Please read the following articles related to Enron:

Madsen, S. & Vance, C. (2009). Unlearned lessons from the past: an insider’s view of Enron’s downfall. Corporate Governance, 9(2), 216-227. Retrieved from ProQuest.

Free, C., Macintosh, N., & Stein, M. (2007). Management Controls: The Organizational Fraud Triangle of Leadership, Culture and Control in Enron. Ivey Business Journal Online. Retrieved from ProQuest.

Meisinger, S. R. (2012). Examining organizational ethics. Human Resource Executive Online (June, 2011). Retrieved on November 19, 2012 from: http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533348507

Assignment
In a well-written, 5-7 page essay, please address the following:

Discuss the ways in which a company’s leadership and culture influence its business ethics.

Keys to the Assignment
Define “organizational culture.” Please be very specific (and be sure that you provide references for your description of culture).
Evaluate Enron’s sense of business ethics and business operations in the context of the organization’s culture? Specifically, what went wrong?
What should have been the role and responsibility of company leadership (the Board of Directors, the CEO Ken Lay and others)? In what ways did key executive players (e.g., Lay, Skilling, and Fastow) work to negatively reshape the culture, and with what adverse consequences?
How might Human Resource Management (HRM) have played a central role in setting the “moral compass” at Enron, helping to form and shape the organizational culture (perhaps avoiding the Enron debacle altogether)?
Assignment Expectations
Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:

Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all Keys to the Assignment? Are the concepts behind the Keys to the Assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?
Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?
Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module?  If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?
Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?
Tips and Suggestions
For this final Case essay, use at least four additional scholarly sources.
Cite all sources using proper APA style, and use proper in-text citations.
Follow the Well-Written Paper guidelines.
An excellent article on Enron’s culture as well, the following may also be useful to you in your analysis of the Case:
Sims, R. R. & Brinkmann. J. (2003). Enron ethics (or: Culture matters more than codes). Journal of Business Ethics, 45(3), 243-256. Retrieved from ProQuest.

Finally, I highly recommend the movie Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. You may be able to view parts of the movie on YouTube. Following is the movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zMakN-EMLg