OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame Worksheet

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The issue is that Volkswagen used devices placed in their diesel cars, which
helped the cars pass emissions test in the United States. The structure of the organization
caused managers to act without any accountability, and in turn this scandal cost the
company billions in legal fees, payouts, and fines.

2) Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.

If we look at the scandal from a bird’s eye view we can see that the downfall
starts from mismanagement of the companies people. This was a domino that fell from
the front. The defeat devices weren’t just found in a couple of cars, they were found in
more than 10.5 million cars world wide, this shows it was an organized move that was
allowed by management. Due to the way the company is structured a matrix allows for
managers to cut corners without a whole lot of accountability. This has created a culture
where managers feel they have absolute power that can go unchecked. This is a culture
that was built for scandal.

The atmosphere that Volkswagen created was one where people could make
decisions and not face the consequences because management wouldn’t be kept aware.
This can be seen in the scandal as Volkswagen for years claimed to be a front-runner for
“Clean Diesel” yet then fell out of grace due to cheating emissions. If management would
have had accountability from the beginning none of this would have ever happened.
Management should have instead kept each other in the loop and reported doings to upper
management and stakeholders.

3) Recommend how you would use the human resources for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

This alternative course needs to start with culture. This means that we need to
generate an atmosphere where accountability reigns. In order to do this I would put in
place a system of checks, where other managers could check the progress of other
managers. This would almost constitute as a system of checks and balances, this allows
for not one manager to try holding all of the power, and would allow for less things to fall
through the cracks by giving the manager in charge of the item more accountability. As
well I would make a point to do quarterly check ins with my engineering staff to see if

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 they know all of the guidelines the vehicles need to hit. Information is key, making sure
that my staff is well informed can lead to greater success.

I would also create a more transparent culture. This meaning that nothing is
hidden in the dark. As well, if there were unethical practices going on, there would be a
better system in place to have consequences, and even a better system where lower staff
can become whistleblowers. If we look at the scandal, it is a deal with ethics.
Volkswagen lied and cheated, so they are facing bigger consequences now, as apposed to
if they had a more transparent culture that would have stopped this in its tracks before
hand. The whistleblower initiative would allow for employees who leak unethical
practices to have some type of immunity and reward. Ethics need to be the front, and the
people we have in charge need to better manage the people they have under them.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.

What I kept thinking about while reading through this is my business ethics class.
This is strictly an ethical issue. Now as a manager how can you endorse and allow for
people to make unethical decisions such as placing defeat devices but there are always
bigger consequences when caught. I think from the learning, a good way to foster a
different kind of culture is to promote egalitarianism. This is where lower level
employees can be brought into the decision making process. In the factories where the
defeat devices were placed, there had to be some employees who thought that it was
wrong to do that, yet how many of them felt that it was okay to speak up?

This can come by fostering a culture that allows for other employees to voice their
grievances and feel like they are a part of the process instead of just cogs in the machine.
Another issue would be to hire the right people. As we see in the company as a whole,
this starts from the top management, so moving forward Volkswagen needs to have an
emphasis on hiring people who fit the mold of what they are now trying to create, instead
of allowing for something like this scandal to happen again.