Environmental Ethics in Volkswagen - Case Study Example

CRITIQUE OF RELEVANT NEWS ATRICLE Name Institution Course Professor Date CRITIQUE OF RELEVANT NEWS ATRICLE Introduction Corporate scandals are becoming a global issue in the contemporary society marked by the frequent unethical practice in organisations. According to Schwartz (2013, p. 39), the problem presents a challenge in organisation management cutting across the leadership groups such as the directors, managers, executives, and junior staff. Moreover, the difficulties in its eradication involve the many examples of its practices including corruption, bribery, money laundering, fraud, consumer product safety, and environmental pollution. The case of Volkswagen identifies with unethical practice, where Mansouri (2016, p. 211) explains about their rigging a diesel emission test to pass the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In this case, the essay critiques the unethical conduct of Volkswagen by looking at specific ethical theories of the environment, Kant, Utilitarianism, and virtue. The discussion centres on environmental ethics which is a crucial concern in today’s world for the survival and continuity of life. In particular, it highlights the effects of such practices on the particular stakeholders arguing that the punishment served to the company supports environmental ethics. Environmental Ethics in Volkswagen Environmental sustainability in an era of globalisation and pollution attracts the attention of environmental agencies supporting environmental conservation. Based on Mansouri (2016, p. 211) the EPA contributes to the agenda of minimising air pollution by establishing strict emission policies targeting the car manufacturing industry. In particular, Mansouri (2016, p. 211) targets the reduction of the gas Nitrogen Oxide generated from the car exhaust. The gas affects human health enhancing the possibility of diseases such as respiratory infections, asthma, bronchitis, and cardiovascular complication. However, the emission restriction presented hardships in the automotive industry, where the Volkswagen focused on maintaining the fuel-efficient diesel vehicles that observe the EPA restrictions. Interestingly, the giant multinational company resolved to maintain their market power by rigging the emission test and producing non-environmentally friendly vehicles (Mansouri, 2016, p. 211). The imperative in the case is the focus on the effects of the scandal on the firm with less attention directed to the environmental impacts. According to Mansouri (2016, p. 213), there is the mention of effects of the acid rain on nature which fails to comprehensively emphasis on the adversity of the unethical practice to the environment. The natural environment contributes to human well-being whose benefits depend on human actions about these natural resources. According to Jax et al. (2013, p. 261), it is important to explore and understand the interphase connecting the ecosystems to the human needs and demands about these systems in order to provide an accurate judgment on human actions. A significant area realised through the interphase study is the inclusion of ethics on a human-nature relationship, which is broader than the human-human relation such as the case of Volkswagen. Significant to these relationships is environmental ethics accounting for the human-to-human as well as the human-non-human relations (Jax et al. 2013, p. 261). In particular, the effective observance of the ethics involves two areas of deontology and axiology, where deontology refers to a moral obligation of an action towards other beings, whereas axiology relates to the value (Jax et al. 2013, p. 2610. Therefore, the action by the individuals in Volkswagen identifies their failure to hold a moral value of the environment including the humans and non-human natural beings. It is important to emphasise that environmental ethics believes that nature and natural resource hold inherent value implying that they cannot undergo replacement, compensation or become monetized. Virtue Ethics in Volkswagen Organisation value is an imperative subject that governs the relationship of the firm to its different stakeholders. Corporate value is of great worth today, especially following the increased responsibility of an organisation to the society. According to McKay, Nitsch and Peters (2015, p. 271), it is important for corporations to increase shareholder value by observing specific rules and regulations that link with the practices of the society. Focusing on the case of Volkswagen, Mansouri (2016, p. 211), the chairman of the company addresses the scandal by explaining the act as an outcome of a group of individuals who fail to comply with the rules. Moreover, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) supports the individuality of the unethical practice mentioning it was not a corporate decision (Mansouri, 2016, p. 211). However, an investigation on the case reveals the knowledge of the activities among a significant number of staff including high-ranking employees. Therefore, the failure to observe the virtue ethics interprets to a corporate culture with a clear knowledge of right and wrong, but where the individuals’ characters compel them to act unethically. The acts of knowingly performing a wrong deed or that which is contrary to the norms indicate a lack of value to the consequences of the actions. Members of the Volkswagen team knowingly altered the test results of the vehicles so as to deceive the EPA (Nitsch et al. 2015, p. 271). In this case, it is important to differentiate the law and ethical observance in a quest to understand the significance of virtue ethics. The law, such as the emission requirements passed by the EPA can enforce the observance of an ethical behaviour by the concerned group. However, Nitsch et al. (2015, p. 271) include that complying with the laws does not imply acting in an ethical manner. Such is the case of the scandal at Volkswagen, where availability of the regulation by the EPA did not prevent the staff at the company from acting unethically. Moreover, the culture of deception is evident in Volkswagen as described by Mansouri (2016, p. 212) where even after finding a solution to meeting the emission standards, the engineers and other staff preferred to continue rigging rather than observing the right practice. Therefore, the case identifies with the knowledge of normative ethics as explained in Nitsch et al. (2015, p. 271) but a personal choice to practice the wrong. Kant Theory of Ethics in the Volkswagen Scandal The observance of business ethics accounts for the moral management of people, including moral rights and duties. Based on Michaelson et al. (2014, p. 77) meaningful work entails providing the employee with a sense of identity, purpose and meaning with which they attach themselves to the organisation. A meaningful work environment enhances employee job satisfaction and the availability of important employee values (Michaelson et al. 2014, p. 77). The imperative in identifying these environments in an ethical perspective involves management of others and the self. According to Kant theory of ethics, meaningful work is that which fosters the independence and autonomy of the employee, where the employee has the freedom to participate, enhances the development of a worker's rational capacity, and supports the moral growth of the employee (Michaelson et al. 2014, p. 77). With Kant, the application of ethics involves the deontological model where the performance of duties and obligation should carry an element of respect for humanity in people. The people performing the duties should serve as an end as opposed to as a means. Focusing on the case of Volkswagen, Mansouri (2016, p. 212), the employees are obliged to comply with the rules of the company as part of the culture of the firm. The compliance based corporate culture includes a centralization of work structure, where the focus is the achievement of the expectations of the firm regardless of the method used by the employee. Moreover, the work environment does not account for employee job satisfaction using them as a means to an end, a typical form of autocratic governance. Therefore, the management and organisational structure of Volkswagen directly contributed to the unethical exercise of the employees, making them prioritise securing their job instead of work satisfaction. It would be more profitable for the firm to amend its culture to include a concern for the employee as recommended by (Mansouri, 2016, p. 215). Unitarianism and the Case of Volkswagen The performance of activities should focus on providing value to the people rather than concentrating on the binary form of good and bad (Willis, 2014, p. 1). According to May et al. (2014, p. 652), the management through its decision-making framework influences the consequences of the work to the employee, especially concerning the utility included in the performance of the activity. Looking at Volkswagen, Mansouri (2016, p. 212) includes that the culture of the firm and governance direct the operation and decision by employees. In this case, the value of the output fails to attract more importance relative to meeting the expectation of the management. Moreover, examining the case as presented by Mansouri (2016, p. 212), it is evident that the management considers the unethical practice to be an outcome of external forces such as tough emission standards. However, it is the internal work environment that fails to consider the importance of Unitarianism ethics. Conclusion In summary, the case of Volkswagen indicates unethical practices about the environment as the major concern. However, it is evident that the corporate culture and management introduce unethical practices about the observance of virtue, utility, and Kant ethics. Focusing on Kant theory on ethics, the organisation fails to provide a value-based approach to the process of manufacturing their vehicles. Consequently, the employees, consumer, and the environment suffer the most impacts of these unethical practices. Therefore, the recommendations to the company in alleviating the situation are most appropriate since they focus on these affected individuals. References Jax, K., Barton, D, N., Chan, K.M., de Groot, R., Doyle, U., Eser, U., Gorg, C., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Griewald, Y., Haber, W. and Haine-Young, R., 2013. Ecosystem service and ethics. Ecological Economics, vol. 93, pp. 260- 268. Mansouri, N., 2016. A Case Study of Volkswagen Unethical Practice in Diesel Emission Test. International Journal of Science and Engineering Application, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 211- 216. May, D.R., Li, C., Mencl, J. and Huang, C.C., 2014. The ethics of meaningful work: Types and magnitude of job-related harm and the ethical decision-making process. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 121, no.4, pp. 651-669. McKay, D.R., Nitsch, R. and Peters, D.A., 2015. Corporate governance and business ethics. Plastic Surgery, vol. 23, no. 4, p. 271. Michaelson, C., Pratt, M.G., Grant, A.M. and Dunn, C.P., 2014. Meaningful work: Connecting business ethics and organization studies. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 121, no. 1, pp. 77- 90. Schwartz, M.S., 2013. Developing and sustaining an ethical corporate culture: The core elements. Business Horizons, vol. 56, no.1, pp. 39-50. Willis, J.E., 2014. Learning analytics and ethics: A framework beyond utilitarianism. Educause Review Read More