The document discusses the Volkswagen emissions scandal and proposes a communication strategy. It summarizes how Volkswagen installed defeat devices in over 11 million vehicles to cheat emissions tests, violating the Clean Air Act. The company faces billions in fines and costs to retrofit vehicles. The communication strategy proposes setting up a dedicated website to provide updates on fixing the diesel models and registering customers for repairs. Independent testing results would be posted to reassure used car buyers and improve resale values.

1. Running head: TITLE OF PAPER 1
Title of Paper
Student Name
Columbia Southern University
This is the running head. The words
“Running head:” should only appear on the
title page. On all subsequent pages, the
header should consist of the title in all capital
letters. Be sure that the title within the
running head is 50 characters or less,

2. including spaces.
Paper Format
-Times New Roman 12 pt.
Paragraphs indented .5 inch (usually default Tab)
TITLE OF PAPER 2
Title of Paper
The first paragraph should introduce the organization and the
issue you plan to address.
This should be brief, as you will go into more detail later in the
paper. The thesis statement needs
to be the last sentence in the introduction.
Summary
The second paragraph should be a summary of the situation.
Look at the following
example from Unit I, which summarizes the issue with the

3. Volkswagen Corporation as a model:
Scientists from the University of West Virginia tested
Volkswagen diesel vehicles and
found that the company was able to cheat on emissions tests
with software that indicated the
vehicles’ emissions were far lower than they actually were.
Over 11 million vehicles were
equipped with the “defeat devices” (Varandani, 2015). The use
of devices designed to fool U.S.
regulators has resulted in a federal lawsuit against the company.
As reported by the National Public Radio (NPR) in “U.S. Files
Lawsuit Against
Volkswagen Over Emissions Trickery,” the vehicles are actually
putting up to 40 times more
pollution into the air than U.S. standards allow (as cited in
Chappell, 2016). Over 600,000
vehicles produced by Volkswagen violate the U.S. Clean Air
Act. Statements by Michael Horn,
the CEO of Volkswagen’s U.S. business concerns, and
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller
further damaged the reputation of organization. The scandal
resulted in the resignation of many
top-level Volkswagen employees and a drop in the company’s
stock price. Volkswagen faces

4. billions of dollars in potential fines and also the cost of
retrofitting its vehicles with systems to
limit emissions.
Communication Strategy
Each paragraph should be at least three sentences in length.
Each
paragraph should only include one topic.
TITLE OF PAPER 3
Begin this section of the essay by discussing the potential
audience for your strategy.
Remember that you are creating a strategy that fosters change
and innovation in the organization
based on what you have learned throughout the course. You
need to explain how the strategy
addresses the needs of your audience. With the Volkswagen
Corporation issue, for example, the
audience could be the senior executives in the company, the
U.S. federal government, and/or
past/future U.S. consumers of the product. In the following
paragraph, the scope of the audience
is limited to the customers who have purchased the vehicles in

5. question, but it is only one
potential option.
It is likely that U.S. customers who purchased diesel vehicles
with the emissions defeat
device will need to bring their vehicles into service centers for
government-mandated system
changes. Normally, the U.S. federal government requires
corporations to bring vehicles up to
regulation. It is probable that making changes to the software or
components will bring
compromises in fuel economy, performance, and/or reliability.
Backlash from this situation could negatively affect future
sales. Some customers will be
inconvenienced by the recall while others will have doubts
about the efficiency of future
products. In addition, consumers did not have the use of the
environmentally friendly car they
thought they were purchasing, and resale values are apt to fall.
The Volkswagen Corporation needs to address these customer
concerns. Setting up a
dedicated website to communicate with customers will be a
good first step in mitigating the
criticism. The website will provide regular updates on

6. Volkswagen’s progress in bringing the
diesel models into full compliance. Once the technical issues
are resolved, the recall program can
be linked into the website. Current customers will be able to
register online and schedule the
repairs required by the recall at dedicated Volkswagen service
centers and dealerships. In
Potential Audience
Audience Reaction
TITLE OF PAPER 4
addition, any independent testing of the new, compliant
emissions systems will be made
available on the website for the general public to review.
Since the website is a global communications channel, it will
help spread Volkswagen’s
message that the organization is changing its policies and
making industry-leading innovations in
clean technology. Providing transparency to the compliance
process through regular updates will
alleviate customer anxiety, and having a centralized location for
customers to register for repair

7. will make the process more convenient. Finally, providing
independently verified test results in a
public forum will reassure used car buyers that the vehicles are
now clean burning diesels, which
will help improve resale value.
Conclusion
In many ways, the conclusion acts as the final word in the
paper. A good conclusion is
the matching bookend to your introduction, and it is never a
straight reiteration of everything that
you have just presented in the paper.
Communication Strategy
How the Strategy Addresses the Needs of the Audience
TITLE OF PAPER 5
References
Chappell, B. (2016, January 4). U.S. files lawsuit against
Volkswagen over
emissions trickery. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-
way/2016/01/04/461927119/u-s-files-lawsuit-against-

8. volkswagen-over-emissions-
trickery
Varandani, S. (2015, December 17). Volkswagen emissions
scandal: European parliament backs
inquiry into German automaker, probe could last a year.
International Business Times.
Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/volkswagen-emissions-
scandal-european-
parliament-backs-inquiry-german-automaker-probe-2230060
The word “References”
should be centered at the
top of the page and is not
boldface.
This is an example of a reference list. All in-text citations must
have a corresponding entry on the
reference list. It is formatted with a hanging indent and double-
spacing.