Question: What would you do if . . . ? George Lafontaine had always been an enthusiastic Volkswagen ( VW ) customer. As a young man,
What would you do if
George Lafontaine had always been an enthusiastic Volkswagen VW customer. As a young man, he drove
a Beetle, then as he got older he purchased a Golf, then a Jetta, and most recently a Passat. It was time for
George to purchase a new car, but he was hesitating at buying another Volkswagen. He had heard some
disturbing news about VWs use of software manipulation devices to avoid regulated emissions standards.
At first it was believed to be an isolated incident, the result of a few rogue employees. But, investigations
by the media and others found that this was not the case. In fact, some believed that unethical behaviours
were common in the auto industry.
George decided to research the Volkswagen website for information on ethics and social responsibility.
He found a comprehensive code of ethics that included phrases like:
we act responsibly, for the benefit of our customers, shareholders, and employees
we consider compliance with laws, and internal rules to be the basis for sustainable and successful
economic activities
we stand for respectable, honest actions.
In addition, he found detailed corporate social responsibility guidelines. Two of these guidelines related
to the environment and product safety. The corporation claimed it was responsible to the environment by
producing clean cars which would throughout their life cycle minimize their impact on the environment. Re
sponsibility for their products would be designed to protect the health and safety of the customer.
Overall, the guidelines stated that VW viewed itself as a corporate citizen who took responsibility to
society seriously. The VW corporation supported numerous CSR projects around the world related to the
arts, sciences, education, health promotion, sports, and nature conservation as well as local infrastructure
development. In Canada, for example, VW employees volunteered at Camp Oochigeas, a camp for children
with cancer.
VW has placed advertisements in Canadian daily newspapers apologizing for their mistake and stating
we won't rest until we earn back your trust and restore our integrity."
George was undecided about purchasing another VW product and disillusioned about CSR
What advice would you give George?h
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