• 2. What was the biggest ethical violation of the Enron case and what lessons were learned?
  4. Is it true, that one of Enron's problems to date is poor corporate governance? As the senior executive officer, how would you fix the problem and the reputation of Enron?
  6. As the senior executive officer of Enron are you able to discuss when the company became unethical, and its oversight?
  8. What is the moral of the Enron story?
  10. How did the culture of Enron foster an unethical culture?
  12. Who was morally responsible for the Enron scandal?

 Case Analysis: Enrons Case Students Name Institution Course Title Instructors Name Date Case Analysis: Enrons Case Overview of the Case The case concerns Enron Corporation, an energy corporation that arose after merging two gas pipeline companies. It was involved in providing goods and services related to natural gas and electricity. Apart from being dominant locally in the northwestern United States region, it also had a global presence. Between 1998 and 2000, the company recorded significant growth, reporting a revenue increase from about $31 billion to $100 billion (Ferrell et al., 2022). It was also considered one of the most stylish electricity and gas companies then. Enron had a corporate culture described as "arrogant" owing to its preference for ruthless competition. It was also profit-oriented, making employees often disregard rules in the process. The rank and yank system that saw the low-performing employees being laid off also encouraged fierce competition among employees. Top executives disregarded key values like integrity, promoting a pervasive immoral culture. Even though it fostered innovation, it was also an avoidant of problems. Deceit and lack of transparency were evident in the companys accounting as it used special purpose entities (SPEs) to conceal losses and conduct fraudulent financial reporting as the executives amassed illegally acquired wealth. The financial misconduct led to the fallout of the big corporation resulting in investors losing billions of dollars once the malpractices were uncovered. Further, its downfall led to the collapse of the electricity trading markets and a global loss of confidence in corporate integrity. Opinion on the Courts Decision The misconduct evident in Enron Corporation, coupled with the confessions of the executives, led to the court sentencing the company's executives to prison sentences. For instance, Andrew Fastow, the company's Chief Finance Officer (CFO), got a light sentence of six years following his cooperation during the investigations even though he had been found guilty of fraud, conspiracy, misrepresentation, and insider trading (Ferrell et al., 2022). On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer was initially sentenced to 24 years in prison. Also, Kopper was sentenced to 15 years in prison. I agree with the court's decision to punish the executives. It serves as a disciplinary measure to prevent such occurrences in future. Leadership is one of the key factors that influence fraud in organizations owing to the impact of their decisions. For instance, executives making decisions favourable to their personal gain would promote fraud (Yulistyawati et al., 2019). In Enron's case, the top executives did not just look after their personal gains, but also cultivated a culture that disregarded ethical principles. Therefore, they were liable for the misconduct. Even though the court did well in the ruling, there was still room for it to do even better. For instance, the accounting firm, i.e. Arthur Andersen LLP, should have been held accountable. The firm did not raise any alarms even when there were discrepancies in its financial statements, making it seem like an abettor of the financial fraud. How the Case Fits Within the Context of the Chapter Chapter 12 deals with ethics and social responsibility concerning technology. According to Ferrell et al. (2022), technologies used in businesses can become bad if used maliciously. In Enron.s case, it is worth considering that inappropriate use of the financial instruments aided in the fraudulent financial reporting. Efficient accounting information systems can be useful in preventing fraud (Zakiah et al., 2022). However, when the systems are compromised or missing, then the risk of fraud increases. Inefficiency in Enrons accounting systems facilitated the use of manipulated strategies such as the mark-to-market accounting strategy. This method relied on fair value and it gave room for malpractice. This unethical use of the technology also had some considerable social consequences, including a significant loss amount of money. The case thus fits the context of the chapter, considering that technology played a huge role in facilitating unethical business practices. References Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell. (2022). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (13th ed.). Cengage learning. Yulistyawati, N. K. A., Suardikha, I. M. S., & Sudana, I. P. (2019). The analysis of the factor that causes fraudulent financial reporting with fraud diamond. Jurnal Akuntansi dan Auditing Indonesia, 1-10. Zakiah, A. N., Agustini, D., & Twinarti, X. (2022). Application of accounting information system to auditor responsibility in fraud prevention.