Hi class,
Changes being led effectively is crucial to the success of the businesses change as with
change comes obstacles, resistance, and hesitation from multiple levels of the business. This
was certainly the case for Volkswagen's new leadership team after the diesel gate scandal back
in 2015 led to a complete overhaul in the way the company was structured. Leadership was
identified in the case to be a part of the deceit to their customers when they knowingly
cheated U.S. diesel engine tests to make their TDI engines appear to be "Clean Diesels",
something they heavily marketed for several years (Reuters, 2021).
1. What were the drivers or reasons for the leader to initiate a change effort?
The top drivers for leadership and CEO Oliver Blume to initiate a change effort was to
rebuild the trust that was broken between the Volkswagen brand and the consumers of the
brand, VW customers are typically diehard fans and the lack of transparency drove a huge
wedge between the typical customers and the company (Reuters, 2021).
2. What were the hindrances or obstacles that emerged during the change effort?
The hinderance that emerged during the change effort was the resistance to trusting the
company after such deceit. More customers were willing to utilize the buy back program of
these vehicles and did not want to associate with the brand anymore, leadership needed to
leverage their strengths to overcome these hinderances.
3. How did the organizational culture play a role in the success or failure of the
change effort?
The organizational culture played a significant role in the success of the change effort, the
culture of the organization needed a mass undertaking to consider the customers and quality
of the product instead of meeting numbers and hitting sales goals in the quickest alone. This
organizational culture change happened from the bottom up, and it started with getting
operational employees comfortable with reporting lack of compliance in their process without
fear of repercussions or retaliation (Reuters, 2021)
4. What did you learn about the leader you researched that surprised you the most?
I thought it was interesting and surprising that Oliver Blume received a PhD in vehicle
technology, I did not know this was an option of schooling and find it intriguing that he is
through and through within the automobile industry, most specifically in German engineering
throughout his entire college and professional career (Wikipedia contributors, 2022).
References
Reuters. (2021, September 23). VW culture to blame for silence over emissions scandal, ex-
manager says in trial. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/vw-culture-blame-silence-over-
emissions-scandal-ex-manager-says-trial-2021-09-23/
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, September 7). Oliver Blume. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1,
2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Blu