The Downfall of Enron - 1573 Words

Enron: The fallout from the accounting scandal Determine the primary factors that contributed to the downfall of Enrons financial practices Corporate managers are expected to maximize investor returns while complying with regulatory standards, avoiding principal-agent conflicts of interest, and enhancing the reputational capital of their firms (Patrick Shearer 2002). Before its demise, the energy company Enron was envied for its burgeoning balance sheets. However, gradually it emerged that its profits were based in sand. Through the use of creative accounting, Enron mislead shareholders, employees, regulators, and the media about its financial solvency. A combination of aggressive accounting, off-balance-sheet deals and brow-beating of employees and advisers, allowed Enron management to create a virtual company with virtual profits (Hill, Chaffin, Fidler 2002). For example, Enron bolstered profits by booking income immediately on contracts that would take up to 10 years to complete, quite literally counting its chickens before they hatched (Hill, Chaffin, Fidler 2002). In fact, many of these contracts were highly spec ulative, given that they were dependent upon the assumption that the energy market in the state would be deregulated something for which Enron had no assurance. In those cases, Enron forecast when the states would deregulate those markets and then projected what prices would be under the currently nonexistent deregulated market (Norris Show MoreRelatedThe Downfalls Of Enron, By Han, Henry959 Words   |  4 PagesThe key factors or critical issues presented in the case are the downfalls of Enron, which originated out of Houston Texas by Han, Henry(n.d.). He was one of the highest paid Chief Executive Officers in 1999. This organization was aware of the first gas pipeline company that implied known worldwide. The company covers the world’s leading electricity innovations, personnel management, and risk management processes. Also, further studies the company s dramatic failed complex issues that the forcedRead MoreEssay about The Downfall of Enron1734 Words   |  7 Pagesprop er ethics, it is representing not only itself in a positive manner, but its partners, shareholders, and clients as well. On the other hand, when an organization partakes in unethical activities, all parties are negatively affected. The collapse of Enron is a major case of unethical conduct in the corporate world, because the circumstances surrounding the firm’s chaotic plunge where so scandalous that it left â€Å"creditors wrangling over Enrons skeletal remains† (Helyar) long after the company had seenRead MoreEnron And Its Impact On Enron s Downfall Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract recent collapses of high profile business failures like Enron,Worldcom,Parmlat,and Tycohasbeen a subject of great debate among regulators, investors, government and academics in the recent past. Enron’s case was the greatest failure in the history of American capitalism and had a major impact on financial markets by causing significant losses to investors. Enron was a company ranked by Fortune as the most innovative company in the United States; it exemplified the transition from the productionRead MoreOrganizational Culture : The Smartest Guys Of The Room1649 Words   |  7 Pagesorganization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared. After viewing Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, it is obvious that Enron had not only an organizational culture that was strong, but one that was extreme and aggressive. This aggressive and strong organizational culture discouraged both teamwork and ethical behavior and in the end it only plagued Enron until it eventual ly collapsed under its downfall. The aggressive organizational culture started with Enron’s founder, Ken Lay, andRead MoreThe Rise and Fall of Energy Giant, Enron Essay1540 Words   |  7 PagesThe Rise and fall of energy giant ‘ENRON’ Introduction: The main aim of this essay is to analyse business ethics in the context of the Enron scandal. Enron scandal became notorious for violating ethical standards. There are several business motives involved in the rise and fall of Enron. In today’s world, adopting ethical standards is a must for a company to protect shareholder’s interest. Even though the rules of playing business are obvious, still several companies adopt short cut mechanismsRead MoreEnron Case : An American Energy Company1604 Words   |  7 PagesENRON CASE Introduction â€Å"Organizational behaviour is a field which deal with the study of human behaviour with respect to individuals, structure and group of organization† (kinicki 2012). The study of organizational behaviour came in to importance to have an positive effect to the organization. The reflective essay focuses on the organizational behaviour concepts which lead to the downfall of Enron Company on 2001. Enron is an American energy company which is based on Texas. The company was run byRead MoreThe Collapse Of Enron And Enron1365 Words   |  6 PagesTwo organizations that will live on in infamy in the business world are World Com and Enron. These names are synonymous with the largest corporate scandals in US history. Their failure to live by ethical and moral codes resulted in bankruptcy, large financial losses to employees and shareholders as well criminal penalties. Additionally, these deviations from ethical behavior from several related parties shined a light on the account ing profession and resulted in several changes in the industryRead MoreJaclyn Givens. Kathy Osburn. Management 101. 5/8/17. The1400 Words   |  6 PagesJaclyn Givens Kathy Osburn Management 101 5/8/17 The Enron Era â€Å"Just as character matters in people, it matters in organizations,† says Justin Schultz, a corporate psychologist in Denver. The Enron scandal had a big exposure in 2001 confirming the big secret to the increase in billions. In July 1985, Enron formed the merger of Houston Natural Gas and Omaha-based Inter North. The Enron corporation was an American energy company based in Houston Texas. The corporation’s catastrophe in 2001 signifiesRead MoreEnron : The Leading Factor That Had Enron Into Its Demise Essay1608 Words   |  7 PagesThe leading factor that had Enron into its demise revolves around the notion that, â€Å"companies are often so concerned with appearance and damage control that they are unwilling to engage in the degree of examination required to root out the entrenched causes of trust violations† (Hurley, Gillespie, Ferrin Dietz, 2013). The historical performance of Enron’s rising share prices, coupled to the constant positive media at tentions, only added fuel to the fire in terms of Enron’s competitive culture.Read More Deception, Fraud, and the Collapse of Enron Essay1394 Words   |  6 Pagesand the Collapse of Enron Introduction From America’s 7th most valuable company in December 2000, to a company in ruins by early 2002, Enron has been involved in one of the most incredible reverses of fortune ever. With shares riding high on Wall Street at $84.87 on the 28th December 2000, and awards such as â€Å"America’s most innovative company† from Fortune Magazine 6 years running, and â€Å"Energy Company of the Year† from the Financial Times also in 2000, it looked as though Enron were promising to

Summary and critique of Stanley Milgram Free Essays

The experiment on â€Å"Behavioral Study of Obedience† was conducted by Stanley Milgram in July 1961. It was barely three months after Adolf Eichmann had been tried over the criminal activities committed during the Nazi war. The research was designed to address the questions about the peoples who were the masterminds of the infamous Nazi torturing ordeal that were responsible for the deaths of millions of the innocent people. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary and critique of Stanley Milgram or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was intended to find out the people who would prefer to be submissive to the authority at the expense of human life. The experiment also sought to measure the willingness of individuals to obey an authority figure who instructs them to do certain things that are against their personal conscience. The question that the researchers were asking was, â€Å"Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?† The hypothesis was that there was likelihood that that during the Nazi war it might have been that Adolf Eichmann and his accomplices were just being submissive to the orders from higher authority (against their will) to murder the innocent people. The research question was very instrumental in helping to unveil how one can alter another person’s behavior, beliefs and mind-set. Before giving the results of the experiment the researcher predicted that only a negligible number of the participants would obey the orders and persist on to administer maximum shock. The range was 0 – 3%. That meant that out of 100 participants only 3 would administer the 450 volt shock. Method The people who participate in the experiment (subjects) were drawn from different social status background within New Haven area. They comprised people from a wide range occupation with characteristic characters include clerical officers, teachers, salespersons, engineers and drudges. The group was a representative of all educational levels; from elementary school to doctorate and other professional degrees and aged between 20 – 50 years in their right state of mind (Milgram, S., 1963). The dependable variable in this experiment was the maximum shock that the subject, S, was willing to administer to the victim L up to that point when he resist to follow the instructions given to him by the experimenter. The independent variables were the learner (an experimental confederate) and the experimenter’s orders. There were two participants in each case. They were; a naà ¯ve subject who played the role of a â€Å"teacher† and was provided with a 450 volt electric shock generator and the second one a confederate who played the role of a â€Å"learner.† The task of the â€Å"teacher† was to read to the â€Å"learner† a list of word pairs. The â€Å"learner† on the other hand was to respond correctly to these pairs of words by pressing the button as an indicator of his response. In case of a wrong answer the â€Å"teacher† was to administer an electric shock to the â€Å"learner†. For each subsequent wrong answer, the â€Å"teacher† would increase the voltage. Even though the subject believed that the learner was receiving the actual shock, the learner, being in a separate room, sets up a tape recorder which had been incorporated to the electric shock generator. This tape played sounds which had been pre-recorded to march each shock level. The presupposed victim (â€Å"learner†) would start to bang the wall separating him from the subject at given numbers of voltage increase. He would continue banging on the wall and complaining of heart condition until all the responses from him ceased. The data collected was based on how much electric shock the subjects were willing to inflict on the victim. This was to indicate their level of obedience and to see their willingness to obey the orders; if it they were doing it deliberately or did it against their will. Results Eventually it was discovered that out of the 40 participants 14 subjects showed explicit signs of nervous laughter and smiling which were inapt and weird. Three of the subjects developed irrepressible convulsions. According to the results obtained, it is evident that while responding to the demands prompted by the appraisals, 40 themes exceed the projected break-off point. None of them administered the electric shock below 300 volts, a point when the victim starts to kick the wall and provided no answers to the teacher’s questions. 5 of them stops at the 300 volt level; 4 of them proceeds to 315 volt level; 2 breaks of at 330 volt level; 3 others drop off at 345, 360 and 375 volts respectively. These 14 subjects were defiant to the experimenter’s instructions. They were recurrently in a frantic and enraged condition. However 26 of the 40 subjects were obedient enough to proceed on to punish the victim till they attain the shock of 450 volts. But they do this against their will. They could be observed to be in consternation once the experiment was brought to a halt. Discussion The results obtained imply that there are people who, despite receiving orders from authority, would choose to defy and stick to what they believe is morally acceptable. In this case the 14 subjects held this belief and would not inflict pain on another person against his/her will. It was however observed that some people would choose to act against their conscience and submit to authority even if what they are ordered to do is against moral principles. This what the 26 subjects did; despite expressing some signs of displeasure in shocking an innocent person, they still go on to obey the commands to the end. This implies that obedience to authority can cause harmless and non-hostile individuals to turn inhuman. The results seems to be in contrast to those predicted in the questionnaire where only 3 out of 100 respondents said they would proceed to administer electric shock to their victim up to the most maximum and risky shock of 450 volts. In this case however, the figure was surprisingly high; 26 out of 40. It had also been expected that a subjected would basically terminate or proceed as dictated by his conscience. However the subjects exhibited tension and emotional strain in their response to the commands. Critique The experiment was well conducted and its objective was attained. The volunteers were got through a New Have (Connecticut) daily newspaper advert and direct mail to some informing them take part in the study of reminiscence as well as the learning designate conducted in a laboratory at Yale University. The real purpose of the experiment was hidden from the subjects until the experiment was over; they knew that the experiment was a study of memory and learning yet it was about study of obedience to authority. Another thing was that the entire volunteers were to play the role of the teacher while that of the student was played by an experimental confederate. In addition, the generator that the teacher used was just but of 45 volts sample shock with the generator not wired to shock the learner. Lastly, the kicking of the wall by the learner, screams and his rejection to proceed and the commands/orders of the experimenter to the teacher were all skillfully fabricated. These indicate the researchers’ thoroughness in the design of the experiment to answer their specific research question. Most importantly, at the end of the experiment subjects underwent some procedures to assist them go back to normal well being. The researchers did not however deal with any feasible alternative explanation for their results. This might be attributes to the fact that they expected the subjects to show some level of obedience. Also, the subjects might have been expected to act accordingly and participate fully to make the research successfully bearing in mind that the real objective of the experiment was hidden from them. It should be stated here that there are some people who will not, at any cost, accept to administer any level of electric shock to another person. The research was also not well represented in terms of gender or the researchers did not specify the sex of the participants. This raises the question about the criteria that was used in selecting the subjects. But all in all the experiment was quite essential as it the positive and the negative nature of human beings. Reference: Milgram. S. (1969); Study on behavioral obedience, Journal of Abnormal and social psychology; 371-378. http://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/0155060678_rathus/ps/index.html How to cite Summary and critique of Stanley Milgram, Essay examples

SWOT Anaysis of Procter & Gamble-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Questions: 1.InContext to Strategic Management, Search the Fortune Most Admired Companies 2010 and Compare that list to the latest one of 2017. 2.Create a Hypothetical Organization offering product /service of your choice. Identify a realPotential Competitor in the Market. Answers: 1.Strategic management is concern about the planning and construction of strategies that are implemented to ensure the development of the organization. As per the Fortune Most Admired Companies 2010 the top 10 companies were: Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson Johnson, Amazon.com, Procter Gamble, Toyota Motor, Goldman Sachs Group, Wal-Mart Coca-Cola (Fortune, 2010). In the list of most admired companies of 2017 following companies are included: Apple Computers, Amazon.com internet services and retailing, Starbucks food services, Berkshire Hathaway, Disney Entertainment, Alphabet Internet services and retailing, General Electric Industrial Machinery, Southwest Airlines, Facebook Internet Services and Retailing Microsoft Computer Software (Fortune, 2017). Procter Gamble The Procter Gamble was the company that was listed in most admirable companies in 2010 but was not added in the list of 2017, one of the reasons that could be cited is that there were many products launched by PG but the thing that could be noted is that those were not innovated by Procter Gamble and this might be the reason of the downfall that the company faced. The core competencies of PG are that it sets the challenging goals but yet they are the acceptable one. They believe in grabbing the opportunity and setting up the trend in the market. The strategies of PG are unique as well; they adopted the formulation, implementation, and controlling strategies so that corrective actions are immediately taken. The HR policy is divergent in PG they appoint the competent force of human resources and render appropriate training and development to these competent humans and ensures the development of the company (Reingold, 2016). The competency that diversifies the company from the competi tors is the on-time decision making by the company. The company favors the competitive advantages and accordingly take the decisions. They take right decisions at the crucial times and keep a viewpoint to consider every small thing so that they do not grow up to shape a big problem. The business model that the business adopted is innovation. The company CEO quotes that innovation is considered to be the heart of their business model. SWOT Analysis of PG Strength The company has a good focus on research and development criteria. The focus on quality is high. Established the first position in mouthwash products. Weakness The distribution channel of the company is not adequate enough. Lack of packaging skills. Opportunity They step in the market where profit maximisation takes place. The promotional activities take place with the advancement in HR. Threats There are many competitors in the marketplace. The global economic conditions are not good impacting the financial position of the company (Thompson, 2017). Apple Company Apple appeared both the times in the list of Most Admired Companies of 2010 and 2017. Even it leads the list and maintained the top position. The reason being that Apple always uses the unique strategy; it comes up with something new and better in every launch. Also, the launch of Apple is as unique as its products. The core competencies of Apple is primarily it is very innovative and in every product, it introduces new features to attract consumers and make them raise their desires and enhancing the tension to get the product (Noren, 2012). The competency that is different from the competitors is that they plan and predict those things that even do not strike the consumer mind and create the needs. Another distinct point of Apple is that they never compromise on the price and maintain the luxury of the product by keeping the prime price that depicts the status and standard of buyers. Also, the skills and capabilities of the company are proving to be the competitive advantage over th e competitors. The business model that Apple had adopted is innovation. The aim to choose this business model is to create a new synergy, deliver it in a standardized format and capture the value of the product and the luxury attached to it. Also, the company focuses on the environment-friendly innovative ecosystem so that social obligation gets fulfilled as well (1000 ventures, 2017). SWOT Analysis of Apple Company Strength The innovativeness is created in the technology thereby changing the era of technology. The Apple carries an innovative spirit within and bounces up with the latest technology. It focuses on brand awareness and creation of positioning using effective methods. Weakness The high prices at times become the cause of concern. The losing of legal action resulted in dropping down the reputation of the company. Opportunity Introduction of new technology increase the competitiveness and competitive advantage is enjoyed. The market share gets improvised. Threat With the changing technology the competition is increasing influencing Apple to launch something better, thus tough competition has been raised. Customer shift towards the competitors rendering similar technology at the price-sensitive position (Smithson, 2017). Starbucks There is a company that was not earlier listed in the most admired company in 2010 but gained the position in the list of top 10 in 2017. This company is Starbucks that attained the heights in no time because of its rich flavor and the ambiance that it provides to the customer. The best thing that made Starbucks reach this peak is that it is environment-friendly and follows the social obligations. It provides the luxury and richness that benefits the environment as well. They consider it as the responsibility to pay gratitude to the environment. The cores competencies of Starbucks are that it provides the focused quality product, the services rendered to the customer are optimum and they believe in the care towards their customers (Connors, 2015). The competitive advantage of Starbucks is that it provides the rich flavors and quality service along with customer satisfaction at the rate lower than the competitors to attract a maximum crowd. The competency that distinguishes the compan y from the competitors is the supply chain management and the ability to adapt the dynamic environment. The business model that Starbucks carries is to treat their employees equivalent to the customers (Henricks, 2017). They think of employee satisfaction first than to customer satisfaction which diversifies the company from other and increases employee engagement. SWOT Analysis of Starbucks Strength Starbucks carries good track record. It is one of the largest coffee houses that run in the world. Weakness The coffee is not cost-effective. Prices of coffee beans fluctuate a lot. Opportunity The demand for coffee has been rising in the South Asian market. The range of supply is high that helps in business expansion. Threat The prices of coffee beans are rising at the great pace. Infringement of trademark (Lombardo, 2017). 2.The hypothetical business selected is Caf Chit-Chat that provides food and beverage services specifically it deals in coffee, the specialty it carries is that it has been set up in a very creative and innovative manner. Everything from the infrastructure to the coffee each and every tiny object comprises with the touch of creativity. The competitor of this caf is Costa coffee, Costa was invented by Bruno and Sergio that started its business in the UK and it has become the largest chain in the UK (Costa coffee, 2017). The mission of Caf Chit-Chat is to gather people over a creamy cup of coffee and discuss their success with the rich sip enjoying the positive ambiance and making the day worth countable. The objective of caf is to collect people and build up relations, it aims at satisfying the customer through the luxury they provide within the relations as well as through the richness in the flavor of coffee adding the pinch of creativity and coffee art to enhance the customers interest (Ccs coffee, 2017). SWOT Analysis of Caf Chit-Chat Strength The caf focuses on the niche market and serve the varieties of coffee that are famous in different corners of the world and combining them in the single caf. They serve homemade snacks with the coffee complementing and enhancing the taste along with elongating the meeting with gathering. Location of caf is such that attract the youth as well as business and service-oriented Friends could plan their hangouts and even the business meets could be handled over there. Weaknesses Due to the lack of budget, the location selected is small and a lot of people cannot gather at the similar moment. The cost of the product is high as it is competing with Costa coffee and trying to maintain the balance of luxury and richness in the taste as well as the environment. Opportunity The caf could adopt the promotional activities and launch certain attractive offers or combos to grab the customers attention and increase the consumer base. The consumer loyalty discount could be added to retain the customers and increase the referrals as well. Caf could launch the best coffee-desert combination every week so that people try the innovative recipes. Threats The competitors are the major threat to the company, as per this caf the Costa coffee is the major competitor. To maintain the customer base and establishing the loyalty program for the customer. Managing the budget according to the plan and expanding the business accordingly to gain popularity (Belcher, 2017). On analyzing the internal and external environment through the swot analysis the problems that have been pointed out is that the caf needs to be expanded and for that huge budget and a good amount of investment is necessary. Therefore in order to collect the revenue for expansion the rates of coffee and snacks were raised that might affect the consumer base. The mission and objective should remain intact but the focus on quality has to be paid so that the consumers are ready to pay the high price for the luxury they are gaining in return. The special discount could be provided to students who are not able to pay such a high costs. After evaluating the alternate strategies the alternative that has been selected is that to maintain the budget and create the positioning the rebates could be provided as per the crowd (Hand ground, 2017). To retain the student group the student concession could be provided to them also gaming area could be installed so that they stay in caf for long and r efer to other people as well. This strategy could be implemented by drafting the blueprint and adding on the new items in the menu along with the combos and rendering gifts with certain combos. The budget of the quality product should not be compromised. These amounts could be adjusted and covered by opening up the home delivery scheme as well so that maximum people could avail the services. After implementing the above-mentioned strategies there is a need to collect the feedback from the consumers so that the position of business could be analyzed and the necessary corrective actions are taken to improve the working and focus on the vision. References 1000 ventures. (2017). Apples innovative business models. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/cs_biz_model_apple.html. Belcher. L.M.(2017). SWOT Analysis for a coffee cafe. viewed on 9th November 2017. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/swot-analysis-coffee-cafe-15644.html. Ccs coffee. (2017). Our vision, mission, values. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.ccscoffee.com/vision-mission-values/#vision. Connors. P. (2015). Core competency competitive advantage. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/core-competency-competitive-advantage-patrick-connors. Costa coffee. (2017). A drop of history in every cup. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.costacoffee.ae/costa-coffee/the-costa-way/history/. Fortune. (2010). Worlds most admired companies. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2010/. Fortune. (2017). The worlds most admired companies. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/list/. Hand ground. (2017). 6 coffee shop marketing strategies that cost less than $100 a month. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://handground.com/grind/6-coffee-shop-marketing-strategies-that-cost-less-than-100-a-month. Henricks. M. (2017). The Starbucks business model. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/173256. Lombardo. J. (2017). Starbucks coffee SWOT Analysis. https://panmore.com/starbucks-coffee-swot-analysis. Noren. E. (2012). The Subscription business model. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://www.digitalbusinessmodelguru.com/. Reingold. J. (2016). Can PG find its aim again? Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://fortune.com/procter-and-gamble-david-taylor-fortune-500/. Smithson. N. (2017). Apple Inc. SWOT Analysis Recommendations. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://panmore.com/apple-inc-swot-analysis-recommendations. Thompson. A. (2017). Procter Gamble SWOT Analysis Recommendations. Viewed on 9th November 2017. https://panmore.com/procter-gamble-swot-analysis-recommendations