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Question: Discuss About The Apply Technology To Improve Vehicles Design? Answer: Introduction Volkswagen (VW) has always been known as a visionary company, having the best solutions in the field of automation. Their desire to engage and apply technology to improve vehicles design as well as operations has propelled this notion. However, in 2015, this application crossed a line when the company used programmed software to cheat its emission tests. In essence, the company developed a defeat gadget for their vehicles exhaust system which altered the test results as they were being conducted. Moreover, the cheat gadget would then restore normal operations when the cars were not being tested which ultimately violated the environmental acts that required certain emission numbers(Hotten, 2015). Now, this paper analyses the actions taken by Volkswagen from an ethical perceptive where the classical ethical theories are used. Analysis Although its a serious ethical violation, VWs actions directly infringed the laws of the environment and personal safety, an outcome that was justified by their guilty plea during a court proceeding in Detroit. Furthermore, the submissions by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) outlined that more than 600,000 vehicles were involved in the scheme and therefore was not an unintentional occurrence but a premeditated process(Associated Press, 2017). Utilitarianism Focused on the overall well-being of the people, the principles and theories of utility define ethical outcomes as actions that derive the best results for the people involved. In essence, the company at hand and its associated stakeholders should have experienced the best outcomes that led to happiness and proper well-being(Eggleston, 2012). VWs actions place several people in difficult positions. First, the customers (end consumer), they inherently bought vehicles with the false notion of environmentally friendly cars which indirectly endangered their lives as a consequence of the emission. Now, according to the proponents of the utilitarian theory, happiness is outlined as an overall balance between pleasure and pain. While VW may have offered a false pleasure outcome by selling good cars, their ethical violation placed the environment at harm. Consequently, the environment would react back in the future through natural calamities such as global warming events which would have painful and harmful consequences to the customers. Therefore, VWs actions did not consider the overall well-being of the users and the environment, a clear violation of the utilitarian principles(Mill, 2015). Deontology On the other hand, VWs actions notwithstanding the consequences on the users and environment are morally wrong. For one, they deliberately broke laws that governed vehicles emissions through technological prowess. Furthermore, the company then lied to the customers and the world at large of the efficient products they had developed. Now, focusing on these actions as is the mantra for deontological ethical theory, an unethical outcome is exhibited. In essence, the theory at hand analyses ethical outcomes based on the actions and not the consequences which as outlined above were morally wrong and were illegal as they broke several governing legislations(Lacewing, 2010). In addition to this, the theory also focuses on the moral duties of the people who should consider others before conducting any action. These duties will include prohibitory elements such as those of lying where moral beings should not lie to others, a duty that was clearly violated by VW. Moreover, the duties highlighted will also focus on the promises made by individuals where one should keep them to maintain a proper social and personal relationship with others. VW promises of efficient vehicles with proper emissions were broken which affected their relationship with the customers(Lacewing, 2010). Virtue Stemming from the character of individuals, virtue ethics are based on the character of those involved and not the rules or the duties involved as seen previously. Yes, VW held a duty to uphold the rules of operations, however, their moral compass should have guided their actions to meet an ethical outcome. Furthermore, virtues emphasize on the meaning of life where one's consciousness should propel the true purpose of living i.e. teleological behaviours. In this instance, VW should have considered their role in society and balanced their desire for money to that of the people. Moreover, they should have cared for the parties involved as they were valued members of the society(Bowden, 2005). However, following the theory of virtue ethics, its important to understand that peoples actions cannot be used to demarcate morality because virtues encapsulate many factors beyond the simple actions taken. Therefore, even though VW executed unethical actions their virtues were lacking even before them. In fact, their moral state would be dignified by consistent virtual actions that would emphasize on the true meaning of life. Again, VW fails their ethical mandate in this instance as their initial actions led to many subsequent and unethical events(Bowden, 2005). Contractual theory Finally, consider the societal obligations held by VW, where as a multinational company they were required to adhere to some rules and agreements in order to safeguard the community at large. Now, these rules may not exist on paper but will occur naturally to ensure people treat other with utmost respect. Therefore, organizations and individual at large will base their lives on a naturally occurring principle rather than an unbounded liberty(Bowne, 2010). VW fails to observe this societal agreement by choosing to deploy a cheat program that nullifies the legal laws set by the people. In their actions, VW does not consider the average consumer who inherently trusts the organization to deliver quality products having their considerations at heart. Furthermore, equality as a concept is not exercised by the company, be it through its needs or its power. In essence, the company uses a weakness in the testing procedure to propel its financial objectives, an outcome that fails to consider the communal agreements. In all, VW fails to give the society the same respect it receives as a vehicle manufacturing company(Wesley, 2011). Conclusion VW in their actions violates both the legal and ethical laws set by the international community. For one, the actions taken would harm the environment which in return would end up harming the end user. Moreover, they deliberately lie to their customers in order to increase their financial returns. Therefore, their actions notwithstanding the consequences are ethically and morally wrong, and cannot be justified on any platform. References Associated Press. (2017). Volkswagen executive pleads guilty in emissions scandal. LA Politics, Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-volkswagen-emissions-guilty-20170804-story.html. Bowden, P. (2005). Virtue ethics, Aristotle and organisational behaviour. Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics 12 annual conference, Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://w3.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/gig/aapae05/documents/bowden-virtue.pdf. Bowne, K. (2010). Introduction to the social contract theory. Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ362/hallam/Readings/SocialContractHelium.pdf. Eggleston, B. (2012). Utilitarianism. Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www.benegg.net/publications/Eggleston_Utilitarianism.pdf. Hotten, R. (2015). Volkswagen: The scandal explained. BBC News, Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772. Lacewing. (2010). DEONTOLOGY. Kants deontological ethics, Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138793934/A22014/ethical_theories/Kant's%20deontological%20ethics.pdf. Mill, J. (2015). Utilitarianism. Jonathan Bennett, Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/mill1863.pdf. Wesley, K. (2011). Lecture 8: Social contract theory. Retrieved 09 September, 2017, from: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~kevinlb/teaching/cs430%20-%202011-12/lectures/Lect08.pdf.