How Did Vw Engineers Find A Solution To The Emissions Challenge

VW engineers were pressured to find a solution to the emissions challenge. The solutions to this challenge did not happen within the timeframe or budget that VW had set. Because of the time crunch and financial strain, the engineers felt pressured by the organization and were compelled to create software and devices that changed the emissions equipment to comply with the desired EPA standard. Resulting in the damage of VW's reputation, ensuing lawsuits, and profit loss. These extreme measures that the engineers took did not come without causation from the internal pressure they faced by the VW organization: including upper-level management, stakeholders, managers, fellow engineers, and other employees. While problems existed at each level

According to the textbook when employees face uncertainty which can be triggered by anything from ambiguity in role requirements to high-performance pressures and unclear performance measures, they are more likely to engage in organizational politics and further their self interests (422-423). The engineers were under extreme pressure to produce a high-quality product in a short timeframe. With this in mind they knew that the company's reputation, as well as the livelihood of not just their team, but many other employees, was dependent on them successfully finding a solution to the emissions challenge. Management even used coercive power over engineers who did speak out with threats such as: "Please think again on that, and if you don’t find a solution, we may need to find another engineer"(415). The engineers may have also felt more compelled to find a solution because outcome interdependence existed as rewards were given out based on team performance (351). The engineering team also engaged in groupthink and did not believe that they would be caught or even if they were caught that the ramifications would be minor as the cars were still performing well