Enron Questions
Enron Questions 1. How did Enron’s corporate culture contribute to its bankruptcy?
Enron’s corporate culture was greedy and arrogant. Arrogance and pride are what mostly contributed to the downfall of Enron. Employees made money for the executives. The company was thought of as a leading company, and imagined to be invincible. Once funds were gambled away, and the whole got deeper, more funds were gambled to attempt to create liquid assets to pay off debt. Eventually, it all ran out.
2. What role did bankers, auditors, and attorneys Enron worked with play in the company’s demise?
Bankers, auditors, and attorneys all pretty much played the same role… the enablers. It seems that none of them truly cared who got hurt, or where the money came from, as long as they all got their slice of the pie. Bankers were claiming to be unknowing, but seemed to be working side by side. Auditors kept quiet, for their own advantage. Attorneys also protected their own pockets.
3. Imagine you are an energy trader at Enron, and your department is engaging in a number of dubious activities at your manager’s direction and urging. You stand to become very wealthy by participating in these activities, and everyone else in your department is going with the flow. You know these activities are unethical. How would you respond to this situation?
I would like to think I am above this sort of unethical behavior. However, I believe from a psychological standpoint, everyone would be tempted by such a situation. It might be easy to be “blind” to such unethical behavior in the beginning, but there comes a time when one must weigh for themselves what the most important things in life are; is it money? Family and friends? Fellow people? I couldn’t live with myself if I played a part in either the direct or indirect misfortunes of other people. My conscience wouldn’t allow me too, even if the offer sounded
Enron’s corporate culture was greedy and arrogant. Arrogance and pride are what mostly contributed to the downfall of Enron. Employees made money for the executives. The company was thought of as a leading company, and imagined to be invincible. Once funds were gambled away, and the whole got deeper, more funds were gambled to attempt to create liquid assets to pay off debt. Eventually, it all ran out.
2. What role did bankers, auditors, and attorneys Enron worked with play in the company’s demise?
Bankers, auditors, and attorneys all pretty much played the same role… the enablers. It seems that none of them truly cared who got hurt, or where the money came from, as long as they all got their slice of the pie. Bankers were claiming to be unknowing, but seemed to be working side by side. Auditors kept quiet, for their own advantage. Attorneys also protected their own pockets.
3. Imagine you are an energy trader at Enron, and your department is engaging in a number of dubious activities at your manager’s direction and urging. You stand to become very wealthy by participating in these activities, and everyone else in your department is going with the flow. You know these activities are unethical. How would you respond to this situation?
I would like to think I am above this sort of unethical behavior. However, I believe from a psychological standpoint, everyone would be tempted by such a situation. It might be easy to be “blind” to such unethical behavior in the beginning, but there comes a time when one must weigh for themselves what the most important things in life are; is it money? Family and friends? Fellow people? I couldn’t live with myself if I played a part in either the direct or indirect misfortunes of other people. My conscience wouldn’t allow me too, even if the offer sounded