CaseAssignment2
Case Assignment: Enron Case 9
Yesenia Garcia
BUSI 472- B07 LUO
Introduction
In 1985 Ken Lay took over a couple of big name gas pipeline companies that came together and thus the infamous Enron Corporation began. They offered a variety of services that were not limited to natural gas but also included electricity, communications, and many energy related services. Together, CEO Jeffrey Skilling, Chairman Ken Lay, and CFO Andrew Fastow were able to bring transformation to Enron. They created a multi-billion dollar Wall Street celebrity out of an electricity and gas company. There was an unusual growth spurt in Enron’s profit of about $69 billion from 1998 to 2000. This caught the attention of an anonymous bankruptcy examiner and it was suggested that Enron’s net income and cash flow had been compromised. The Wall Street celebrity corporation was caught lying and in debt. They lied about their income and cash flow in extravagant ways in order to maximize the corporations’ value, leaving stakeholders empty-handed. Enron had an innocent beginning that was fueled with a culture that required employees to have the mindset of individuals competing against each other instead of working together to see Enron rise and succeed as a whole.
Enron: Corporate culture’s contribution to bankruptcy
A culture established by Enron led many to compromise what they believed in to be moral. Selfishness, pride, defeat, and arrogance may all be used to characterize what led to such deceit on Wall Street. However, many employees did not begin their jobs at Enron with that frame of mind. A culture of competition amongst employees was highly praised and it bred lying, stealing, cheating, and compromise in even the most noteworthy citizens. The culture in place somewhat modeled the theory of the survival of the fittest in which only the strongest and most able to adapt to change would survive. Similarly, only the best employees would survive working at Enron
Yesenia Garcia
BUSI 472- B07 LUO
Introduction
In 1985 Ken Lay took over a couple of big name gas pipeline companies that came together and thus the infamous Enron Corporation began. They offered a variety of services that were not limited to natural gas but also included electricity, communications, and many energy related services. Together, CEO Jeffrey Skilling, Chairman Ken Lay, and CFO Andrew Fastow were able to bring transformation to Enron. They created a multi-billion dollar Wall Street celebrity out of an electricity and gas company. There was an unusual growth spurt in Enron’s profit of about $69 billion from 1998 to 2000. This caught the attention of an anonymous bankruptcy examiner and it was suggested that Enron’s net income and cash flow had been compromised. The Wall Street celebrity corporation was caught lying and in debt. They lied about their income and cash flow in extravagant ways in order to maximize the corporations’ value, leaving stakeholders empty-handed. Enron had an innocent beginning that was fueled with a culture that required employees to have the mindset of individuals competing against each other instead of working together to see Enron rise and succeed as a whole.
Enron: Corporate culture’s contribution to bankruptcy
A culture established by Enron led many to compromise what they believed in to be moral. Selfishness, pride, defeat, and arrogance may all be used to characterize what led to such deceit on Wall Street. However, many employees did not begin their jobs at Enron with that frame of mind. A culture of competition amongst employees was highly praised and it bred lying, stealing, cheating, and compromise in even the most noteworthy citizens. The culture in place somewhat modeled the theory of the survival of the fittest in which only the strongest and most able to adapt to change would survive. Similarly, only the best employees would survive working at Enron
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