Running head: FINAL PROJECT PAPER PROPOSAL
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Part 1
Keith Martin
Instructor: Allyson Heisey
INF 690
September 17, 2018
FINAL PROJECT PAPER PROPOSAL
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PROCEDURES AND METHODS USED DURING THIS INVESTIGATION
Procedures
The following is a list of methods and procedures followed in the subsequent detailed investigation
of my system:
1. Conducting interviews with Volkswagen owners
Conducting exhaustive one-on-one interviews is a common qualitative method used widely in
researches and investigations. As is expected, the interviews must meet the trustworthiness test for
them to be valid. In order to avail oneself with a general line of inquiry, it is advisable that the
interviews be either semi-structured or unstructured completely (Rhodes, 2016). In my
investigation, I subscribed to these objectives and conducted one-on-one interviews with owners
of VW automobiles. These are the individuals who were directly affected by the emission scandal.
In order to guarantee the trustworthiness in the process, I ensured that I had a sufficient number of
participants and also had a tractable process.
2. Qualitative Content Analysis
Aside from the interviews, I sought to find out what online users had to say about the scandal.
To achieve this, I conducted a qualitative content analysis of comments that were posted online by
several affected individuals. In this analysis, texts are analyzed for significance as well as their
meanings. The analysis also puts into consideration, the way these texts mirrors an individual as
well as their belief, meanings, expectations and cultural assumptions concerning a phenomenon or
topic (Rhodes, 2016).
3. Quantitative Method
With the total population of tweets and online comments analyzed in the method above, I
applied a quantitative analysis to develop a coding schema and identify themes. A quantitative
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content analysis could be viewed as the process through which communication texts are coded in
line with some framework that is conceptually built like a schema. In my case, the data to be
analyzed was manifest content. This is a type of content that is easy to identify and interpret
(Rhodes, 2016).
Methods
I conducted interviews via phone calls or in person with each interview lasting
approximately 20 to 30 minutes. I chose not to reveal names of the participants in the interview to
guarantee their anonymity. For the qualitative content analysis, I centered on tweets and online
comments that were posted on discussion boards meant for VW owners. The main boards from
which I extracted my content are the company’s official twitter handle and www.tdiclub.com
(Tidwell, 2017).
Overview of Current System Operations
For the success of my system, several individuals are actively entangled in sanctifying
VW’s name. From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the individual owning the
scandalous automobiles to the company’s board of management, each party makes up the list of
participants and interested parties. Top on the list are the board members of the company who are
tasked with making vehicles that are truly friendly to the environment. The public relations,
marketing and advertising departments are also an essential part of the system as they are the
individuals who must prove to the whole world that the company is indeed manufacturing
ecofriendly automobiles. These two parties are the main participants of the system together with
the company’s engineers who will be handling the manufacturing of the safe vehicles (Tidwell,
2017).
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Whereas the above mentioned Are an integral part of the system, they cannot be sufficient
in the absence of customers, who happen to be the other side of the coin. After all, it is the
customers’ trust that the company needs to win. The Environmental Protection Agency on the
other hand acts as the third party or an interested party.
System Environment
The studied system can be conveniently broken down into the following subsystems:
•
Analysis of the VW emission scandal as unearthed by EPA.
•
Analysis of the scandal’s effect on the customers, their reactions and the possibilities of
using the company’s products again.
•
An analysis of the scandal’s possible solutions. Here, we look at some of the solutions that
could be put into consideration but haven’t yet.
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References
Rhodes, C. (2016). Democracy, Business Ethics and the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal
(WITHDRAWN). Academy Of Management Proceedings, 2016(1), 12743. Doi:
10.5465/ambpp.2016.12743abstract
Tidwell, M. (2017). An analysis of Volkswagen’s crisis response strategy in the wake of its Diesel
gate scandal [EBook]. University of Kansas. Retrieved from:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact
=8&ved=2ahUKEwi6oNKt_73dAhXDQ30KHb8UCwMQFjABegQICRAC&url=https%
3A%2F%2Fkuscholarworks.ku.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F1808%2F25586%2FTid
well_ku_0099D_15243_DATA_1.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&usg=AOvVaw3iRzwAsno5u
2bgmEIakQh1
Running head: FINAL PROJECT PAPER PROPOSAL
Final Project Paper Proposal
Keith Martin
Instructor: Allyson Heisey
INF 690
September 10, 2018
1
FINAL PROJECT PAPER PROPOSAL
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ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT REMEDY FOR VOLKSWAGEN’S EMISSION SCANDAL
Purpose
Volkswagen had put a software device on their diesel-powered car. The software was meant to
trick emission tests and make the vehicles seem as they were environmentally friendly, but they
are not. The purpose of this paper is to find out the different remedies that this automotive
company has put in place up-to-date to ensure that their vehicles do not exceed the emission
limit.
History
In September 2015, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that the
Volkswagen vehicles that were sold in America had a device in their engine. The software device
detected when the emission test was being carried on thus changing their performance so as the
results could be improved (Hotten, 2015). Since then, the company has been lost most of their
customers and their sales have reduced. The company was accused by EPA of modifying the
software on the diesel engines fitted in the vehicles. The company denied the claims. Two
months later, the company stated that they had found anomalies in tests while measuring the
emission of carbon dioxide levels.
The board members of the company have since wondered when the scandal will dispel.
The company is ready to move forward and make vehicles that are truly friendly to the
environment (Ewing, 2016). Even though the Public relation marketing and advertising
exaggerated the claims, the company has moved towards building an active green face for the
company. The company has decided to fix most of the cars that they had sold to their consumers
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(Biesecker & Krisher, 2017). This move has started to rebuild the image of the company. Also,
the company launched an electrification initiative whereby the vehicles that the company will
produce do not use diesel but rather use electricity. This means that the company has fully
embraced the environmental friendly campaign and strives to revive their glory.
Scope
The customers of the company have not moved from the scandal that the company had
and thus most customers prefer to purchase vehicles from other companies. Volkswagen still
strives to make the brand image to be as it were before the scandals if not better. The customers
still feel like the company can still deceive the general public and their trust towards the
company has not been restored. There are customers who until today are suing the company for
deception. The response from the consumers destroyed the brand image and they are using more
money for the cases as well as the revenues are not good. This could render the company
bankrupt.
The initiatives that the company has put in place is what the research paper will study.
The financial statements of the company will also help in the analysis as they will provide
detailed data and information required. The company is still in the process of reviving its glory.
VW agreed to pay cash compensation to the owners through selling the cars back to the company
or by fixing them. The customers who wish to resell the car to the company will be given extra
amount of money after getting the estimated value of the car before the diesel gate scandal. The
efforts that the company are putting is to show the customers and the EPA that they can be
trusted to make ecofriendly vehicles.
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References
Biesecker, M., & Krisher, T. (2017, July 27). VW and regulators agree on fix for cars in
cheating scandal. Retrieved from Phy.org: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-vw-carsscandal.html
Ewing, J. (2016, June 16). Volkswagen Looks to Deal With Cost Problems, but Faces
Constraints. The New York Times.
Hotten, R. (2015, December 10). Volkswagen: The scandal explained. BBC News.
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