Crisis Expert David Margulies Tells Volkswagen: "Don't Be Pressured to Place Blame in Emissions Scandal"

DALLAS, Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The resignation of embattled Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn was a good first step in dealing with the unfolding scandal that involved the company's cheating on emissions tests for 11 million diesel cars.  Crisis management expert David Margulies, founder and president of The Margulies Communications Group, cautions that the company should not lose additional credibility by succumbing to likely pressure to quickly place the blame for the problem.

"Companies under pressure often make initial statements that turn out not to be true," said Margulies. "This can lead to a loss of credibility and even criminal prosecution.

"The approach we recommend is bringing closure to the issue by putting safeguards in place going forward, addressing customer issues and outlining steps for a complete and in-depth investigation of past practices to pinpoint problem areas that need to be addressed.

"Problems such as this rarely occur because of one rogue employee," says Margulies. "Throwing someone under the bus at the early stages of a crisis is rarely effective and not especially credible."

Too many times organizations facing negative publicity answer questions or make statements only to find they are contradicted as the investigation moves forward. To get the real picture of what happened at Volkswagen will require questioning a large number of people, verifying or disproving their statements, examining complex test results and thousands or even tens of thousands of documents.

"Who knew about the cheating, who should have known, how early did management learn about the issue and when did they report it to authorities are key issues that have legal implications," said Margulies. "Many of those involved will retain legal counsel which will further complicate the process.

"It takes real discipline to stand before the media, regulators or a Congressional committee and acknowledge that you don't have all the answers but failing to do so can be disastrous if your answers turn out to be contradicted by new information."

David Margulies is the author of the book Crisis Management in the Internet Age and founder of The Margulies Communications Group.  The Dallas firm represents corporate clients in the U.S., Europe and Mexico providing crisis prevention, crisis management and media interview training. 

SOURCE The Margulies Communications Group