Grade 11 – BUSINESS STUDIES
06/05/25
Task 4 – Movie Review (Ethics) – Enron
Luke Deacon Grade 11
1
Summary of Movie:
Introduction:
The Enron story starts off with a young and ambitious 26-year-old, named Brian
Curver who earned himself a spot in one of the most successful and innovative
companies in America at the time. This world is depicted as one of lavish spending,
corporate parties, and an intense pressure to close deals and inflate profits.
As Brian climbs the ranks in the business, he becomes more increasingly aware of
the unethical practices and financial manipulations that the business partakes in. He
witnesses how the company’s executives cheat their way to success. Whistleblowers
within the company attempt to raise concerns about the suspicious accounting
practices, but their warnings are ignored. Driven by immense pressure to constantly
report increasing profits and maintain a high stock price, the company’s executives,
including CEO Jeff Skilling and Chairman Kenneth Lay, engage in increasingly
complex and fraudulent accounting practices.
When the truth about Enron's financial instability begins to show, Cruver struggles
with himself and the ethical movements of his involvement. The film showcases the
growing tenseness among some employees as the company begins to crash.
Ultimately, the movie ends with Enron's bankruptcy, and the impact on its employees
who lost their jobs and life savings, and the exposure of the widespread corruption at
the highest levels of the company.
As the company's financial situation deteriorated, top executives, including those
shown in the film, sold their own Enron stock for their own personal gain while
simultaneously encouraging employees to buy and hold the stock. This act of
prioritizing personal wealth over the well-being of employees and shareholders is a
major ethical violation.
2
Ethical Issues:
The company deeply troubled by ethical problems, Top leaders pushed a culture of
greed, encouraging illegal accounting tricks to hide debt and make profits look bigger
than they were. They lied to everyone about how well the company was doing, while
some insiders unfairly made money by selling their own stock before it crashed,
leaving regular employees with nothing. There was clear lack of honesty and
fairness, where making money became more important than doing what was right,
ultimately leading to the company's downfall and hurting many people.
Corporate governance in the business:
This story demonstrates how the breakdown of fundamental principles of corporate
governance, which is the practice and rules of how a company is controlled. Such as
– including board oversight, transparency, managing conflicts of interest, internal
controls, ethical leadership, and external audit functions – created an environment
for the mass fraud that ultimately destroyed the company.
How does Management and leadership influence the success of a business?
The influence of both leadership and management, particularly their failures, is a key
point to the company's dramatic and unethical rise and fall. The movie illustrates how
the actions and inactions of those in leadership and management positions started a
culture of greed, deception, and ultimately, ruin. Having good management and
leadership is an important aspect of determining a businesses success, but what
Enron failed to do was initially communicating and balancing a law of power between
their employees.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, "Enron: The Crooked E" powerfully illustrates how a toxic combination
of unethical leadership that set a culture of greed and deceptive management and
bad corporate governance with implemented fraudulent practices can lead to the
catastrophic failure of a business. The movie underscores the critical importance of
ethical leadership and sound management in ensuring the long-term success and
integrity of any organization.
3
RESOURCES:
Bondarenko, P. (2024). Enron Scandal - Downfall and Bankruptcy. [online]
Britannica. Availableat:[Link]
and-bankruptcy.
Man, C. (2017). The Enron Scandal - A Simple Overview. YouTube. Available at:
[Link]
Business Book
