MAN1094 | Business Law and Ethics | Importance Of Corporate Culture

The Enron bankruptcy sent shock-waves throughout the world's business and legal communities. It was a lesson learnt for the importance of corporate culture, business and legal ethics.' Discuss.

Answer:

The event of the bankruptcy of the entity Enron highlighted the failings in the corporate culture of America and shook the various legal and the ethical communities’ around the globe. The scandal not only emphasized the role of the leaders of such multinational entitles, but also forced the regulators of the stock market and the financial sector to devise mechanisms for strict control over the entities. The work explores the various facets of the Enron bankruptcy and the following distress in the business and the legal communities.

The corporate culture of the company was marked with a humble beginning in the year 1985 with the merger of the two companies based at the Houston. However, the year 1988 marked a significant change for the company’s objectives with the de regulation of the electrical power markets. The opportunity appeared lucrative from the point of view of revenues to the leaders of the Enron. As a result, the company extended its activities and entered into a number of complex contracts. While the lucrative revenues of the said market influenced the leaders, the latter failed to acknowledge the increase in the responsibilities towards the stakeholders of the entity.

The corporate failure of the entity Enron forced the regulators to adopt news means to regulate the players in the securities market. One of the major legislations that were introduced post the Enron bankruptcy event was the Sarbanes Oxley reform. The legislation was introduced with the aim to improvise the transparency in the accounting and business operations of the public companies. In addition, the corporate governance framework with respect to the appointment, remuneration of the directors, the roles, and responsibilities of the auditors and the overall ethical and accounting issues were enhanced.

In addition to the above, the reforms also took place in the rules of the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, on the lines of the stringent provisions with respect to the listing requirements. The reforms took place even beyond the boundaries of the American corporate culture, majorly in the UK. It is significant to note that the event also challenged the popularly accepted notion of the self-regulated corporate governance, and thus provided a stage for the corporate reforms in the UK. The European Union has responded in the form of the mandatory directives and the recommendations to the companies and the leaders.

Thus, as per the discussions conducted in the previous parts it can be stated that the Enron Scandal has been a milestone in the history of the corporate governance reforms. A number of reforms have been employed with the main intention to restore the public and the investor confidence. The United States responded on the lines of the improved financial reporting practices.

Bibliography

Li-Ping Tang TM Polic?, Monetary Intelligence And Behavioral Economics (Kluwer Academic Publishers cReidel 2016)

Ahluwalia S and others, 'Sarbanes–Oxley Section 406 Code Of Ethics For Senior Financial Officers And Firm Behavior' (2016) 151 Journal of Business Ethics

Cheffins B, 'Corporate Governance Since The Managerial Capitalism Era' (2015) 89 Business History Review