Answer To: MGT604_Assess 3_Contemporary Analysis XXXXXXXXXXPage 1 of 6 ASSESSMENT 3 BRIEF Subject Code and...
Asif answered on Apr 29 2021
Strategic Management
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Aim 3
3. Discussion 4
3.1 Three Strategic Influences on Volkswagen 4
3.2 Categorizing the three factors 5
3.3 Identifying strategic course of action for Volkswagen 7
3.4 Statement of the strategic goals that Volkswagen should set and their implication 9
4. Conclusion 10
5. Recommendation 10
References 12
1. Introduction
Currently, the global automotive industry that is expected to grow by $3,800bn by the end of 2030 is now experiencing several new trends that are influencing strategic goals and objectives of even large automotive companies. One such organization is Volkswagen that is still curving its way out of the “Cheating Emission Scandal.” Among different trends that are influencing strategic steps of Volkswagen, three trends that are most influencing are self-driving vehicles, environmental sustainability and automotive digital retail (Singh, 2021). It is true that environmental sustainability is not a new factor however, in past few years, due to customer demands and stricter government policies, automotive companies like Volkswagen are now seriously considering following environmental sustainable measures while manufacturing; leaving behind the ideas of “cheating” their way out.
This report will focus on three trends (mentioned above) and their impact on Volkswagen in terms of their strategic management and organizational outcome. These three factors will be categorized separately and will identify strategic implications for Volkswagen regarding these three concepts. In the end, a recommendation will be provided for Volkswagen to suggest them the future steps they should implement to address the strategic changes that would take place due to these selected three trends.
2. Aim
The aim of this research is to identify and analyze the influences of aspects such as self-driving car, environmental sustainability and automotive digital retail on Volkswagen and its strategic management. This report also aims to provide future strategic directions for Volkswagen to address these trends and changes related to them.
3. Discussion
3.1 Three Strategic Influences on Volkswagen
Self-driving cars: In the year of 2019, according to a report published in economictimes.indiatimes.com, the management of Volkswagen stated that self-driving or driverless vehicles have very limited appeal. It also stated that due to high-cost of these vehicles, it would be unlikely that this new concept will disrupt the automotive market (Taylor, 2019). However, later the trend became so viral that it expected that by the end of 2027, self-driving vehicle market would worth $66 billion; within this little time, in spite of the fact that it is a complicated technology (globenewswire.com, 2021). Several automotive giants started to invest heavily in self-driving vehicles. For example, BMW has launched several self-driving vehicles among which some offer level one automation and some offer level two automation. It influenced the decisions of Volkswagen management and CEO of the organization Herbert Diess stated that driverless cars are the future of the automotive industry (Volkwsagen.com, 2021). The influence of this trend was so high that Volkswagen has decided to invest EUR44 billion by the end of 2023 to actually manufacture driverless cars (Volkwsagen.com, 2021). Even, Volkswagen has started to produce such a vehicle with Ford and Argo AI. An electric VS Bus can be the first self-driving car manufactured by Volkswagen in the future (Duffy, 2021).
Environmental sustainability: By neglecting this trend of environmental sustainability and installing defeat devices in their vehicles to sell environmentally un-sustainable vehicles labeled as eco-friendly, Volkswagen welcomed severe criticism, customer backlash and numbers of lawsuits. Volkswagen had to pay $34.69bn in fines and settlements after the scandal became public (reuters.com, 2020). Volkswagen’s brand image was hampered severely and the organization lost its decade long market value around the world. After this, the organization got its new CEO and since then the organization is investing heavily in environmental sustainability. “Mission Statement Environment” that is initially absent at Volkswagen was developed and several missions were added in this. For example, by following the 20 goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, Volkswagen has planned to become CO2 neutral company by the end of 2050 (Volkswagenag.com, 2020). On the other hand, the management of the organization has also decided to reduce manufacturing related environmental externalities such as water usage, wastage and volatile organic compounds by 45% per vehicle by the end of 2025, compared to what was in 2010 (Volkswagenag.com, 2020). It has also taken steps to improve air quality of its vehicles by 20-25% by the end of 2015 (Volkswagenag.com, 2020).
Automotive digital retail: According to a report published in Forbes.com, soon the automotive companies will start selling vehicles through e-commerce websites just Amazon sells retail products through its e-commerce...