Case

Volkswagen: emissions defeat device (2015–2017)

The company installed software so diesel cars met emission limits only under test conditions, deceiving buyers (information failure) and polluting (externality). In 2017 it agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal and civil penalties of $4.3 billion.

Industry
Automotive
Frameworks applied
Market Failures Approach (MFA)Four ethical lenses
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Frameworks applied

This case is read through the frameworks below.

  • Market Failures Approach (MFA)When reviewing how the firm makes its profits, which strategies should a business owner drop because they rely on market failures rather than fair competition?
  • Four ethical lensesWhen a manager faces a business decision with an ethical dilemma, which standard should lead the judgement: rights, outcomes, agreement or character?

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. US Department of Justice (2017) Volkswagen AG agrees to plead guilty and pay $4.3 billion in criminal and civil penalties (press release, 11 January).No DOIjustice.govSource page