What Happened?

~Sydney Sherry

In September 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency branded

Volkswagen the Diesel Dupe after discovering the companys cars sold in
America had what was called a Defeat Device which enabled the engines to
detect when they were being tested for emissions, significantly improving
their results. Since then, the German company has admitted to cheating
emissions tests in the US. The EPA has discovered 482,000 cars in the US
alone that were fitted with the Defeat Device.
However the exact details remain somewhat ambiguous the gist of the
software was that the engines had a software in which were able to sense
when testing was being performed and would thence monitor speed, engine
operation, air pressure, and steering wheel position. The device would put
the car into a sort of safety mode which would cause the engine to run below
its usual performance and power. Once testing was completed the engine
would adjust back to its normal mode where it would emit nitrogen oxide up
to 40x what is legal in the US.
Martin Winterkorn, Chief executive at the time of Volkswagen, says the
company has broken the trust of our customers and the public, he later
resigned due to the nature of the scandal. So far the company has done an
excellent job of covering up who knew what and when, all thats known for
certain at the current time is that there had to have been a chain of
management who approved of fitting the cheating devices. Ferdinand
Dudenhoffer, professor at the Center for Automotive Research at University
Duisburg-Essen, said of VW "They need a new start, and the new start can
only be made with ... new personnel and new management. However the
company has not yet made any formal indications of a change of leadership
style since the scandal broke. Back in 2014 there were concerns raised about
VWs emissions levels however were dismissed by the company as technical
issues. This clearly implies that in some shape or form, managers and
executives may have misled officials.
Volkswagen is very unique in the way its organizational structure is
completed compared to that of other automotive companies. Volkswagen
operates vertically with much overlap. It appears to operate under a matrix,
where engineers may report to multiple managers. This is where it could
have gone wrong. Due to the increased overlap where one employee may
report to multiple managers, employees may have purposefully withheld
specific findings or fixtures to the software from specific managers who they
know may not have approved of their actions. The extreme overlap of

supervisors hinders the flow of communication, making company secrets

lost in translation. This also creates a blur for the division of management,
with multiple superiors it creates the perfect excuse for not knowing who to
tell of the new software. Volkswagen is the perfect example of formal
structure gone wrong. The layout and guidelines are mapped out on the
organization chart however employees veered off track to how they got the
work done, they completed the work however they didnt complete it
ethically. Volkswagen clearly at the time had an informal structure, they
sacrificed their ethics to satisfy social needs. The problem with the
employees at Volkswagen is that they took delegation too seriously, they
were given the right to make decisions and take action however when given
that right they chose to take action that would cause their company massive
damage in the future. Their desire for profitability and growth in the
company foregoes their ethics.
My personal opinion on the matter is that it was all a conspiracy. I believe
that everyone in the company was aware of what was going on, that chief
executive Martin Winterkorn was most likely the one who gave the go ahead.
Martin Winterkorn was in a word the martyr for Volkswagen, he stepped
down so easily because he knew with some digging around the people would
be able to implicate his role in the whole ordeal and that is why he skinned
out so fast. Volkswagen chose their desire for profitability over their ethics.
They were aware of the consequences however went forward because they
saw the possibility for all the money they could make despite how wrong it
was. And now theyre trying to cover it up, pretending like they never knew.
In order to ensure that this never happens again they need to revert back to
a simple hierarchy structure organized by function. One group specializing on
one task reporting to one manager. That way people are more accountable
for their actions and delegation is monitored and responded to with a more
responsible attitude.