafeAssign assignment link and (2) copy the content of the thread and paste it into the Discussion Board Forum. Do not post attachments in the forum; they will not be accepted or graded.

Reply Prompt:

Reply to the threads of 2 classmates who offer views different than yours. Identify the points of difference in your analysis and explain how your application of the relevant law to the facts of this situation led you to a different conclusion.

Each reply must be supported by 3 scholarly sources other than the textbook/course materials. Each source must be properly cited in current APA format.

Submit your thread by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 2, and submit your replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 3.