Ethics, Courage and Discipline: The Lessons of Enron

The ethical challenge facing us in the wake of the Enron scandal is not one of analysis. The problem at Enron, as with the problems that emerged at Tyco, Parmalat, Adelphia, Worldcom and other prominent corporations, was not one of isolated bad judgement. At Enron, as at the other companies, there were patterns of behaviour that were widespread, persistent and systemic. While perhaps they did not always disobey the letter of the law, Enron’s executives quite deliberately and cleverly violated the spirit of the law, to say nothing of their fiduciary duties as professionals. They engaged in many acts of deception and manipulation, enriched themselves at the expense of their shareholders and employees, and corrupted or intimidated the people who might have prevented these abuses.