- 1. Ethics in Organisation Lessons Learnt from Enron
BECG-CORE
2. Organizational Ethics:4 bottom lines 3. Enron Scandal
- Enron stands for the greatest company scandal in the history of
the US economy and has become asymbol of corruptionfor the whole
Western economic system.
4. Legend-OutLow-In
- 1.8 Million$ Benefit in 5 yrs.
- CEO named as Messiah in the Energy Sector by Economist
5. 4500 employees lost their jobs.
- Investors lost some 60 billion dollars within a few days; for
many it meant losing their old-age security.
- The pension fund for the company's employees was
obliterated.
6. Citizens trust in the American economic system was
destroyed.
- Losses on the financial market amounted to the worst stock
value loss in peaceful times.
- Banks were suspected of collusion.
- The auditing firm Arthur Anderson lost its accreditation.
7. The rules for financial reporting were drastically
sharpened:
- The close ties of the company's founder, Kenneth Lay, to US
President George W. Bush came under sharp criticism.
8. Political Scandal-Lack of Equity
- 29top executives : 1M $ in stock options before bankruptcy
whereas employees were forbidden to sell their options
- CEO alone : sold 67m $ worth of options
- Severance package:13 500 $ per employee
- 63% of the 21,000 employees lost all their pension plan (plan
401K)
9. Dabhol Power Corporation, India
- One of the few real assets of Enron
- 65% Enron; 10% G.E; 10% Betchel; 15% India,
- Biggest gas power plant in the world
- 3 M$in investment (10% foreign investments in India
1992-2002)
- Project of 2 200 megawatts
10. Human Rights Violation
- Displacement of 2 000 people and appropriation of land without
prior notification
- Arrest of 300 pacific protestors a day, average of 8-day
detention period, without trial and with violation of human
dignity
- Demonstrators, mostly women, dragged from their homes, and
beaten (lath charge, tear gassing, helicopters), detention,
humiliation, intimidation
11. Environmental Abuse
- No impact study; no alternative site
- Mockery of consultation process
- Use of drinking water from population (8 300 liters /
minute)
- Pollution of rivers by used waters
- Contamination of sea-water (down-load of 13 million liters of
warm water per day)
- Destruction of plantations (mango, cashew) and fisheries
12. Characteristics of New Economy management: Value of
Idealized Top
-
- CEOs = 500 times average employee salary
-
- bonus gone from 3$ to 64$ per 1000$ of value in 10 years
-
- aggressive PR; image of responsibility
-
- only 1.5% of stock options paid to employees; etc.
13. Complicity or cooptationof social actors :
- Governments (Enron 7M$ public investments) : USA, Germany, UK,
France, Italy, Japan);
- Financial analysts; accounting and consultation firms;
- Business schools; business press; host governments; etc
14. Watkins Whistle blowing has paid
- Cleansing of financial markets
- Some companies enter stocks options into their books as
expenses : Boeing, G.E., G.M., Citigroup
- U.N. Global Compact; CSR; social and environmental accounting;
OECD principles,Caux Table; etc.
- 36% of CEOs more aware of integral responsibilities (but only
10% invest in CSR)
- 19% of transnational companies have disinvested from countries
where Human Rights are violated
15. How to bring accounting firms to integrate CSR norms ?
- These norms shouldrepresent reality
- ensure company governance
- make companies responsible not only towards shareholders
- de-co-opt media and other organizations
- increase the integrity of business students and managers ?
16. Organizational Ethics, 4 Ways