VW Scandal: Not an isolated case in Germany?

The VW scandal is on everyone's lips. The fraud with manipulated emission values seems, according to current knowledge, to be limited to Volkswagen only. However, this does not mean that other German companies are immune to similar scandals. Dieselgate is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

It is very likely that beneath the surface of some major German corporations, similar time bombs are ticking. This is likely also true for some solid medium-sized companies. Even the best compliance rules and quality standards do not help. Volkswagen did not simply become a victim of individual fraudulent employees. The real causes of the VW scandal lie in a culture within the company that is hostile to criticism. In an environment where not meeting the target is no longer acceptable, and only exceeding the target is valued, the well-intentioned, critical feedback from a single dedicated employee that goals need to be adjusted because perhaps a technology is not working as expected, is not seen as a gift but merely a disturbance. Former CEO Martin Winterkorn had to leave rightly However, Martin Winterkorn, who was in charge of quality control at Volkswagen for years, should have known that quality is not ensured solely by strictly adhering to standards. The most important factor in quality control is a culture of open dialogue, where problems, errors, and technical limitations can be openly addressed without fearing personal consequences. This becomes impossible when a meticulous superior with a "my way or the highway" mentality brushes aside anything that seems to stand in the way of their goals. Anyone who has met Martin Winterkorn knows that he does not tolerate deviation from the predetermined plan. There is a fine line between the exactitude for which German industry is famous worldwide and crude pedantry. Cold Technocrat Winterkorn belonged to the type of number managers and technocrats who think in terms of metrics and exceeding plans, rather than in human dimensions. Winterkorn consciously presented himself with a certain pride as a meticulous detail fanatic, personally measuring production tolerances in workshops and destroying employees' careers within minutes over minor mistakes. However, pedantry and patriarchal behavior are also signs of a major weakness, particularly in dealing with people. Qualities like empathy and human leadership are foreign to them. This is why, despite their dominant presence, they are fundamentally weak leaders. They want everyone to obey their commands, but fail to understand that this cannot be achieved through orders and punishments. True leadership means inspiring people, leading them to peak performance, and guiding them with emotional competence. Leaders lacking in social skills try to compensate for this through control obsession and pedantry. Such measures can easily be justified as quality control methods, but they are based on personal degradation and arbitrariness. Spontaneous and aggressive checks, surprise inspections, shouting over trivial matters, especially for things beyond one's own responsibility, are all methods known from psychological torture. Unfortunately not an isolated case However, this is still the norm in many German companies today. In such an environment, who would dare admit that targets cannot be met, or that adhering to norms requires more time for development? Particularly in new developments, where existing technology is pushed to its limits or new technology is being developed, progress cannot be precisely predicted, as every development engineer knows. The dilemma is even greater when the targets are not achievable in terms of time or cost. What to do? Who would want to incur the wrath of the big boss and all its consequences in such an environment? How tempting it is then to manipulate or embellish figures. This temptation is a completely normal, psychological effect. Essentially, it is a form of emotional self-defense. This is why it is unlikely that Martin Winterkorn himself knew about the manipulations, let alone that he, the pedant and technocrat, would have approved them. It is much more likely that the manipulations were a cover-up out of fear of personal consequences, to protect oneself and colleagues, until there was no way out of the lie. Something that would have been completely absurd in an open corporate culture. A culture of criticism must emerge Many other German companies still lack a culture of open criticism and self-correction. This problem can be addressed not only in top management but essentially at all levels of hierarchy, where damage can also be done. Where intimidation and control obsession prevail, ticking time bombs can emerge. The VW scandal should serve as a warning to other German companies. Manager types like Winterkorn may be successful on paper, but reality can quickly reveal a different picture. Good leadership does not only mean motivating employees to do their best, but also engaging with them, incorporating their ideas, and taking their critical feedback seriously. The new CEO Matthias Müller faces a Herculean task The new CEO Matthias Müller has inherited a heavy burden, which can only be managed by questioning everything and consistently striving for a culture of openness in the top management. Matthias Müller actually has very good conditions for this, as Volkswagen is fundamentally an open company with very dedicated employees and a positive working atmosphere, at least up to a certain hierarchy level. However, the atmosphere drastically changes at a certain level. Müller would now need to bring the open and constructive atmosphere that exists in many departments at Volkswagen and is lived by the employees there, to the top levels. Then, the Volkswagen corporation could recover. Kishor H. Sridhar is a management consultant and author of several books on leadership and influencing people (Alles hört auf mein Kommando: Sich durchsetzen in 50 konkreten Alltagsfällen – Redline Verlag). His work is based on the practical and ethically justifiable application of behavioral psychology in professional and corporate environments.