Ethical Issues in the 21st Century

Gonzalez-Padron (2015) addressed several ethical issues that have arisen in the 21st century. Choose a scholarly or credible article relating to a 21st century ethical issue. The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

Describe how the ethical dilemma can affect both the organization and society.

Evaluate changes could have been made to prevent this ethical dilemma.

Ethical dilemmas are an on-going matter that businesses will always face. While there have been opposing views on just how much responsibility a business should take, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) construct describes the business’s social responsibility extending into economics, legal, ethical means that affect the greater good (Snider, Hill, & Martin, 2003). As more company scandals regarding ethics came to the forefront especially after Enron, regulations have tightened and companies continue to be exposed. Coca-Cola has faced backlash in the past, but they have taken responsibility by acting as a more resourceful company. They use recycled goods for manufacturing, run factories and devices to be conservative in their energy use just to name a few (Vandenberg, 2014). Unfortunately, the fate of Volkswagen in 2015 ensued in scandal as well.

Volkswagen had been feeling a lot of pressure to sell vehicles, but especially the diesel and heavy-duty vehicles, while also facing the obstacle to meet environmental responsibility obligations. They released new vehicles that we supposedly equipped with computer software to regulate emissions, but were later found to be defective. During testing, the devices acted in accordance to alter the cars emissions by sensing certain aspects of the car to know when to go into emission safety mode, but once the car was put on the street and not in “testing mode” the device defected (Hotten, 2015). The United States Environmental Protection Agency found the company in violation and issued their violation against the Clean Air Act, that found the defects were actually emitting up to 40 times more nitrous oxide than what is allowed in the U.S. (Rhodes, 2016). Volkswagen spokesman admitted and the company was found guilty for many violations that expanded out beyond the United States into the UK, South Korea, Canada, Germany, Italy, and France (Hotten, 2015). Not only did the scandal effect consumers and stakeholders, but the vehicle industry as a whole.

As a preventive act several tests, re-tests, and procedures should’ve been in place with multiple parties signing off to expand the responsibility. As Gonzalez-Padron (2015), depicts in Section 1.4, ethics and compliance programs should meet:

-Standards and procedures

-Program oversight

-Delegation of authority

-Training and communication

-Checking evaluation and reporting

-Consistent disciplinary procedures/incentives

-Critical issue response

-Periodic risk assessment

As an ethical responsibility program, Volkswagen would need audits and possibly from a third party to give an objective report. Communication including audit reports should be communicated regularly with the board of investors to ensure responsibility. Operating in this manner could’ve prevented the financial and reputation downfall that Volkswagen faced.

References

Hotten, R. (2017, December 03). Sentencing in VW Emissions Scandal and November Jobs Report. Retrieved January 03, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/business/vw-emissions-jobs-report.html

Gonzalez-Padron, T. (2015). Business ethics and social responsibility for managers [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Rhodes, C. (2016). Democratic business ethics: Volkswagen’s emissions scandal and the disruption of corporate sovereignty. Organization Studies, 37(10), 1501-1518. doi:10.1177/0170840616641984

Vandenberg, V. (2014, March 17). Coca Cola corporate social responsibility (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dDSHwFgKk

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/business/vw-emissions-jobs-report.html

Oliver Schmidt, on Wednesday to a potentially lengthy prison term for his role in the automaker’s decade-long diesel emissions scandal. Mr. Schmidt, the former head of Volkswagen’s environmental and engineering center in Michigan, pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy, fraud and violating the Clean Air Act in connection with Volkswagen’s systematic scheme to rig vehicles with devices that circumvented federal pollution tests.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772

Russell Hotten BBC NEWS
12/10/15

September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had a “defeat device” – or software – in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. The German car giant has since admitted cheating emissions tests in the US.

But VW has admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide, including eight million in Europe, are fitted with the so-called “defeat device”.

VW said it had found “irregularities” in tests to measure carbon dioxide emissions levels that could affect about 800,000 cars in Europe – including petrol vehicles. However, in December it said that following investigations, it had established that this only affected about 36,000 of the cars it produces each year.

although the EPA has said that the engines had computer software that could sense test scenarios by monitoring speed, engine operation, air pressure and even the position of the steering wheel. When the cars were operating under controlled laboratory conditions – which typically involve putting them on a stationary test rig – the device appears to have put the vehicle into a sort of safety mode in which the engine ran below normal power and performance. Once on the road, the engines switched out of this test mode

The result? The engines emitted nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times above what is allowed in the US.

Gonzalez-Padron, T. (2015). Business ethics and social responsibility for managers [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Sect. 1.4

Standards and procedures;

Program oversight and management;

Delegation of substantial authority;

Training and communication;

Checking evaluation and reporting;

Consistent disciplinary procedures and incentives;

Response to critical issues; and

Periodic risk assessment.

Snider, J., Hill, R. P., & Martin, D. (2003). Corporate social responsibility in the 21st century: A view from the world’s most successful firms.Links to an external site. Journal of Business Ethics, 48(2), 175-187. Retrieved from https://library.ashford.edu/ezproxy.aspx?url=http%3A//search.proquest.com/docview/198088512?accountid=32521

Tabberer, C [ProfTab @ OkWU]. (2010, May 5). Starbucks social responsibility video (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nly_OdvORQY

-makes all experience the same

– keeps customers happy with consisentecy so much so customers will come 18x mon

-evaluate coffee w/ particular procedure

– search for the best coffee by traveling all over

– go back to same farmers, build a relationship

– work w/ government of countries to keep the peace and their engagement from community

-CAFCP Café and farmer coffee practices to counter act coffee crisis that effects econmoies for all farmers, consumers, and stakeholders

– way to buy coffee to make it sustainable for the future.

-TO BE SOCIALLY & ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE

Vandenberg, V. (2014, March 17). Coca Cola corporate social responsibility (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dDSHwFgKk

-work w/ suppliers to ensure social responsibility

-manufacturing-packaging from recycled items or plants

-factories- try to only use energy they absolutely need

– transport in way to lessen carbon emissions

-cool drinks in energy saving fridges

Rhodes, C. (2016). Democratic business ethics: Volkswagen’s emissions scandal and the disruption of corporate sovereignty. Organization Studies, 37(10), 1501-1518. doi:10.1177/0170840616641984

Everything was going so well for the Volkswagen Group. In mid-2015 it overtook the Toyota Motor Corporation as the biggest auto manufacturer in the world.

All of this came crashing down in the events following 18 September 2015. On that date the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued Volkswagen with a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act. The auto manufacturer had been caught having installed ‘defeat devices’ in 482,000 of its diesel vehicles in the US, a number that was later revealed to be 11 million world- wide. The devices detected when a car was being driven under emissions test conditions and only at that point turned on emission controls. They switched off during normal driving, meaning that performance improved while up to 40 times more nitrous oxide was released (EPA, 2015). A global scandal ensued