Reply to the threads of 2 classmates who offer views different than yours. Identify the points of difference in your analyses 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. Review the Assignment Instructions for Discussion Board Forums, noting especially requirements for word counts, scholarly sources, and biblical worldview integration. Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen Lacey Griggs Liberty University Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen             There are many laws in place that keep organizations from harming the public and these laws must be strictly adhered to; however, there are instances where specific laws either do not apply or are vague enough that they are up for interpretation. In these instances, a company must refer to its code of ethics when making decisions. All organizations, regardless of size, are charged with the responsibility of operating within the bounds of integrity and ethics. It is true that remaining within the constraints of all applicable laws, policies, and standards of ethics while also remaining productive can, at times, prove difficult. The Volkswagen scandal presents ethical questions regarding effective inter-communication, intent, and responsibility. Managerial Perspective As a manager, (and in this case, the manager in the engineering department of a large automobile manufacturing plant), one is tasked with the obligation to understand the start to finish process of manufacturing the vehicle, all appropriate benchmarks, and deficits in the current process so that process improvement can take place. There is no explicit proof of intent to prevaricate on the shoulders of the manager, but there are certainly ways he or she could have avoided the poor decisions, omissions, and breakdown in communication that occurred and ultimately led to the scandal. One such action would have been to close the gap in communication. According to Lippe (2015), an engineer in the department “…made a bad (at least in hindsight) design decision to use a cheaper ignition switch, which shut off when bumped in moving cars…Then the switch engineer approved a redesign of the switch without telling anybody…” (p. 2). Had the engineering manager been more involved in the decision-making process of the engineers within his or her department and had effectively communicated the changes that were made to the appropriate people and departments, the original problem could have been resolved and the scandal prevented.  As Lippe (2015) so eloquently put it, “Maybe spend less time broadly claiming to reduce risk, and more time really understanding the business and the sources of the risk… In Volkswagen, not knowing was just as bad as knowing and acquiescing” (p. 3). Diesel Department CEO Perspective After the scandal ...

1. Reply to the threads of 2 classmates who offer views different
than yours. Identify the points of difference in your analyses
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.
Review the Assignment Instructions for Discussion Board
Forums, noting especially requirements for word counts,
scholarly sources, and biblical worldview integration.
Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen
Lacey Griggs
Liberty University
Discussion Board 1: Volkswagen
There are many laws in place that keep organizations
from harming the public and these laws must be strictly adhered
to; however, there are instances where specific laws either do
not apply or are vague enough that they are up for
interpretation. In these instances, a company must refer to its
code of ethics when making decisions. All organizations,
regardless of size, are charged with the responsibility of

2. operating within the bounds of integrity and ethics. It is true
that remaining within the constraints of all applicable laws,
policies, and standards of ethics while also remaining
productive can, at times, prove difficult. The Volkswagen
scandal presents ethical questions regarding effective inter-
communication, intent, and responsibility.
Managerial Perspective
As a manager, (and in this case, the manager in the engineering
department of a large automobile manufacturing plant), one is
tasked with the obligation to understand the start to finish
process of manufacturing the vehicle, all appropriate
benchmarks, and deficits in the current process so that process
improvement can take place. There is no explicit proof of intent
to prevaricate on the shoulders of the manager, but there are
certainly ways he or she could have avoided the poor decisions,
omissions, and breakdown in communication that occurred and
ultimately led to the scandal. One such action would have been
to close the gap in communication. According to Lippe (2015),
an engineer in the department “…made a bad (at least in
hindsight) design decision to use a cheaper ignition switch,
which shut off when bumped in moving cars…Then the switch
engineer approved a redesign of the switch without telling
anybody…” (p. 2). Had the engineering manager been more
involved in the decision-making process of the engineers within
his or her department and had effectively communicated the
changes that were made to the appropriate people and
departments, the original problem could have been resolved and
the scandal prevented. As Lippe (2015) so eloquently put it,
“Maybe spend less time broadly claiming to reduce risk, and
more time really understanding the business and the sources of
the risk… In Volkswagen, not knowing was just as bad as
knowing and acquiescing” (p. 3).
Diesel Department CEO Perspective
After the scandal was made public, it would be imperative for
the CEO of the Diesel Department to write and deliver a formal
apology, not only to the public, but to the employees of

3. Volkswagen, as well. Delivering this apology as quickly as
possible would help fan the flames and temper the frustration,
distrust, and inevitable decline in consumer interest in
conducting business with Volkswagen. It is also vital that the
CEO does not try to pass the buck, but rather offers
transparency and genuine remorse for what happened as it
relates to his or her personal implications and/or the
contribution made by the organizational structure as a whole.
According to Crete, Volkswagen didn’t immediately get this
right, “In the Volkswagen case, the company's management
concentrated first on identifying the handful of individuals it
considered to be responsible for the deception, before admitting
few weeks later that organizational problems had also
encouraged or facilitated the unlawful corporate behavior [sic]”
(p. 26).
As for navigating the future, the CEO has a responsibility to
Volkswagen and the public deceived by its fraudulent activities
to ensure that such activity will not be tolerated. He or she must
cooperate with any investigations and be sincerely invested in
seeking the truth, so that Volkswagen can walk away from the
scandal having learned a valuable lesson about how to handle
business in the future. On that note, the CEO would also be
wise to suggest a crisis-communication and management
program if one was not already in place for Volkswagen.
According to Sims (2009), managing reputation risk includes
“assessing reputation, evaluating reality, closing the gaps
whether reputation is greater or lesser than reality, monitoring
changing beliefs and expectations… and putting one person in
charge” (p. 457).
Lastly, it would be essential for the CEO to ensure that
Volkswagen engaged in further training of current employees,
the hiring of new lawyers, and the firing of employees found to
be directly responsible or negligent in the scandal. All the
aforementioned would be important in the company’s ability to
regain trust form the public. By responding with a commitment
to acknowledge blatant and lax ethical violations, the CEO is

4. demonstrating the importance of virtue in business to the
employees of Volkswagen, which will help prevent further
violations.
Guilt vs. Responsibility in Business
The Volkswagen scandal also raises an interesting distinction
between guilt and responsibility as it relates to business and
decisions made therein. According to Gardiner,
Guilt is always personal whereas collective
responsibility is always plural, and hence, political. Collective
responsibility concerns membership in a particular group with
whom we have shared interest…. There is a clear distinction
between political responsibilities, which are collective, and
moral or legal guilt, which pertains to individual acts. (p. 6)
If we are to subscribe to this way of thinking, then only
certain employees and affiliates
of Volkswagen were guilty of fraud. The remaining employees
and affiliates who were
within the departments where the deceit originated were
ethically culpable because of the
collective responsibility being associated with those
departments demanded.
Biblical Worldview
While it may seem that operating a business with a biblical
worldview would serve to complicate things, adhering to and
honoring God’s word in the business realm simplifies. Instead
of considering God’s commandments a hinderance to business,
they should be seen as a bridge to success. In the Volkswagen
scandal, if someone who had knowledge of the fraud had come
forward, he or she would have been acting in accordance with
God’s word, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free” (John 8:32, English Standard Version). Not only are
we responsible for illuminating the truth, as Christ followers
and business leaders, we all must endeavor to view our work as
a gift unto the Lord. Colossians 3:17 tells us, “And whatever

5. you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (English
Standard Version). When we act unethically, whether by deed or
acquiesce, we do not please the Lord, as we have altered our
motivation to fit the world’s standards, rather than the
Kingdom.
References
Crete, R. (2016). The Volkswagen Scandal from the Viewpoint
of Corporate Governance. European Journal of Risk Regulation,
7(1), 26.
Gardiner, R. (2018). Ethical Responsibility: An Arendtian
Turn. University of Western Ontario Business Ethics Quarterly,
28(1), 6.
Lippe, P. (2015). Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers? The
New Normal. Retrieved from
http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_wher
e_were_the_lawyers/
Sims, R. (2009). Toward a Better Understanding of
Organizational Efforts to Rebuild Reputation Following an
Ethical Scandal. Journal of Business Ethics 90,457.

6. Jhunaiah Bryant
Discussion Board 1
Liberty University
Volkswagen's most recent disaster including the utilization of a
product to swindle diesel motor execution can be seen in
alternate points of view. Maybe, one would contend that it was
the lawful direction's shortcoming for not giving the security
guidelines to be agreed to. Others may contend generally and
state that the designing office deliberately built up an off-base
programming to compromise and spare expenses. Taking a
gander at the lawful, otherworldly, and moral viewpoints on this
issue, I think all divisions are to blame and it is silly to point
fingers given the harm it managed to the organization's business
tasks completely. Talking about correspondence and rationality
in the work environment, Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., &
Jondle, D. (2009) said that "soundness is the dynamic fixing to
Enlightened Leadership and stunning things are conceivable
when we accomplish lucidness in ourselves, our groups, our
industry, and society overall." This rule additionally thinks
about the legitimate part of being a CEO. “Being a pioneer
requests that one has a definitive obligation of not exclusively
monitoring what procedures your specialties make yet in
addition guarantee that both long and momentary arranging has
been made preceding executing a noteworthy program, for
example, the product Volkswagen utilized for their diesel
vehicles”.
Knowledge and acquaintance in an organization's activities and
ideas are basic to guarantee that all areas of an organization are
in a similar page. On the off chance that I was a worker in
either the lawful office or the designing office, the primary
thing I would accomplish for the activity is to prepare myself
not just in the field I was enlisted for yet additionally for
different branches of the organization. I think cognizance and
correspondence among different divisions assumed a noteworthy
job in both what occurred and what could have been

7. counteracted had they polished better correspondence among
their companions.
Beside this, I believe being a decent CEO requires a proactive
mentality. Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., & Jondle, D.
(2009) characterizes proactivity as "First, proactive individual
condition (PE) fit conduct incorporates proactive objectives to
accomplish a superior… inside workplace." If Volkswagen's top
administration rehearsed this mindset, they could have
forestalled a colossal scale problem that kept on influencing
their deals definitely” (Lippe, P. 2015, October 13).
Then again, seeing it on the otherworldly viewpoint, Philippians
2:4 guides us to "don't simply pay special mind to your very
own advantages, yet in addition for the interests of others."
Clearly, for this situation, in the event that I was a product
designer in the building segment or an individual working in the
lawful office, one point must be plainly expressed: it isn't only
about the benefits and outside impressive corporate picture.
Volkswagen might be a standout amongst the most very
respected European vehicle creators in the business, however
absence of correspondence among its specialties and the
purposeful utilization of this product can draw us a point of
view that they thought about benefits and deals which at that
point reflected back against their picture in the midst of this
outrage. Moreover, Proverbs 27:17 furnishes us with "Iron
sharpenth iron; thus, a man sharpenth the face of his
companion." The idea of authority does depend upon top
administration as well as in every representative in the
organization through and through. On the off chance that each
individual was considered responsible from the base workers to
the top administration, the deliberate utilization of a product
that would harm Volkswagen as well as the security peril this
would cause to customers would have been counteracted.
Interfacing it to the moral point of view, Ardichvili, Mitchell
and Jondle (2009) characterizes moral authority as, Moral
societies depend on arrangement between formal structures,

8. procedures, and strategies, reliable moral conduct of top
authority, and casual acknowledgment of legends, stories,
ceremonies, and language that motivate hierarchical individuals
to carry on in a way steady with high moral gauges that have
been set by official initiative. (see p. 446 of Journal of Business
Ethics) in reference to the current issue, being a CEO would
involve making techniques that would likewise perceive the
unfavorable and the useful impacts of every business program to
the partners. I believe being a piece of an organization on a
noteworthy player like Volkswagen would request a higher
standard not just in the approach making methodology as a CEO
or an individual from the top administration yet in addition on
everyday tasks as a feature of the lawful or building group.
Myself as the CEO, I will assume full liability of what occurred
on account of Volkswagen. I know morally an expression of
remorse sent to the devoted clients and recently gained shoppers
would not be sufficient, however perceiving issue is the primary
thing that should be tended to on this issue. Painter-Morland &
Werhane has an intriguing interpretation of morals with regards
to the corporate world. They believe in different involvements
to finding different solutions to a problem. there are several
ways to compromise in what actions are needed to be taken. I
think that having this idea is more useful. Along these lines,
corporate life comprises generally of blame dealing and the
fiery avoiding of duty, with a definitive dishonesty motion of
accusing "advertise powers" or one's association for decisions
for which one should assume full liability.
In the mist of perceiving shortcoming and guaranteeing
proactive deduction in the organization's next undertakings, a
solid answer for the aversion for the reoccurrence of this issue
would be adherence. I know there is an inward clash in
amplifying edges by setting aside cash and compromising as
opposed to spending more assets to hold fast to industry models
however on the off chance that Volkswagen did do whatever it
takes not to purposefully utilize the off-base programming to
spare costs, this issue would have been averted in any case.

9. “Taking everything into account, blaming an individual for
mistakes and not tolerating flaw were huge elements that raised
this issue to the general population” (Olaisen, J., Revang, O.
2016). This misbehavior was likewise exacerbated by the
conceivable certainty that the legitimate advice that should
ensure the organization and help them to remember adherence to
guidelines and guidelines neglected to convey their activity due
to two potential situations: absence of learning of what the
product building designers were doing or a purposeful
concealment of the designing group's tasks with respect to this
venture which reverse discharges all in all organization and
discolored its notoriety.
There are no alternate ways for an organization's prosperity and
putting myself on a huge scale organization's shoes, I should
state that I should be superior to that. Individuals need to be
reminded that there are a thousand different ways to skin a
feline, however I should dependably make sure to pick the best
strategy, that is an important which is the one, that conveys
phenomenal outcomes as well as perceives every single
potential hazard and guarantees no tradeoffs are made to other
people.
References
Lippe, P. (2015, October 13). Volkswagen: Where were the
lawyers? ABA Journal. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_
where_were_
Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., & Jondle, D. (2009).
Characteristics of Ethical Business Cultures. Journal of
Business Ethics,85(4), 445-451. Retrieved February 24, 2018,
from https://link-springer-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/10.1007%2Fs10551-008-9782-4.
Olaisen, J., Revang, O. (2016). Working smarter and greener:
Collaborative knowledge sharing in virtual global project
teams. International Journal of Information Management, 37(1),
1441-1448. Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.10.002