For regular readers of the business pages, there has been one dominant rumbling news story of the past fortnight. A brown cloud of diesel scandal now hangs above Volkswagen – former pride of Germany and the world’s biggest-selling car manufacturer. As the story has unfolded, it has quickly appeared increasingly grimy, with the chief executive’s inevitable departure followed rapidly by news of German prosecutors launching an investigation into the potential fraud aspects of the scandal.
To say that the company’s new chief executive, Matthias Muller, has a big task on his hands is to drastically reduce the situation he faces. Shareholders, employees and customers are all clamouring for clarity, while the threats of monster fines and unprecedented product recalls promise to make the next few months and years decidedly uncomfortable. Perhaps, given the scandal, this is exactly as it should be.
In a rather depressing reflection of the corporate world, there are reams of material on how companies should approach the delicate and lengthy process of restoring reputation. VW now stands at the start of this same road, with its leader, in particular, needing to quickly set a new direction for the long way back to recovery. This raises the question of how a chief executive even begins to direct such an effort.
With VW, there are two principle dents in its reputation that the incoming leader will need to deal with. There is obviously the basic underhandedness of the deception, which will be no small stench to remove in itself. But this will be compounded by the nature of the deception – the environmental effect it may have had. Such sustainability issues are always particularly emotive, and readily attract attention and strong opinions from many different parties. Incredibly, VW has managed to find a scandal that steps over, say, “mere” overstatement of profits or financial mismanagement, to a topic that is readily understood and passionately felt by a considerably wider population.
So where does Mr Muller begin? Much of it is unsurprising – focusing on quality; on drastically tightening up standards; on building trust through concrete efforts. There are already reports, for example, that unnamed but presumably not irrelevant employees are no longer with the firm. This is suggestive of a company that has started looking closely at its corporate culture and the people it employs in key positions. And that is important – there have been some suggestions that the “defeat devices” issue was not unknown to wider parts of the company, leading to concerns that information-sharing was being stymied by a corporate culture that lacked openness.
Another critical part of Mr Muller’s role is to make sure the company keeps communicating. VW now needs to speak with one voice – preferably his – and it should do so often and consistently. All of its stakeholders now need to hear that it is working to right the wrongs, and they need to see regular progress towards a genuinely cleaner business. It certainly isn’t enough to issue the classic (and expected) mea culpa after being caught doing something wrong. Issuing some form of admission of guilt and then shutting up will only drive an assumption that business is continuing as usual.
This open communication needs to be underwritten by tracked and measured progress towards solving the issues. The chief executive will need to set goals and benchmarks for various aspects of the business to work towards – be it in the area of corporate culture, the reporting of problems or the actual performance figures of their diesel engines. All of these issues need to have clear timetables for the measures to improve them, and they need to be continuously monitored to ensure the efforts are achieving what they need to.
It is going to take considerable time and a mammoth effort to clear the darkened air around the VW name. As the chief executive, Mr Muller will need to work quickly and with purpose if he wants to make sure that the loss of trust over those 11 million vehicles doesn’t become permanent.
Ahmad Badr is the chief executive of Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat
UAE FIXTURES
Friday February 18: v Ireland
Saturday February 19: v Germany
Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
The%20Letter%20Writer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Layla%20Kaylif%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eslam%20Al%20Kawarit%2C%20Rosy%20McEwen%2C%20Muhammad%20Amir%20Nawaz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECVT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E119bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E145Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C89%2C900%20(%2424%2C230)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A