...Enron's Business Failure Abstract Business practices based on fraud and unethical behaviors can collapse a fortune 500 company. An important element in deciding a business’s success or failure is the structure and behavior of its key leaders. Enron was a successful corporation claiming revenues of almost 100 billion dollars and named in Fortune magazine as America’s most innovative company for six consecutive years. In this paper, specific organization theories can predict and explain Enron’s failures because of greed, lack of business ethics, and deception in what is considered one of the largest corporate scandals of the decade. Enron's Business Failure In July 1985, Houston Natural Gas merged with InterNorth forming the largest energy trading business called Enron (Thakur & Kalra, 2003). Based in Houston, Texas, Enron was a leading supporter of restructuring energy markets in the United States. Growing from a natural gas pipeline company into a marketing giant, Enron managed to build a large and successful organization consisting of more than 20,000 employees and boosting annual revenues of more than $100 billion. Despite Enron’s years of reported success; exposure of deceit, poor managerial business practices, and illegal activities of its key leaders led to the collapse of this marketing giant once known as the largest players in the energy trading business (Electric Power Supply association, 2012). Organizational behavior is the study and application of...
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...Examining Enron's Failure Organizational-behavior theories help to understand the effects of leadership, objectives, individual characteristics and action, and employee behavior and attitudes within an organization. It also explains the effects of internal environments, such as culture, the structure of the organization, resource and task allocation, and external environments such as competition or government regulation. These factors contribute to the performance, success or failure, and survival or fall of an organization. Organizational-behavior theories help to explain the collapse of Enron and how leadership, management, and organizational structure contributed to its failure. Organizational Structure With a market capitalization of nearly $74 billion, Enron was one of the world’s leading energy companies by the late 1990s. However, it had gained this status through the perpetration of illegal activities at the very highest levels of the organization. Enron’s fall was because of the organizational-level corruption that grew from its structure and trickled down to the collective behavior of its employees. Enron’s top-down, hierarchical structure by unit grouping meant that the top management team either directly or indirectly through their subordinates influenced the actions of the organization. For example, the structure of the accounting department allowed it to disregard legal requirements through “structural secrecy” that Enron’s executives could exploit (Beenen &...
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... A case can be made that that the English foreign policy was a failure because of Wolsey’s mishandlings of the finance. For example in source 1 it states that ‘greatest weakness lay in the realm of finance’. This shows us that Wolsey did not know what he was doing when it came to finance which would have helped English foreign policy. Wolsey mishandling of finance would have led to less to money to help Henry invade France and therefore make on this part of his foreign policy, which was to take over France and to redeem his title as king of France , a failure because he didn’t really take over the whole off France. The whole real parts that henry had taken over of France was Tournai and Therouanne, and these were of little significant to England which supports the idea that the foreign policy was a failure. We can also infer from another source which support the idea that English foreign policy was a failure. In source 3 it says ‘if he fortunate to win it’. This is referring to Henry to taking over France, and we can clearly see that the foreign policy was a failure because only luck could have helped Henry take over France. This all indicates that foreign policy was not a success owing it to Wolsey mishandling of finance which meant that Henry would not have sufficient amount of money to take over the whole of France. Once again in source 1 we can see that Wolsey had mishandled finance which led to the failure of the English foreign policy. It states in source one that Wolsey...
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...In the provided scenario, executive “A” exhibits level 5 leadership skills. The individuals’ strong personality and drive for success is directed specifically on the company. A level-5 leader is someone who easily praises other employees and factors, rather than themselves for the success of a company. They also promptly assume responsibility for employee shortcomings and failures. This kind of leader conducts business quietly and believes in inspired standards rather than a charismatic approach. They strive to produce the very best results. In this case, executive A’s efforts yielded a significant raise in company stock. Leader “B” exhibits the transactional leadership style. “B” believes that employees should be solely responsible for their work and actions while taking full responsibility for any down falls. At the same time, “B” believes employees should be rewarded when they yield success within their projects. Leader “B” is just as passionate as executive “A “and believes in the same ideas and long term goals. But leader “B” has a more of a “cut and dry” leadership concept, as “B” strictly believes in following the rules set forth by the company, making sure that subordinates do not deviate. Leader “C” exhibits the transformational leadership style. “C” believes in inspiring subordinates to aim high and achieve goals. “C” not only believes in executive “A’s” values and ideas, but also believes in being personal with the employees around him. ”C” believes in engaging...
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...Mental toughness is probably one of the most used but least understood terms used in applied sports. Athlete’s mental toughness is more important as their physical strength .Before you get to the competition stage first you must require having a mental toughness in you. When it’s time to compete and prove your physical and sports ability to yourself and to others with an audience present, stress and anxiety can often get in the way. Examples when taking a shot and missing in basketball or dropping a pass in football, you might feel failed or that you let your team down or maybe your friends watching, sometimes you feel as though you’re not good enough. People don’t realize that all humans make mistakes. Acknowledging that no one is perfect and that all you can do is put in your best effort knowing you failed won’t be a thought in your mind. Mental toughness in your performance also involves in tuning out on others opinions not letting words or bad habits from others get to you. Mental toughness is a competitive sport, competing against other athletes, or against a personal rival can be stressful sometimes before going into the game. It can cause anxiety to many athletes. Mental toughness is often needed to overcome any stress and anxiety to succeed. At all levels of competition, the athletes and teams that usually successful all have on characteristic in common, and that is mental toughness. An individual who is an average athlete and has mental toughness will be more successful...
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...In this book and play “The Death of a Salesman”, The main character Willy Loman, is having problems getting and holding onto a job. His whole life has always been a failure and still is proceeding as one. As this story proceeds, Willy is having some inside thoughts about life, and how things are going when it is not really happening at all, it is just all in his head. In the story “The Death of a Salesman”, I do think that the characters are very believable. They all have a personality like no one would think of. They all have very unique characteristics like: stealing, lying, going crazy, and always being miserable. I can relate to all of the characters. There are times when I think that I am in real life, but then snap out of it and come back to reality. Like Willy Loman, I also have tendencies to fail on a daily bases, and to not do my best because of what might have happened earlier in the day. Also, unlike Willy Loman, I do not go crazy, or think up some outrageous thoughts that I always believe to be real. I do fail on a daily basis on things, but as well as Willy, I do not end up failing at jobs or little interviews for small jobs. I do stay sane and get what I need done, unlike Willy Loman, he ends up not realizing things, or he forgets a lot, or he just cannot get down how to do things right. The story “The Death of a Salesman”, is a story that has many feelings and emotion, and I do think that we all could relate this story and play to all of our lives, because...
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...ENGINE FAILURE! As pilots we dread them, however, with proper training, understanding, and skill, we can greatly increase our chances of survival if we ever experience one. As a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, I often witness checkrides that expose possible errors or misunderstandings in our General Aviation flight training. More often than not, the simulated engine failure to an off field landing is an area in which most applicants could benefit from additional training. In addition, the accident statistics show engine failures are a very real possibility that most pilots need to continually think about and prepare for long after the checkride is over. This article specifically addresses only failures in single engine aircraft. To correctly train for an engine failure, CFI’s and students both must accept that engine failures DO occur, and when one does occur, a positive, safe outcome is dependent upon proper, realistic training. What is often seen is an applicant that has memorized the engine failure checklist, and can quote it verbatim, but does not adhere to the items in the checklist, starting with the most fundamental item: Establish and maintain best glide speed. Most applicants quote a mantra, and SAY “establish best glide speed”, but in many cases the aircraft is not FLOWN at best glide speed. This is typically because the engine failure is simulated while flying at cruise speed. For example...
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...Bookshop Introduction As the world is changing with Technology, many companies are finding themselves struggling to stay afloat in competitive market. Whenever new business strategy is introduced in a company, a change has to take place. The way changes are introduced and implemented, determines the success of the change. Before change is introduced, there must be need for change and after implementation of change; there is expectation (Vaughn, 2012). Change is not an easy process; it requires team work in planning, organizing and implementation. Organizational change is successful when it is effective and yield growth, but a failure when is unproductive. This paper will discuss the phases in the organizational change process and what lead to the change failure at the Concord Bookshop. Phases of Organizational Change Process Change is trying to do things in a different way for a better result or outcome. (Spector, 2010). Kurt Lewin’s three stage theory of change are Unfreeze, Change and Freeze. The Unfreezing stage is the understanding of the need for change and preparing for it. It requires moving away from the comfort zone of the old norms. The Change stage or Transition is the most difficult time of the change. At this stage reaction to change are displayed, people are frustrated and fearful. Support is need at this stage either in form of training, or in-services and mistakes are expected. The last stage...
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...Education “Education is a key to success.” It gives us knowledge of the world around us, while opening doors to brilliant career opportunities. Education builds confidence to make decisions, to face life, and to accept successes and failures. The best way to reach career success is to map out a strategy and set goals. Education can be a source that could lead someone for a better future. Having seventeen or eighteen years of waking up early in the morning, doing home works and projects and staying late at night to study for exams is not an easy task to do. But, for you, what is success? For some, success is the accomplishment of the goal aimed by a person. But for me, success means that it is one way of proving to others that I have determination and patience with what I am doing. Also, it is telling to others that I am willing to do everything just to reach my goals. And how come education becomes the key to success? In today’s modern and competitive society, we cannot deny the fact that we must equip ourselves with plenty of knowledge, thoughts or ideas and skills in order for us to enhance God’s given talents for us. Also, through education, we can learn more and improve ourselves in whatever field we do have. Professionals like pharmacists, doctors, engineers and lawyers surely gave importance to their education. With proper training and knowledge, it is possible for them to perform their best in their careers and to be successful in their field of area. The characters...
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...9 × 10-5 | 4.3 × 10-5 | 5 km | 2.4 × 10-6 | 6.0 × 10-6 | 8.4 × 10-6 | 10 km | 2.4 × 10-6 | 6.0 × 10-7 | 3.0 × 10-6 | 30 km | 2.4 × 10-6 | 6.0 × 10-7 | 3.0 × 10-6 | Distance | Individual Risk (per year) | | For D5 | For F2 | Total | 100 m | 7.6 × 10-7 | 1.9 × 10-7 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 300 m | 7.6 × 10-7 | 1.9 × 10-7 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 500 m | 7.6 × 10-7 | 1.9 × 10-7 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 1 km | 7.6 × 10-7 | 1.9 × 10-7 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 3 km | 7.6 × 10-7 | 1.9 × 10-7 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 5 km | 2.4 × 10-7 | 6.0 × 10-8 | 3.0 × 10-7 | 10 km | 2.4 × 10-8 | 6.0 × 10-9 | 3.0 × 10-8 | 30 km | 2.4 × 10-8 | 6.0 × 10-9 | 3.0 × 10-8 | Distance | Total Individual Risk (per year) | | Limited Failure, Scenario 1 | Catastrophic Failure, Scenario 1 | Limited Failure, Scenario 2 | Catastrophic Failure, Scenario 2 | 100 m | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-8 | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 300 m | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-8 | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 500 m | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-8 | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 1 km | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-8 | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 3 km | 9.5 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-8 | 4.3 × 10-5 | 9.5 × 10-7 | 5 km | 4.3 × 10-5 | 4.3 × 10-8 | 8.4 × 10-6 | 3.0 × 10-7 | 10 km | 8.4 × 10-6 | 2.14 × 10-8 | 3.0 × 10-6 | 3.0 × 10-8 | 30 km | 3.0 × 10-6 | 3.0 × 10-9 | 3.0 × 10-6 | 3.0 × 10-8...
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...The ABC’s of Failure – Getting Rid of the Noise in Your System For the past 40 years, I have observed many companies, including DuPont (where I spent 27 years) pursuing planned maintenance with the standard tools of planned maintenance: inspections, planning, scheduling, materials procurement, CMMS systems, etc. with the same results. They succeed for a while and get their percent planned and scheduled maintenance up to the 80+ only to see that drop back later to 60 I am amazed how many of the companies we work with have had this experience. This pattern of behavior has led us to conclude that the reason for this experience is that only 60% of the normal work of maintenance is inherently plannable. The rest of the work is created by random acts of what we are now calling care-lessness. The sites where we see people break this pattern and achieve 92% to 96% planned maintenance for the long term without regressing, are the ones who eliminate the inherently unplannable work. Of course, this cannot be done by maintenance alone. Everyone who does work at a site contributes to the defects that create the unplannable work, and therefore everyone must participate in eliminating the defects that create the 40% of the work that is unplannable. In the diagram below we attempt to more clearly articulate the true significance of Defect Elimination by outlining the ABC’s of failure. Fundamentally, failures happen because things that exist are not perfect. To reduce failures we must eliminate...
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...its impact on customer satisfaction to determine what should be done to improve the CompleteCare program for MindWriter product repair and servicing. Research Objectives The purpose of this research is to discover the level of satisfaction with the CompleteCare service program. Specifically, we intend to identify the component and overall levels of satisfaction with CompleteCare. Components of the repair process are important targets for investigation because they reveal: (1) How customer tolerance levels for repair performance affect overall satisfaction, and (2) Which process components should be immediately improved to elevate the overall satisfaction of those MindWriter customers experiencing product failures. We will also discover the importance of types of product failure on customer satisfaction levels. Importance/Benefits High levels of user satisfaction translate into positive word-of-mouth product endorsements. These endorsements influence the purchase outcomes for (1)...
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...e:Module 1 DQ 2 I look forward to completing my BSN in due time with great motivation and good organizational skills that will enable me to excel in the program as a nurse. My greatest fear is failure. I know with proper planning and good time management, these fears can be overcome. Starting the BSN program was like a joke to me. I had wanted to do it a while ago but was not sure whether I was ready physical and emotionally for it. When my friend told me about the program, she had started in November 2013 at GCU that is not as bad as I think. I became very interested right away in the program. Here I am working towards the BSN. In my final year in the ADN program, I was scared to death. That if anything go wrong and I don't graduate what I will do. With these fear in my head, I Had to rearrange everything around me. My busy Family, work schedules and personal activities to be able to accommodate my success. I had to come out of my beautiful shell now by asking questions in class, and also realize that my professor and I make a team. They are there to help me succeed in the program. I did engaged myself in discussions sessions with my peer groups, meet with my instructors one on one after lectures regarding topics that were not cleared to me and assignments. They were very helpful in all areas, like how to study for exams, websites for nxclex practice questions, and how to use rationales to study for exams. They saw that I was ready to learn and don't want to fail...
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...Realizing all this, I feel that the only actions I could pursue that would exhibt an understanding of responsibility, I decided to go back to school. This decision brings on an array of concerns and challenges; can I do this, what happens if I fail, how do I juggle my personal responsibilities, will this degree even matter? Now there are credible fears and ludcrious fears in life and for me all these fears boil down to the fear of failure- I don’t want to go through all this hardship and end up flat on my face. I even would go as far to say that most of my early life’s disillusionment stemmed from this fear. Rather than try I would just be critical of those who did. Taking my education and viewing it as a life enhancement will help me during the times of struggle towards my degree. Ultimately, whether or not this gets me a better paying job, the tools I learn here will help me in all the endeavors of my life. Taking this approach will impact the outlook when life wont work how I think it should based on what I’ve done. The question now is, understanding the challenges I face, how will I take responsibility of my success? As I’ve alluded to before, the first step is to transform the way I think. It will do me no good when the struggles arise if I look at college with resentment. I must see this as value added. For me, when things are a positive, it makes it easier to handle the bad that always come along with it. The follow through with this will be the pratical application...
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...College and University administrators tend to exclude adjuncts from the heart of the university staff experience, and tenured faculty often are just as quick to make the part-timers feel like second-class citizens. One professor, James Obersen, ended his recent article in The Atlantic with these words: “I’m grateful to teach, to work, to earn money to feed myself. But this hand-to-mouth existence shouldn’t be the norm. The injustices suffered by adjuncts…ends up hurting students. That is the last thing institutional policy should impede. Under-supported adjuncts means under-engaged students.” The analyses, decisions, and implementation of decisions on how to improve school operations must be done highly effectively and it must, first and foremost, be undertaken by the highest levels of school management up to the policy level in county, state, and federal governments. Administrators must continuously work to find solutions and provide strong support to enhance the welfare of students and faculty first. The last thing they should do is be the author of those problems. It is not enough to just fund and put programs in place; they must be executed effectively and get results. When results fail, the administrators have failed. Social responsibility, which includes fairness to workers and offering a living wage, should be addressed by all organizations, including colleges and universities. Only then can true progress be made by establishing a human relations, legal, and ethical...
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