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Individual Reflection Paper: Worst Team in History: Enron

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Individual Reflection Paper: Worst Team in History: Enron
Individual Reflection Paper: Worst Team in History: Enron
Sasha R. Chin

Proofer Denise Greene

Professor Haga

February 24th, 2011

Introduction

Teams are used to serve a variety of functions for organizations. According to Levi (2007), teams are comprised of people working together on a common project for which they all are accountable. They are usually part of a larger organization and the members of the team have specific knowledge, skills, and abilities about the task at hand. A successful team from the team members’ point of view is one in which the team members focus on the internal operations, the contributions of the team members and how well they all work together. A successful team, from managements’ point of view, is the impact of the team on the organization; their focus is on the end result not the way the team interacts with one another. (Levi, 2007) This paper will discuss the Enron Scandal. The major players of the Enron Corporation made a successful team that through greed and arrogance bankrupted the entire company, making them one of the worst teams in history.

The Team The key members of the Enron scandal team were: Kenneth Lay who was the chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He founded Enron in 1985 when Houston Natural Gas merged with InterNorth in Omaha, Nebraska. Jeffrey Skilling, who was the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Andrew Fastow, Chief Financial Officer, Richard A. Causey, Chief Accounting Officer. Michael Kopper, who was Andrew Fastow's top aide. Sherron Watkins, vice president. Rex T. Shelby, a former vice president of engineering operations for Enron Broadband Services. Ben Glisan, treasurer. Timothy Despain, assistant treasurer, David Delainey, head of Enron's trading and money-losing retail energy units. Paula Rieker, No. 2 executive in investor relations and later corporate secretary. Christopher Calger, an executive in Enron's trading business. Mark Koenig, head



References: Duarte, D. and Snyder, N. (2006).  Mastering virtual teams: Strategies, tools, and techniques that succeed (3rd ed.).  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass. Greer, L., Lawton, A., & Tonge, A. (2003). The Enron Story: You can Fool Some of the People Some of the Time. Vol. 12 Issue 1, p4-22. Retrieved February 25, 2011, from Business Source Complete. Holmes, M. (2001). Enron Hits Back Quickly After Blockbuster Failure. Broadband Networking News: Vol. 11, Issue: 7. Retrieved February 24, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. Levi, D. (2007).  Group dynamics for teams (2nd ed.).  Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Li, Y.. (2010). The Case Analysis of the Scandal of Enron. International Journal of Businss and Management, 5(10), 37-41. Retrieved February 25, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. McLean, B. & Elkind, P. (2003). The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron. Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee Training and Development (5nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Premeaux, S. (2009). The Link Between Management Behavior and Ethical Philosophy in the Wake of the Enron Convictions. Vol. 85 Issue 1, p13-25. Wall Street Journal (US Edition). (2001). Enron 's success story. Financial Times World Media Abstracts,1.  Retrieved February 26, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. Yuhao, L. (2010). The Case Analysis of the Scandal of Enron.Vol. 5 Issue 10, p37-41. Retrieved February 25, 2011, from Business Source Complete.

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