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Essay / A Review of Enron's Code of Ethics
IntroductionEnron's code of ethics was well detailed and all provisions of the code of ethics were consistent with company policies. According to Sims and Brinkmann (2003), Enron's policies and code of ethics fostered the company's reputation for being fair and honest. The company has tried to safeguard the interests of its customers by ensuring that it offers the best of its competitors. The code of ethics specifies that all employees of the company must not behave in a manner that could compromise the best interests of the company. Additionally, employees were not expected to engage in activities that suggested competition with Enron. Through the above policies, the company has left room for failure instead of providing a perception of success. The policies indirectly forced senior management as well as junior employees to engage in unethical behaviors that subsequently led to the company's failure ethically and then financially. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essaySince Enron's code of ethics was inclined towards the good ethical conduct of all its cooperating employees, the company failed and was declared bankrupt in 2001 (Fusaro and Miller, 2002). Enron's failure can be attributed to executive failure and unethical behavior within the company. Working conditions were condescending and competition and financial goals were overestimated. Enron's profit orientation required it to always emphasize policies that would generate profits by any means possible. Employees were subject to a rating system whereby 20 percent of employees were expected to be rated below minimum requirements and fired (Marianne, 2009). Enron implemented the rating system in hopes of encouraging employees to work harder and avoid poor ratings, but the system harmed Enron contrary to management's expectations. Continuous evaluation of employee performance as well as the culture of competition have led to deception. The strict evaluation process forced employees to cheat on their work. They were always nervous and worried about losing their jobs due to poor performance. Thus, they resorted to unethical means to survive longer in the company. For example, they cheated on their progress even though they knew things weren't going so well. No employee felt the shame of cheating as it became a culture. Those who stuck to what was right were considered strange by the cheating employees. In addition to cheating, the employees covered up the mistakes and could not report the mistakes of their colleges since each of them was entangled in the performance of their duties and only focused their achievements on the workplace. According to Katzenbach (2015), employees in a company help each other by asking and answering questions. However, Enron's competitive environment caused employees to avoid asking questions because they viewed it as humiliating. Additionally, they disliked helping everyone avoid competition and avoided expressing doubts and asking for clarification. Additionally, Enron ensured that all of its employees did not engage with outside parties that could displace Enron in the market. Thus, employees were not authorized to express the slightest doubt about the financial situation and plans of the company. Olson, a business analyst, lost his job because Olson advised his client to.