Hindsight is 20/20. At least, that is what many Volkswagen stakeholders wish was true. Unfortunately,
the manufacturing world rarely can predict outcomes such as the VW emissions scandal and reverse
engineering the decisions made across a company with 600,000+ employees is incredibly difficult
(Volkswagen, 2016). The shear challenge of understanding this specific mistake is enough to keep
lawyers and upper management busy while the media chases rabbits on their own, sometimes causing
additional trouble. As we have learned from countless scandals and tragedies, it is usually a series of
unfortunate events that is mixed with deliberate and unintended bad choices. One decision can lead to
multiple options, all of which are bad or may even create a worse outcome. Decision after decision, this
very costly snowball builds over time undetected, but eventually it will reach the valley and everyone
will learn and experience the damage.
Reduction of risk generally entails identifying hazards and applying risk mitigation techniques to lower
the perceived risk to an acceptable level. Acceptable is the key word as any level of risk must be
