For the Volkswagen Group, Matthias Mueller stepped in as CEO at the end of September 2015, days after Martin Winterkorn stepped down over the biggest automotive emissions scandal the world had ever seen. The United States Environmental Protection Agency affirmed the result of investigations showing that Volkswagen cheated on the test as well as manipulated the results by installing the software in its most successful diesel engines. TDI models of Volkswagen saw a successful as well as robust expansion in the US marketplace; however, this expansion was based on fraud. Approximately 11 million of the group's diesel vehicles all around the world were later on found to have had a cheating apparatus installed. This shattered the world-wide brand of the company and developed into a hazard for the formerly immaculate impression of German products as being highly reliable.
A veteran at Volkswagen group, Mueller, took in the responsibility of leading Volkswagen Group out of the mess it created for itself, regaining the trust of authorities, customers, and employees and finding technical options. The Group claimed that the scandal was the consequence of a chain of mistakes dating back to 2005. The case illustrates how a failure of appropriate corporate governance, over-ambitious goal-setting and an authoritarian direction culture can lead a successful business into catastrophe. Additionally, it leaves us to ponder why a corporate leader in social responsibility could be linked to this type of gigantic scandal.
PUBLICATION DATE: July 15, 2016 PRODUCT #: HK1089-PDF-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE