Introduction Knowing the basic fundamentals of business ethics have become increasingly important to companies today. Doing what is ethical can make a company successful just as operating unethically can tear the company down. Companies are beginning to spend more time and resources on ensuring that the business has a good moral base, while others seem to do the latter. Enron is a good example of a company that operated in an unethical manner and the results of it were catastrophic.
Enron began in the late 1980’s as a result of a merger of two natural gas companies Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. The press named Enron as the most innovative and admired American company and selected its board as one of the five best in 2000 (Conrad, …show more content…
There are many companies that build a foundation on honesty and loyalty to their customers, also known as integrity. Integrity is defined as the firm adherence to a code of especially moral and artistic values (2016). There are many companies still around whose entire business model is built on integrity. McDonalds is a good example of a company that relies on integrity for its success. According to AboutMCdonalds.com:
“McDonald 's success is built on a foundation of personal and professional integrity. Hundreds of millions of people around the world trust McDonald 's. We earn that trust everyday by serving safe food, respecting our customers and employees and delivering outstanding Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V). We build on this trust by being ethical, truthful and dependable …show more content…
Merriam-Wester defines greed as a selfish desire to have more of something (especially money) (2016). After the deregulation of the pipeline industry the CEO’s of Enron were able to make major changes to the company. They became not only an energy supplier but an trading company as well. Trading allowed them to increase profit margins, and with greater success came the need to want more. Enron was known for its risky trading practices, however due to their reputation others followed suit.
Justice
After the company went bankrupt the CEO’s were on trial for white collar crime, which is defines as a crime that typically involves stealing money from a company and that is done by people who have important positions in the company (2016) . The company took advantage of their employees and stole significant amounts from them and breaking many judicial ethical codes. Merriam-Webster defines justice as the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals. However, Enron’s employees never really got any justice for the crimes committed against them. Employees where highly encouraged to invest in company stocks. When the stock market crashed all of their money was lost. In addition to losing their money, many employees lost their pensions, due to the company using their retirement funds to do further trading. Of all the money that was embezzled only very little was
Enron began in the late 1980’s as a result of a merger of two natural gas companies Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. The press named Enron as the most innovative and admired American company and selected its board as one of the five best in 2000 (Conrad, …show more content…
There are many companies that build a foundation on honesty and loyalty to their customers, also known as integrity. Integrity is defined as the firm adherence to a code of especially moral and artistic values (2016). There are many companies still around whose entire business model is built on integrity. McDonalds is a good example of a company that relies on integrity for its success. According to AboutMCdonalds.com:
“McDonald 's success is built on a foundation of personal and professional integrity. Hundreds of millions of people around the world trust McDonald 's. We earn that trust everyday by serving safe food, respecting our customers and employees and delivering outstanding Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V). We build on this trust by being ethical, truthful and dependable …show more content…
Merriam-Wester defines greed as a selfish desire to have more of something (especially money) (2016). After the deregulation of the pipeline industry the CEO’s of Enron were able to make major changes to the company. They became not only an energy supplier but an trading company as well. Trading allowed them to increase profit margins, and with greater success came the need to want more. Enron was known for its risky trading practices, however due to their reputation others followed suit.
Justice
After the company went bankrupt the CEO’s were on trial for white collar crime, which is defines as a crime that typically involves stealing money from a company and that is done by people who have important positions in the company (2016) . The company took advantage of their employees and stole significant amounts from them and breaking many judicial ethical codes. Merriam-Webster defines justice as the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals. However, Enron’s employees never really got any justice for the crimes committed against them. Employees where highly encouraged to invest in company stocks. When the stock market crashed all of their money was lost. In addition to losing their money, many employees lost their pensions, due to the company using their retirement funds to do further trading. Of all the money that was embezzled only very little was