blog




  • Essay / Managerial ethics and social responsibility

    The lack of ethics occurs in companies run by capitalists who only think about their own profit, with the priority of getting rich no matter what. They don't mind using scams and lies to fabricate results and achieve their goals. In 2015, automaker Volkswagen was accused by the U.S. government of defrauding the results of pollution tests conducted on approximately 480,000 vehicles sold in the country. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay In September, the company admitted that 11 million diesel vehicles in models of different brands owned by the group had been adulterated. This fraud damaged the image of the German car manufacturer, since the company positioned itself as environmentally conscious, committing in a July 2014 letter to Greenpeace to reduce its CO2 emissions by 2020. The company's shares suffered a sharp fall and Martin Winterkorn resigned as Volkswagen's chief executive. The United States charged the former Volkswagen CEO with conspiracy and wire fraud for covering up the attempt of the company cheating on American diesel emissions tests. In a meeting on July 27, 2015, Martin Winterkorn and other senior executives were informed of these irregularities discovered in the United States. At that meeting, the former CEO approved the use of U.S. regulators' cheating software. Which shows that he was fully aware of his unethical behavior, choosing profit over ethics. The fraud consisted of a mechanism installed on cars equipped with an EA 189 type diesel engine. The US Environmental Agency (EPA) concluded that the software recognizes when the vehicle is under technical inspection, puts the engine in economy mode and injects chemicals to reduce toxic gas emissions. Thus, the results of the surveys show emissions that would comply with the standards. But under normal driving conditions, the problem would be up to 40 times greater than U.S. law allows. Diesel combustion releases several pollutants into the atmosphere, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur, among others - responsible for the death of thousands of people every year. This is why countries have regulatory agents to control the emissions of these gases. Volkswagen committed a very serious crime by making 11 million cars appear less toxic than they really are. In addition to deceiving its customers, the brand contributed even more to the process of global warming. According to an analysis published in the British newspaper The Guardian, the impact of 11 million adulterated vehicles worldwide can result in the emission of 237,000 to 948,000 tonnes of polluting gases. per year, which is an extremely high amount. When it comes to pollutant emissions into the atmosphere, diesel is seven times worse than gasoline, and exposure to this type of pollutant can lead to increased risks of lung cancer, asthma and bronchitis, of cardiovascular diseases. and strokes. Volkswagen's behavior was clearly very unethical, as the brand was harming people and the environment, in order to generate more profits. The company violated many ethical principles, such as the principle of government requirements (ethical principle that you are not allowed to take any action that violates the law), the principle of personal virtue (ethical principle that anything that does not is not honest,.