The objective of this activity for students is to understand how CSR is measured, reported, and communicated by various businesses. Develop skills to analyze these CSR reports.

Using their critical thinking and analysis skills students should be able to identify what are some of the responsibility issues that a company may face and how regulators can effectively enforce rules and regulations.

Students should incorporate concepts and terminologies learned in classroom

$1.$ Read a Case Study:

Read the Enron case study details and take note of the ethical or responsibility issues that the company faced.

Enron is a well$-$known case study of corporate fraud and ethical misconduct, which highlights the challenges that businesses face when it comes to ethics and responsibilities. Enron, a large energy company, engaged in fraudulent accounting practices that inflated the company's revenue and misled investors.

One of the major challenges that businesses face is the pressure to meet financial targets and satisfy shareholders, which can lead to unethical behavior if those targets are not attainable through legitimate means. In Enron's case, the company executives were under pressure to meet earnings targets and maintain a high stock price, which led them to engage in fraudulent accounting practices.

Another challenge is the lack of transparency and accountability, which can make it difficult to identify and prevent unethical behavior. In Enron's case, the company used complex financial structures and off$-$balance sheet transactions to hide its debt and losses, making it difficult for investors and regulators to detect the fraud.

Regulation can play a key role in addressing these challenges. For example, regulations can establish clear ethical standards and guidelines for corporate behavior, provide greater transparency and accountability, and impose penalties for misconduct. In Enron's case, the Sarbanes$-$Oxley Act was passed in response to the scandal, which established new requirements for corporate governance, financial reporting, and disclosure.

However, regulation also has its limitations$.$ Regulations can be difficult to enforce, and companies may find ways to circumvent them. Additionally, regulations can be costly and burdensome, especially for smaller businesses.

$2.$ Analyze the Case Study: Consider the following questions:

$1.$ What were the specific ethical or responsibility issues that the company faced? How did the company respond to those issues?

$2.$ What could the company have done differently to prevent those issues from arising in the first place?

Brainstorm Regulations: