Can Classic Moral Stories Promote Honesty in Children? (Case Study Sample)

ETHICS
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ACCOUNTING IN SOCIETY CASE STUDY
Overview of the company’s background
The inception of Enron was in 1985 when it commenced its existence as a company that traverses through several states in a pipeline business that amalgamated two gas entities Omaha and Houston. This was done with pure disregard to the government’s regulations. Enron started venturing fast into new fields, first in the list being the cyber business that enabled the company to trade online. This move proved profitable both financially and socially, because the company raked most of its revenue (which was to a tune of a hundred million dollars) from it and as a result, became the largest renowned business at the time that greatly boosted its reputationCITATION CBC08 \p 22 \l 1033 (William , 2008, p. 22). This facilitated the rapid growth of the company through expansions.
However, the bask in the success wasn’t long lived owing to the change in management which saw the company suffer a huge loss, a first in almost five years. Changing of a high-ranking officer who was in charge of finances triggered a sequence of events that led to Enron being probed. The investigations revealed Enron’s enormous debt that cost the investors billions when the stock of the company took a nosedive. The indictment was soon to follow due to the unearthing of several malpractices that included falsification of financial reports, fraudulent transfer of funds, breach of various securities, conspiracies among othersCITATION Inv16 \p 10 \l 1033 ( Edel, 2014, p. 10). The various malpractices linked to Enron catalyzed by prosecutions led to the fall of the company.
Arising ethical issues and ethical dilemma faced by parties involved
Lack of objectivity: Enron from its inception as a business was unethical because the motive behind its existence was greed and desire for individual wealthCITATION App09 \p 37-41 \l 1033 (Yuhao, 2010, pp. 37-41). This motive shifted the focus of the company into an unhealthy path of targeting incomes that are achieved within a short period. Enron’s income, however, huge due to greed and a lot of misappropriation become inadequate as there lacks the framework that guides the every decision to be made.
Lack of honesty: Enron predicament was worsened by dishonesty to the public as they gave falsified financial reportsCITATION Inv16 \p 8 \l 1033 ( Edel, 2014, p. 8). Dishonesty broods mistrust among the business associates and the public that puts the trustworthiness of the company into question. Lack of trust in any business impacts negatively as business associates shy away from helping entities that are not trustworthy. This led to Enron not being able to access loans to facilitate its operations.
Lack of independent mind: The management of Enron led by Lay made decisions that were inclined toward their personal gains. This was unethical as their professional judgments were affected by their selfish behavior. They launched motivation schemes that were meant to give incentives to the employees but this did not adhere to the regulations as the funding was hiddenCITATION App09 \p 37-41 \l 1033 (Yuhao, 2010, pp. 37-41). This led to misappropriation of funds by other stakeholders that bore corruption, a virus that cripples development.
Lack of professional behavior: this is because Enron was started with blunt disregard to the ethics regulations. This led to the sequence of the unprofessional conduct that posed a detrimental impact on the organization i.e. as in the case of Enron starting of the fraudulent funding scheme that was supposed to be used as incentives to the employees but is designed for self-enrichment.
Identify and evaluate the stakeholders impacted by the ethical issue
The stakeholders that were affected include; Lay, Skilling, investors, debtors and Enron employees.
Lay and Skilling having been the CEO of Enron company, they are the ones who suffer the loss of the company and also face judicial action against them as they championed the malpractices that took place in the company. They carry the burden of all the chaos that arise because of their misappropriation of resources and poor leadership that made corruption thrive and consequently resulting in the demise of the company.
Enron employees lost their jobs because of ethical malpractices that instigated the fall of the company. Investors were substantially impacted negatively as they lost their investment when the company made huge losses on their stocks and because of an eventual collapse of the organization. These stakeholders' livelihoods are affected since the allowances attributed to being employed terminates when the company collapses.
Debtors of Enron are also impacted negatively when the company fails to deliver on its promises and collapses without having paid for the credit.
Was the decision ethical? What was the nature of the impact?
Most of the decisions made by Enron were not ethical. The inception of the company was done with utter disregard to the ethics regulations. Having no set objectives means that the company is flying blind and therefore lacks the standard that it can use to rate itself in accordance to the goals, this creates precedence for mismanagement. For instance, the decision by Enron to rapidly expand uncontrollably was uncalled for. This has a direct negative impact because the limited resources would be strained and more loopholes for the negligence of work and avenues for sabotage of the company would be createdCITATION The10 \p 12-15 \l 1033 (Benjamin, 2010, pp. 12-15).
The decision to give false reports to the public was despicable. Every business entity is obligated by ethics regulation to disseminate honest information to the public. This is to help prospective investors to be able to make informed choices. Dishonesty is a serious offense tantamount to fraud as misleading information may have catastrophic financial consequences to the consumers. Falsifying information impacts negatively on the business as the reputation will be ruined and it will lose the trust of ...