Matthias Müller troubles are continuing....
05-18-2017, 12:36 PM
#3
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
It is hard to imagine that so much of the top-level management at VW was not aware, especially given the rigid hierarchal structure. I could imagine that not EVERY senior manager would know, but it seems someone very senior with authority must have. This would not have been a "project" amongst engineers conducted under the radar.
In the company I work for, I am responsible for product development teams in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and Germany (many projects are worked on cross-functionally between the teams, which are integrated to a large extent). However, the German personnel are very process-orientated and seek clarity in terms of authority and decision making with much more precision than elsewhere. I think it is just part of the culture of most German workplaces... From all the time I've spent with the team and my broader experiences in Germany (and my parents were German to boot), I just can't see how a group of "lower-level" engineers at VW would work this way.
I could be wrong of course, but I doubt it...
In the company I work for, I am responsible for product development teams in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and Germany (many projects are worked on cross-functionally between the teams, which are integrated to a large extent). However, the German personnel are very process-orientated and seek clarity in terms of authority and decision making with much more precision than elsewhere. I think it is just part of the culture of most German workplaces... From all the time I've spent with the team and my broader experiences in Germany (and my parents were German to boot), I just can't see how a group of "lower-level" engineers at VW would work this way.
I could be wrong of course, but I doubt it...
05-18-2017, 01:45 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
People like Muller are never REALLY impacted by these situations because at that level you probably have a lot of the senior executives in the know but not necessarily in the media spotlight. There needs to be a fall guy and Muller was volun-told it was him. I find it hard to believe that the Board of Director's were unaware of the situation right from the start. VW will probably pay all of Muller's legal expenses and there will be 100s of companies lined up outside his door to hire him and pay him more than VW. Executives at that level working for large multinational companies know it's part of their job to be deceptive and always have parachute clauses to protect their personal interests.
Great read but not losing any sleep over Muller or VW's future.
Great read but not losing any sleep over Muller or VW's future.
05-18-2017, 03:54 PM
#5
Team Owner
It is hard to imagine that so much of the top-level management at VW was not aware, especially given the rigid hierarchal structure. I could imagine that not EVERY senior manager would know, but it seems someone very senior with authority must have. This would not have been a "project" amongst engineers conducted under the radar.
In the company I work for, I am responsible for product development teams in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and Germany (many projects are worked on cross-functionally between the teams, which are integrated to a large extent). However, the German personnel are very process-orientated and seek clarity in terms of authority and decision making with much more precision than elsewhere. I think it is just part of the culture of most German workplaces... From all the time I've spent with the team and my broader experiences in Germany (and my parents were German to boot), I just can't see how a group of "lower-level" engineers at VW would work this way.
I could be wrong of course, but I doubt it...
In the company I work for, I am responsible for product development teams in the U.S., Canada, U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and Germany (many projects are worked on cross-functionally between the teams, which are integrated to a large extent). However, the German personnel are very process-orientated and seek clarity in terms of authority and decision making with much more precision than elsewhere. I think it is just part of the culture of most German workplaces... From all the time I've spent with the team and my broader experiences in Germany (and my parents were German to boot), I just can't see how a group of "lower-level" engineers at VW would work this way.
I could be wrong of course, but I doubt it...
Porsche under Investigation ...
07-23-2017, 09:28 PM
#7
Drifting
The German Federal regulators are only concerned over the issue that several German financial funds and one State lost money on VAG investments. Without this 'domestic' loss of funds - you wouldn't have seen their involvement. Remember, they couldn't have cared less when it was US hedge funds that lost money during the 'short' selling issue way back during the abortive Porsche buy out of VW. It was only an issue when US banking officials pointed out the ramifications of non cooperation with the Justice Department that they went after the CFO and CEO in a half a$$ed trial of the two that - surprise/surprise - they manged to screw up and lose both trials. The German's could appear to be seen to do something about the corruption publicly but in reality no one was going to jail as the spiderweb of deceit and corruption runs deep within the German manufacturing groups. How deep we had no freaking clue until a bunch of geeks with borrowed University test gear decided to hook it up to VW's and do some cross country testing. Those kid's should get part of the VAG fines instead of it being rolled into the general revenue fund to disappear.
The beginnings of all this rot should have been laid at the feet of Piech and his spouse, (who is said to have controlled the board through her own brand of bullying) but through good fortune or foresight, he decided to cash out and not waste his time fighting the other arm of the family and several other groups represented on the board.
His autocratic style of management - which is a nice way of saying manage by fear - led to today's type of management at VAG, (which were once all his underlings) to find short cuts to get the job done at *any* cost. I'm sure a few here have heard about one of his famous meetings with a group of managers at a VW plant by now. The one where he was being shown the pre-production model of a Jetta and took every one of them into a meeting room and told them the gaps on the panels were all s**t and that he will be back in 30 days to re-inspect the car and then told them all... 'My assistant has all your names...'
That they can't find a smoking gun to the senior board people is not surprising in that they are surrounded by board lawyers that place a clock of invisibility around them when it comes to 'direct' knowledge in the form of emails, phone calls and text messages. You won't find any proof - every briefing was done verbally off presumes. #Deniability
'Cut the Americans another cheque Dieter...'
The beginnings of all this rot should have been laid at the feet of Piech and his spouse, (who is said to have controlled the board through her own brand of bullying) but through good fortune or foresight, he decided to cash out and not waste his time fighting the other arm of the family and several other groups represented on the board.
His autocratic style of management - which is a nice way of saying manage by fear - led to today's type of management at VAG, (which were once all his underlings) to find short cuts to get the job done at *any* cost. I'm sure a few here have heard about one of his famous meetings with a group of managers at a VW plant by now. The one where he was being shown the pre-production model of a Jetta and took every one of them into a meeting room and told them the gaps on the panels were all s**t and that he will be back in 30 days to re-inspect the car and then told them all... 'My assistant has all your names...'
That they can't find a smoking gun to the senior board people is not surprising in that they are surrounded by board lawyers that place a clock of invisibility around them when it comes to 'direct' knowledge in the form of emails, phone calls and text messages. You won't find any proof - every briefing was done verbally off presumes. #Deniability
'Cut the Americans another cheque Dieter...'
