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Volkswagen

Communication Plan
Dave Fuller
CUR/560
Dr. Gregory Dlabach
November 9, 2015

Communication Plan
Volkswagen

With the recent crisis at Volkswagen, changes have been identified that
will need to be implemented if the organization is to survive and be
successful. This communication plan is provided to help manange
communication about these changes and will include the following
elements

How to launch the communication plan

Technology required to accomplish the plan

Testing for effectiveness and impact od managements response to the


change

Generating feedback for continuous improvement

Addressing negative responses about the change

How this plan can affect the needed organizational change

Communication Plan
Volkswagen

Need for a Communication Plan

A crisis at Volkswagen related to alleged bypassing software in approximately 11


million diesel engines, violating the Clean Air Act has been unfolding. This crisis has
the potential of costing the company Billions of dollars and has left both customers
and employees with a sense of lost trust in the organization.

Two areas of the organization have been identified for change in order to regain this
trust and move the organization towards being profitable in the future.

These two areas are moving the organization to a culture of ethics, and increasing
effective communication throughout the organization.

In order to move employees in a common direction towards change, aloow all


employees to understand the change impact on them, communicate progress of the
plan, and minimize misinformation, an effective communication plan must be
designed and implemented within the organization (Tupper, Deszca, & Cynthia,
2012).

Change in Volkswagen
Launching the plan

Initial phase begins with pre-approval

Must sell the plan to top management within Volkswagen

Provide a link with change to the goals and overall strategy of the organization

Use comparative benchmarking data to illustrate the need for change

The next phase includes communication to the organization

Creating a sense of urgency for Volkswagen employees

Constant communication of the future goals of change as well as progress

Provide clear step by step process of the change plan

Provide channels for two way communication

Encourage and respond to feedback from employees

Share success stories and prepare organization for the next change

Change in Volkswagen
Technology

The communication necessary for this change implementation includes


a number of communication tools as well as learning and development
tools.

New internal Social Media Tool

Monthly town hall video chats with leadership

Online modules for ethics training

Anonymous online hotline to report unethical behaviors

Employee electronic bulletin board

Change in Volkswagen
Testing for Effectiveness

Evaluating the level of success of the changes in the organization with


be an ongoing process using the following tools:

Online ethics training results

Surveys from employees and customers

Monthly reviews of electronic bulletin boards

Monitoring and review of ethics hotline

Change in Volkswagen
Generating Feedback

To continually engage in improving the trust and communication within


the organization will require on-going feedback through the use of the
following:

Feedback surveys from customers and the general public

Feedback surveys from employees

Monitoring sales activity from VW dealerships

Monitoring employee retention within the organization

Change in Volkswagen
Addressing the Negative

Addressing negative responses to change within the organization can be


used as an opportunity to engage in further communication.

Engage in two-way communication within the organization

Understand the behavior aspects of those involves

Using Kotter and Schlesinger strategies


Negotiation and agreement
Manipulation and co-potation
Explicit and implicit coercion

Be expedient in responding to negative communications

Change in Volkswagen
Affecting Change

A communication plan is a critical component within the change process


for an organization. For the changes required in Volkswagen, the
communication plan will perform the following:

Establish the need for change to leadership


Provide means for employees to clearly understand the reason for change and
the impact on them

Provide employees with the step by step process involved in the change

Keep employees abreast of the progress of change

Provide tools for two-way communication

Provide a means for evaluating the effectiveness of the change process

Change in Volkswagen
References

Cawsey, T.F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2012). Organizational Change: An


Action-Oriented Toolkit (2nd ed).) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

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