Exploring business ethics and responsibility: a case study in the automobile industry

Abstract

This case study will delve into Volkswagen's (VW) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scandal, popularly known as Dieselgate, to explore how organizational culture and values influenced decision-making processes that triggered a corporate tailspin. The aim is to understand key cultural factors that allowed unethical behavior to persist for an extended period and the extent to which employees felt compelled to remain silent about emissions cheating. Further analysis regarding VW's response to the scandal and its alignment with corporate culture and ethical values should provide insights into how corporate history played a role in the scandal. Data from Yale School of Management Case Study #18-018 will be thematically analyzed against Enron and the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Disaster to provide comparative phenomena. Lastly, to enhance validity, a triangulation and peer review strategy seeks to strengthen insight to prevent future ethical lapses despite its limitations on access to corporate data.