WHAT WE CAN LEARN
Though it would be easier to say,“ don’ t lie,” there’ s something deeper than a shady“ commitment” to the environment here.
Compliance standards, though sometimes strict, exist for a reason. They’ re not there to steal profits from organisations or stop a strategy from being executed. Compliance standards exist to keep an organisation and its stakeholders safe and the industry fair. Furthermore, adhering to compliance standards not only protects the overall industry, but society at large.
In the case of Dieselgate, it was a combination of over-promising and lying to consumers with a side of cheating. The tragedy can’ t just be chalked up to a faulty marketing campaign. From R & D to production and operations, the scandal operated from within the company until the flaws of its deceit showed in its test results. It wasn’ t a happenstance of marketing working its way around a product. There was an extra effort to create defeat devices and an intention to deceive authorised bodies.
Furthermore, the results of Volkswagen’ s true emission levels reveal a disregard for the environmental impact of their vehicles despite its green advertising. The staggering difference between Volkswagen’ s promised emission levels and the actual result multiplied by the volume of vehicles the company sold at the time compounded to create long-term negative effects on the environment. Though these are“ unseen” effects, premature deaths, lower birth rates, increased respiratory problems, smog, and acid rain can be linked to the amount of excess emissions of that time.
In short, don’ t lie- not even to save face or tick a box on the compliance checklist. The effects of lies by organisations run deeper than one would think. Remember, compliance isn’ t just about you, it’ s about everybody.
The Rise and Fall of Carlos Ghosn
Once a proud figure in the larger automotive industry, Carlos Ghosn took a large fall from grace when he misappropriated around USD 150 million( AUD 231 million) worth of funds during his term as CEO of Nissan.
SPEARHEADING CHANGE
The Nissan-Renault alliance solidified in March 1999, just before Ghosn took over as chief operating officer( COO) in June. A year after, he was promoted president and was finally named CEO in June 2001. Before Ghosn’ s takeover, Nissan was deep in a debt of around USD 20 billion( AUD 31 billion) and barely making a profit. This is where Ghosn’ s“ Nissan Revival Plan” stepped in.
The goal of the plan was to bring Nissan back to profitability by 2000 and 50 % reduction in debt level and a 4.5 % profit margin in excess of sales by 2002. In the spirit of commitment to his goals, Ghosn promised to resign from his post if he failed to achieve any of his goals.
Under the“ Nissan Revival Plan,” the CEO employed a ruthless strategy, slashing 21,000 jobs, 14 % of Nissan’ s workforce, and closing 5 factories in Japan, cutting off some supplier relationships in the process. Ghosn also auctioned Nissan assets like the company aerospace unit. Internally, the changes Ghosn made were even more impactful.
Nissan’ s company culture was turned on its head, doing away with traditional Japanese
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