Volkswagen has a relatively small market share in the U.S., but has made infrastructure investments in order to address that. The company needs to make changes to its marketing program in order to support those infrastructure investments. Most important, this means changing the promotional program. The marketing message does not resonate with consumers, the media mix may not be cost effective, and overall spending may need to increase. This could necessitate changes in the advertising agency and shifts in the marketing message to build brand strength.

In addition, Volkswagen needs to leverage the increased cost flexibility that it will gain from its Mexican plant in order to become price competitive. To the best of its ability, it needs to benchmark its prices against category leaders. This will make the value proposition more appealing to consumers. The objective is to generate volume improvements, so undercutting benchmarks is highly desirable where it can…...

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Works Cited:

AdBrands.net. (2010). Volkswagen Group (Germany). AdBrands.net. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from  http://www.adbrands.net/de/volkswagen_de.htm 

Gopwani, J. & Phelan, M. (2010). VW aims to double U.S. market share. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from  http://www.freep.com/article/20100111/Business03/100111045/VW-aims-to-double-U.S.-market-share 

Silver, N. (2009). The end of car culture. Esquire. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from  http://www.esquire.com/features/data/nate-silver-car-culture-stats-0609

Meta-Analysis
hen it comes to the Volkswagen scandal, the real cost in human terms could be sixty or more premature deaths, according to an environmental study reported in Time. The 482,000 dirty diesel Volkswagen engines (sold in the U.S.) spewed enormous amounts of nitrogen oxide into the air for years before the deceptive software was discovered. The study by the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters suggests that "... as many as 130 additional people may die" premature deaths from pollution if the emission problems aren't fixed (orland, 2015). The social costs may reach half a billion dollars (orland).

Meanwhile Germany has suffered "major damage" to its image because of the scandal (Bremmer, 2015). Germany has shown strong leadership on the euro zone, on the recent refugee crisis, and in other European fiscal / social matters. But now, due to the " ... brazen deception" of Volkswagen, it will be hard for…...

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Works Cited

Bremmer, I. (2015). The Volkswagen scandal will do major damage to Germany. Time.com.

Retrieved February 13, 2016, from Ebscohost.com.

Kirsher, T. (2015). Volkswagen Hires Kenneth Feinberg to Handle Fallout of Emissions

Scandal. Time.com. Retrieved February 13, 2016, from Ebscohost.com.

Volkswagen Emission Scandal
Volkswagen is a company headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and is the original marquee within the Volkswagen Group. The Volkswagen Group includes different car marquees like Bentley Motors, Audi, Automobile Lamborghini, Bugatti Automobiles, and Scania, which manufactures heavy goods vehicles. Since its inception, Volkswagen has developed to become the third largest manufacturer of automobiles after Toyota and General Motors respectively. However, the company was recently involved in an emission scandal that has generated significant concerns in this industry and among the public. The emission scandal is attributed to the company's corporate misbehavior, which is largely unacceptable from any perspective. The unacceptability of this misbehavior is attributable to its impact on the world and violation of business ethics.

Emission Issue at Volkswagen

Volkswagen is renowned across the globe as one of the leading and successful car manufacturers that have experienced tremendous growth and profitability since inception. Despite its success, Volkswagen…...

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References

Argenti, P. (2015, October 13). The Biggest Culprit in VW's Emissions Scandal. Fortune. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from  http://fortune.com/2015/10/13/biggest-culprit-in-volkswagen-emissions-scandal/ 

Hotten, R. (2015, November 4). Volkswagen: The Scandal Explained. BBC. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from  http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772 

Queen, E.L. (2015, September 26). How Could VW Be So Dumb? Blame the Unethical Culture Endemic in Business. The Conversation. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from  http://theconversation.com/how-could-vw-be-so-dumb-blame-the-unethical-culture-endemic-in-business-48137

Targeted Segment

Customer Need

Corresponding Feature/Benefit

Families

(consumer market)

Ample seating

Built in entertainment

Easy Entry

Safety

Ample room

Seating for seven

Dual fold down DVD screens

Dual sliding power doors

earview back camera

Large cargo capacity

Source: http://www.vw.com/routan/en/us/

Competitive eview

Competitor

Model

Features

Price

Honda

Odyssey

Aggressive Front and ear Styling, Power Sliding Doors, Alloy Wheels, Bluetooth® Hands Free Link®, Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System ™ with Voice ecognition and earview Camera and Tri-Zone Climate Control

$26, 805

Kia

Sedona

Alloy Wheels, Auto Light Control System, Navigation System, Bluetooth with voice recognition, ear seat DVD entertainment system

$24,595

Toyota

Sienna

Alloy Wheels, Dual Sliding Doors, Star Safety System, Tire Pressure Monitor System

$24,260

Distribution eview

Based on psychographic and demographic segmentation, a direct marketing campaign would be the best way to approach the marketing of the Volkswagen outan Minivan. The goal is going to be to reach families that want to use technology to help them decide the type of vehicle that they want to purchase. The Volkswagen outan is distributed exclusively through Volkswagen dealerships. This usually entails limiting distribution to a single channel.…...

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References

2010 Volkswagen Routan. (2010). Retrieved August 2, 2010, from U.S. News and World Report

Web site: http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Volkswagen_Routan/

Routan. (2010). Retreived August 2, 2010, from Volkswagen Website:

 http://www.vw.com/routan/en/us/

It does not want to be left out of a potential boom entirely, even if it is skeptical.
Opportunities

As well as the opportunity to become a part of the online marketplace, Toyota also has an opportunity to cut costs in one of its weaker markets where it still wishes to retain a visible presence. Toyota is in negotiations with the German automaker Volkswagen so it can standardize more components and cut operating costs in Europe. But there is a problem of defining what constitutes a standardized product.

VW thinks that 20-30 parts may be standardized, but unsurprisingly Toyota considers a wider range of parts competitive, such as steering wheels and wire connectors.

Threats

Steering wheels and wire connectors on the surface do not seem to be competitive components, although Toyota sees competition as taking place on a part-by-part basis, as well as on a holistic basis. Every crucial aspect of design at Toyota…...

Managerial Social Responsibility - Volkswagen Diesel Scandal
In 2015, Volkswagen was accused of installing secret software in its engine management computers to cheat strict fuel economy and emissions tests. In order to determine the ethical decision Volkswagen should have made, one can use ethical decision-making models, such as: Utilitarianism; Kantian Ethics; Ethical Rights; and Distributive Justice. Though these four models use different approaches, one or more of them can result in a justified recommendation for the correct ethical decision that Volkswagen should have made.

Facts Underpinning the Ethical Dilemma

In 2015, Volkswagen was accused of installing secret software in its engine management computers to cheat strict fuel economy and emissions tests. In 2014-2015, U.S. emissions experts tested some Volkswagen vehicles and found deliberate fraud through the use of "defeat device" software that turns emissions equipment on for emissions tests and off for actual driving (Plungis & Hull, 2015). The deception was accidentally discovered.…...

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Works Cited

Ewing, J., 2016. VW presentation in '06 showed how to foil emissions tests. [Online]

Available at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/business/international/vw-presentation-in-06-showed-how-to-foil-emissions-tests.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1 

[Accessed 27 April 2016].

Plungis, J. & Hull, D., 2015. VW's emissions cheating found by curious clearn-air group. [Online]

Professional Ethics and Responsibilities: The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal
In what was deemed a major blunder on the part of VW’s executives, and a blot to the long-term reputation of the Volkswagen Company, the Volkswagen emissions scandal was uncovered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which had found out that “many VW cars being sold in America had a ‘defeat device’ – or software – in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve the results” (Hotten, 2015). Thanks to the emissions scandal, the company has had to contend with various costs – ranging from loss of confidence on the part of its customers, to actual monetary losses, to much more.

It should be noted, from the onset, that the automaker may have lost the confidence of many of its loyal customers following the scandal. From the scandal, it emerged that VW was ready to…...

4. In the external environment, SVW is presented with significant expansion opportunities because of its strong name. Its innovations and new cars for example are trusted because their products have historically performed well. Threats are presented by the highly competitive industry within which the company operates. Cars are rapidly innovated, improved, and marketed. Marketing and manufacturing strategies therefore need to be in mint condition in order to remain competitive in this environment.

5. The EE division is directly involved in the manufacture of parts. The division has to ensure that suppliers are available to manufacture the part and that they can do so correctly and accurately. The EE's involvement in the process begins once a project is approved by the VW product strategy committee. Once this is done, the EE department works on the design, planning, manufacture and testing of new products. These are handled by various companies, while the EE…...

Crisis Management in VW’s ‘Dieselgate’ Scandal Trust is the most important factor in the success of any organization. This trust extends to all levels of stakeholders. If customers feel that they cannot trust the company for any reason, they will not purchase their products. Stakeholders have to trust that the organization will make sound business decisions to keep profits high and manage value. This is becoming even more prominent in the global economy when people of different cultures must interact with each other. The most important factor is that customers and other shareholders have to be able to believe the company when they are told that something is true. This analysis explores the VW ‘dieselgate’ incident involving Volkswagen AG a.k.a. Volkswagen Group, commonly referred to as VW.
Background of the Case
Consumers on a global basis are becoming more environmentally conscious and sensitive to the emissions of their vehicle. Features that promise to…...

Dieselgate Case AnalysisWhat?The situation presented in the case study by Schuetz (2016) focuses on VW Group and the emissions scandal that occurred in 2015 just when the company was about to reach a significant milestone in its long-term development plan. VW had been working to become the largest automaker in the world, an intrepid plan for a company that started out of a bombed-out factory in post-war Germany. However, it had taken on an ambitious objective in the 21st century and was counting on new diesel emissions technology to produce cleaner cars that were better for the environment. This was a big part of its corporate social responsibility program, for which it received numerous awards in the years leading up to the scandal.This scandal involved the revelation that VW was using a cheater device on its diesel cars: the device was software that could detect when a test for emissions…...

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References

Schuetz, M. (2016). Dieselgate—Heavy fumes exhausting the VW group. ACRC.

Volkswagen Got Away With Diesel Deception
Identify and discuss the main problems or concerns mentioned in this Organization

The main problem mentioned in the Volkswagen scandal is the admission that approximately 11 million of its manufactured vehicles were fitted with software aimed to obfuscate emission tests. In particular, the equipped software detected when the car was being tested and then the software triggered apparatus that reduced emissions. The other malcontent is that in times of regular driving, the software turned down the apparatus, which in turn gave rise to an increase in emissions that were excessively beyond the legal limits. This was most probably with the intent to have fuel savings or to improve the torque and acceleration of the car (Gates et al., 2017). The company admitted guilty to multiple criminal charges in the United States and has allocated more than $20 billion for penalties and compensation associated with the…...

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References

Aquinas, P. G. (2010). Organization structure and design: applications and challenges. Excel Books.

Boundless. (2016). What is Organizational Behavior? Retrieved from: https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/organizational-theory-3/why-study-organizational-theory-28/what-is-organizational-behavior-162-3925/

Ferrazzi, K. (2015). Volkswagen's Fatal Flaw: Its Corporate Structure. LinkedIn. Retrieved from:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/volkswagens-fatal-flaw-its-corporate-structure-keith-ferrazzi 

Gates, G., Ewing, J., Russell, K., Watkins, D. (2017). How Volkswagen Has Grappled With Its Diesel Scandal. The New York Times. Retrieved from:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/business/international/vw-diesel-emissions-scandal-explained.html

Project Management at VolkswagenIntroductionIn 2015, Volkswagen was caught cheating on emissions tests, sparking a worldwide scandal. The company was found to have installed software on its diesel cars that would alter the engine\\\'s performance during emissions testing, making the cars appear to be more environmentally friendly than they actually were. In the wake of the scandal, Volkswagen faced enormous fines and intense public scrutiny. So, what could the company have done to prevent this crisis?A good project manager at Volkswagen (VW) might have changed the outcome of the crisis that contributed to VWs emissions scandal had certain internal and external changes been made. Because every product had to have been a project, it stands to reason that every crisis might have had a different outcome with the right project management. This paper will describe those changes, particularly as they relate to leadership, communications, and stakeholder expectations. It will conclude with…...

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ReferencesGitlen, J. (2015). VW was warned about cheating emissions in 2007. Retrieved from   R. (2015). Volkswagen: The scandal explained. Retrieved from  https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772 Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2017). Project Management: The Managerial Process 7e. McGraw Hill.Levin, D. (2015). Volkswagen’s new CEO must tackle the ‘culture of arrogance’ Retrieved from  https://fortune.com/2015/09/27/volkswagen-culture-scandal/ McLeod, L. (2015). Driving force behind Volkswagen’s debacle. Retrieved from  https://www.mcleodandmore.com/2015/10/06/project-deception-the-driving-force-behind-volkswagens-debacle/ Resnick, J. (2015). Volkswagen’s dirty mission: Where’s the beginning and where’s the end? Retrieved from  https://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/09/vws-dirty-mission-wheres-the-beginning-and-wheres-the-end/https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/09/volkswagen-warned-about-cheating-as-early-as-2007/ Hotten,

"
The new Volkswagen nternet advertising emphasizes this interactivity and is truly geared (pun intended) to those who are not only used to a rich format, but expect it. The website comes up, and users see the VW driving along a road with the background changing in animated form. In addition to being able to read standard specifications, users can actually "build" a car. For example, they can see what their new Beetle will look like in different colors, transmissions and interiors. They can also determine the price of the car based on the specific options presented. Then, one can sign up to take a joy ride at a nearby dealer.

Volkswagen's high interactivity online exemplifies its move toward marketing to a younger demographic. This same strategy is being used with the banner ads for the Jetta safety campaign. In conjunction with the "Safe Happens" campaign in television commercials, these web banners…...

VW on CM
Customer elationship Management (CM) highlights the significance of the ability of companies in managing customer relations, current and future ones (Kumar & einartz, 2012). The concept occurs as a win-win for customers and companies. Customers benefit with desirable customer service delivery. On the other hand, companies can capitalize on the opportunities in customer-company interaction to enlighten the customer on new products and services. CM occurs as the foundation of contemporary marketing strategy utilized by companies. It is crucial to pay attention to the aspect of CM as it carries benefits and demerits alike.

Lack of a proper design plan of the CM that relies on company objectives could see the company lose companies, current and prospective ones. The success of the CM depends on three elements of People, Process, and Technology. Out of the three, people occur as the most critical element. The aspect of Process describes how…...

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References

Buttle, F. & Maklan, S. (2015). Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Technologies. New York: Routledge

Kumar, V. & Reinartz, W. (2012). Customer Relationship Management: Concept, Strategy, and Tools. New York: Springer Science & Business Media

Bloomberg Business (2015, July 20). Volkswagen China Sales Decline for First Time Since 2005. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-29/man-camp-exodus-spurs-real-estate-crisis-across-u-s-shale-towns 

CNN Money (2015, July 29). World's biggest carmaker is worried about China. CNN Money. Retrieved from  http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/29/news/companies/autos-china-volkswagen/

Toyota, Ford, Gm, and Volkswagen -- Some Differing Opinions About Working With Suppliers
A) Summarize the case and outline all of the issues

The crux of the case pits how four of the major automobile manufacturers differ in their operations about working with suppliers and their definitions of what constitutes competitive, as opposed to standardized automotive parts between manufactures. Some automakers see their suppliers as partners, such as Toyota. Others see suppliers as mere means to an end and ways of maximizing the value chain of production. GM and Ford tend to see suppliers as part of the mass production process and thus believe suppliers should be used to create components as cheaply, efficiently, and with as great an alacrity as possible, loyalty aside.

In contrast, Toyota sees its suppliers as partners. The ideals of this Japanese company also reflect why Toyota is also much more concerned about the definition of competitive components…...

1. The Dark Side of Business: Unethical Practices in the Corporate World

2. The Ethics of Exploitation: Uncovering Unethical Practices in the Modern Workplace

3. Unmasking Unethical Behavior: A Closer Look at Fraud and Corruption in Business

4. Ethics vs. Profit: The Impact of Unethical Practices on Companies and Society

5. Whistleblowing on Unethical Practices: Exposing Wrongdoings for the Greater Good

6. The Slippery Slope of Unethical Behavior: How Small Transgressions Can Lead to Larger Issues

7. The Role of Ethics in the Digital Age: Addressing Unethical Practices in Technology

8. From Enron to Volkswagen: Case Studies of Unethical Practices and Their Consequences

9. Unethical Practices in Healthcare:....

1. The Evolution of the Automobile Industry: From Horseless Carriages to Electric Vehicles
2. The Impact of Automobiles on Modern Society: Transportation Revolution or Environmental Hazard?
3. Automotive Safety: Innovations and Challenges in Creating Safer Cars
4. The Role of Autonomous Vehicles in Shaping the Future of Transportation
5. The Economics of Owning a Car: Calculating Costs and Benefits
6. Car Culture and Identity: Exploring the Symbolism of Automobiles in Popular Culture
7. The Environmental Consequences of Automobile Emissions: Can Electric Cars Save the Planet?
8. The Psychology of Car Preferences: Exploring the Factors that Influence Car Buying Decisions
9.....