(1)Examine how VWs external environment had affected VWs corporate strategy and the task environment of VWs CEO.

(2)Determine and explain three prominent roles of a manager of Piechs position at a company which was very much technology-driven; and the two skills which are most important to effectively perform these roles.

(3)Examine how Piechs job dimensions had changed, from an Executives position at Porsche to the CEOs position of VW.

Volkswagen's Ferdinand Pich While many of today's organisations are shifting towards more democratic, participative types of management, one is not: Volkswagen (VW). In fact, Volkswagen's former chief executive and current Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ferdinand Pich, rules his realm with an iron hand. After a long executive career at such prestigious carmakers as Audi and Porsche (Piech's maternal grandfather was Ferdinand Porsche), Pich took over as Volkswagen's CEO in 1993. He immediately centralised power in the organisation, firing managers who questioned his ideas or who didn't follow his lead. He dived into engineering projects himself, proposing new projects, tinkering with designs. He presided over meetings with the demeanour of an autocrat, with the occasional result that 'critical questions aren't asked, because people know things can rapidly get uncomfortable', noted one former executive. Pich had a reason for ruling supreme over his company. He wasn't satisfied that VW was Europe's leading mass-market car manufacturer; he wanted to turn it into the most powerful, most respected carmaker in the world. 'We were trying to redefine the status game,' explained Jens Neumann, a member of Volkswagen's management board and supporter of Pich. After creating successes at both Porsche and Audi, such as the Quattro all-wheel drive, Pich was intent on doing even more at VW. 'He is the most brilliant and forward-looking CEO in the business today,' claimed an analyst for a major VW investor. Indeed, in the first five years at the wheel, Pich turned around several languishing car models, increased the company's lead in Europe and created a comeback in the crucial US market. Perhaps his most famous project was his reintroduction of the beloved VW Beetle. Despite warnings by market experts, Pich pushed the bug ahead - redesigned so that it's a little larger than its predecessor and comes with all the necessary technological bells and whistles - to a warm welcome from customers. Perhaps one reason Pich was so successful in his method of management was his extensive knowledge of and passion for the cars themselves. From his days as an automotive engineering student at Zurich's Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, through his stint at Porsche, where he helped create world-class racing cars, to his development of Audi's Quattro and then the launch of the VW Beetle, Pich was found under the hood, tinkering. He knew his product and his customers, and how to fit them together, better than anyone else in the industry. Critics charged that Pich had too tight a hold over his company. 'At VW, nothing happens without Pich,' noted a former colleague. One-person rule can result in massive mistakes. At one point, Piech pushed for the purchase of Rolls-Royce Motors from its parent, Vickers PLC. But in a botched deal, he lost the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand name, which actually belongs to Rolls-Royce PLC, the aerospace manufacturer. Critics also point out that Pich's fanatical grip on VW had more to do with his personal insecurity than any philosophy of management. 'He wanted to prove that he has been underestimated for years,' mused one former VW executive. But with Pich in the lead, the VW group was reporting nearly 200 billion a year in earnings, over 100 per cent more than before he took the driver's seat. Under his leadership, the company operated 100 production plants in 27 countries and became the world's third biggest auto-maker delivering nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide. Volkswagen had 12 brands and offered 280 models of cars. It strengthened and diversified its brands and products, and globalised its business and supply chains. In 2014, however, US researchers in California and West Virginia discovered that a Volkswagen Jetta had emitted 15 to 35 times the permitted amounts of nitrogen oxides during road tests. A Volkswagen Passat was 5 to 18 times over the limit. Eventually, WW engineers were forced to admit that they had doctored vehicle electronic monitors to conceal from consumers and authorities that their diesel engines did not comply with US or European emissions standards. Penalties of more than US$22 billion in fines and legal settlements followed