Defeating the System: Ethics at Volkswagen in Chapter 6 answers the following questions.

Are there structural variables that may have influenced the unethical behaviour at
Volkswagen?

Volkswagen is cited as an example of how a company is managed by unethical behavior. With

the emergence of the emissions scandal, it has lost its respectability in the world and has caused a
conflict within itself. There are structural variables that may have influenced unethical behavior
at Volkswagen.

The first structural variable that affected unethical behavior was organizational culture.
Organizational culture is vitally important to achieve the organization’s goals. Volkswagen’s
culture is based on employees’ pressure to achieve their goals. It is a good reflection example of
a weak culture. because when people are forced to do things through pressure, we can't say that
there is a strong cultural understanding there.

The second structural variable is leadership failure. Top managers are responsible for
organization-wide decisions affecting the entire organization. They are leader in terms of both
decisions and actions. In the case of Volkswagen, the fact that the emission scandal is within the
knowledge of my senior management shows that the organization has no ethical understanding.
In summary, if the leader allows this, we cannot assume that employees at a lower level will
show importance to ethical behavior.

The third structural variable is organizational structure. Volkswagen’s structure is complicated.

There are so many departments in the organization and responsibilities are shared by several
departments. Also, there are limited control mechanisms in place to prevent this kind of scandal.
if we put such factors together, ethical behaviors can be ignored.

In conclusion, the unethical behavior displayed by Volkswagen came into existence because of
structural variables such as leadership failure, weak organizational culture, and structure. the
continuation of unethical behavior has damaged many areas within the organization. As a result
of these actions, it has lost its dignity.
Evaluate Volkswagen’s actions based on the factors in Exhibit 6-6. How would you describe the issue
intensity of Volkswagen’s actions?

The Volkswagen emissions scandal has many negative consequences. This scandal has come to light with
the deliberate manipulation of emission tests on millions of vehicles worldwide. Volkswagen's unethical
behavior has harmed its reputation and human safety. The topic will be explained step by step according
to its intensity.

Firstly, the magnitude of the damage caused by Volkswagen's mistakes cannot be exaggerated.
Manipulation test results caused vitally increased air pollution levels. The high level of emissions also
brought health risks for the exposed communities. The magnitude of the damage affected not only those
who used Volkswagen vehicles but also those who did not. It is not acceptable to put people's health at
risk, and the sanctions for this come from society.

Secondly, the creation of consciously intentional machines and their use of them has increased the
probability of damage. Volkswagen shows the emission rate lower than it is and sells machines to
people, it will not only have done nothing ethically correct, but it will lose its own credibility by deceiving
people because there have been attempts to cause environmental damage. The concentration of effects
affected the local and global impact of the Volkswagen emission scandal. These effects had spread day
by day. it caused the implementation of sanctions by both society and the government.

Thirdly, the wrong decisions made at Volkswagen are decisions made jointly by managers. The fact that
they made this decision consciously has greatly damaged the organization. And it has not been
welcomed by society or the community. That is why top managers are responsible for the organization’s
failure.

Fourthly, the immediacy of consequences did not come into existence right away. When researchers at
West Virginia University discovered and tested Volkswagen vehicles. Then the emission scandal
appeared. And Volkswagen's approaches also played a role in the growth of this scandal. At first, they
call it a technical problem, then they admit their mistakes. After that Volkswagen’s reputation damaged

In conclusion, this is how we can understand how an international company has fallen out of sight and
harmed itself in accordance with the wrong strategies and decisions it has followed. Companies have
responsibilities towards society and governments. If you exhibit unethical behavior, the consequences
are severe, as at Volkswagen.