Module 1 – Case
STP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT & SITUATION ANALYSIS
Assignment Overview
This Case Assignment focuses on Volkswagens emissions scandal and related brand management and business ethics issues.
Case Reading
A mucky business; the volkswagen scandal. (2015 Sep 26).The Economist416 23-25.
Boston W. & Houston-Waesch M. (2015 Oct 15). Volkswagen suspends another top engineer; berlin orders recall; transport minister says recall of tainted diesel cars is mandatory.Wall Street Journal (Online).
Cremer A. (2016 April 20). VW to pay each U.S. customer $5000 to settle dieselgate: Die Welt. Reuters. Retrieved fromhttp://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-court-idUSKCN0XH0ZV
Danny Hakim Kessler A. M. & Ewing J. (2015 Sep 27). As VW pushed to be no. 1 ambitions fueled a scandal.New York Times.De Cremer D. & de Bettignies H. (2013). PRAGMATIC BUSINESS ETHICS.Business Strategy Review24(2) 64-67.
Ewing J. (2016 April 21). Volkswagen Reaches Deal in U.S. Over Emissions Scandal.New York Times.Retrieved fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/business/international/volkswagen-emissions-settlement.html?_r=0
Lane C. (2015 Oct. 26). Emissions scandal is hurting VW owners trying to Resell. Retrieved fromhttp://www.npr.org/2015/10/26/450238773/emissions-scandal-is-hurting-vw-owners-trying-to-resell.
La Monica P.R. (2015 Sep 23). Volkswagen has plunged 50%. will it ever recover?CNN Wire Service.
Tabuchi H. Apuzzo M. & Ewing J. (2017). U.S. Charges 6 Volkswagen Executives in Emissions-Cheating Case. New York Times. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/business/volkswagen-diesel-vw-settlement-charges-criminal.html?_r=0
Here are some articles on brand equity and brand management.
Keller K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing measuring and managing customer-based brand equity.Journal of Marketing57(1) 1-22.
Helm S. & Tolsdorf J. (2013). How does corporate reputation affect customer loyalty in a corporate crisis?Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management 21 (3) p144-152.
Case Assignment
Develop a report in terms of the following guidelines. A well-written report should have a brief introduction headings or subheadingsand a brief concluding comment. Note that you should use some keywords as headings or subheadings such as Brand Equity of VW instead of a sentence or a question. Read and cite required articles on Volkswagens emissions scandal as well as additional research you have done and address the following issues:
Assignment Expectations
Expectations Regarding Your References and Defense of Your Positions
Write clearly simply and logically. Your paper should be 4-5 pages long excluding title pages and references but quality of writing is more important than length.Use double-spaced black Verdana or Times Roman font in 12 pt. type size.
Back up your positions or opinions with references to the required readings for this Case and those in the Module Background. In using those references demonstrate your understanding of the concepts presented.Rather than grading on how much information you find emphasis will be on the defense of the positions you take on the issues.Also remember that:
Do not repeat or quote definitions.Your use of the required reading to support your opinions (that is contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you understand the concepts presented. Do not include definitions or summaries of the readings or simply describe what the company did. Instead your responses to the questions should be analytical and should demonstrate that (a) you understand the principles from the background reading and (b) you can apply them to this particular case. Vague general answers will not earn a good grade.
Avoid redundancy and general statements such as All organizations exist to make a profit.Make every sentence count.
Paraphrase the facts using your own words and ideas employing quotes sparingly. Quotes if absolutely necessary should rarely exceed five words.
When writing an academically oriented paper you will uncover many facts about the company and the scandal.If you paraphrase the facts cite the sources in your text and link those citations to references at the end of the paper.
Here are some guidelines on how to conduct information search and build critical thinking skills.
Emerald Group Publishing. (n.d.).Searching for Information. Retrieved fromhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/learning/study_skills/skills/searching.htm
Emerald Group Publishing. (n.d.).Developing Critical Thinking. Retrieved fromhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/learning/study_skills/skills/critical_thinking.htm
Guidelines for handling quoted and paraphrased material are found at:
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).Academic Writing. Retrieved fromhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/2/
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).Quoting Paraphrasing and Summarizing. Retrieved fromhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/1/
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).Is it plagiarism yet?Retrieved fromhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/1/
Your paper consists of arguments in favor of your opinions or positions on the issues addressed by the guidelines; therefore avoid the following logical fallacies:
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).Logic in argumentative writing. Retrieved fromhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/01/