ENRON Scandal And The Impact Of The Enron Corporation

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Jamie Dimon once said that “doing first class business in a first class way” has led to all of his success at J.P. Morgan because building a business does not only mean to build on profits, but also to make sure business is being done in an ethical way. Enron Corporation, once a great accounting firm, fell under its own weight as it was reaching for greatness. Former CEO Kenneth Lay, made a commitment to business ethics based on communication, integrity, respect, and excellence. However, a once successful American energy, commodities, and financial risk service company made questionable financial practices that ultimately led to their downfall. This essay will focus in the details of ENRON Scandal, how the corporate culture influenced the employees, enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, the impact Enron has made to the current markets, and ultimately leading to the question whether another Enron scandal can occur again in the future.

I. Summary of ENRON
It began when Enron started the merging of Houston Natural Gas (HNG) and InterNorth. HNG provided gas to retailers in Houston and InterNorth was a national premier pipeline networks. A deal to merge the two companies together was officially announced in 1985 under the management of Kenneth Lay, who became the CEO and chairman of this new company that would soon be the …show more content…

While ENRON’S reputation continues to grow before its downfall, the corporate culture internally began to take a darker tone. The values and corporate culture at Enron did little to promote the value of integrity and respect. Most employees were misguided and kept in the dark because the company placed emphasis on its compensation program, employee performance appraisals, and decentralization. Employees could not get a holistic few of the company’s operations since many of its divisions and business units were separate from each other, making it hard to find the unethical decisions being

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