Unit 1. Background on Enron Jump to the related links for Unit 1 | Return to the top of this page 1. Who We Are, , www.enron.com/corp/whoweare.html, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In January 2002 Enron’s upbeat corporate Web site is still functioning. Here, Enron explains “Who We Are” and provides a rundown of its products and services. Enron’s purpose, according to this site, “is to create value and opportunity for your business.” Open the Web page http://www.enron.com/corp/pressroom/ for links to Enron’s spin on the latest developments. Unit 2. The Rise of Enron Jump to the related links for Unit 2 | Return to the top of this page 2. The Real Enron Scandal, , The New Republic Online, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In reflecting upon the collapse of Enron, this article examines some of the factors that led to Enron’s spectacular rise, such as the power of the accounting and business lobbies to limit government regulation of various business practices. Enron’s investment in a particular kind of derivatives, a complex financial arrangement, is identified as key to the company’s success—and failure. 3. Ken Lay Known as Man of Humble Beginnings, Mary Ann Fergus, Houston Chronicle, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In this profile of Kenneth Lay, one of the most prominent figures in the Enron story, Mary Ann Fergus outlines his climb from what she describes as “humble beginnings” to his formidable successes in the energy industry. 4. Jeff Skilling: Enron’s Missing Man, Wendy Zellner, Business Week, February 11, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Jeffrey Skilling, the man whom many credit with being Enron’s chief visionary and strategizer, has been quiet during the unraveling of the Enron mess. People are beginning to ask more questions about why the former Enron CEO quit in August 2001, and what he knew about Enron’s off-balance-sheet partnerships and the overall condition of the company. Wendy Zellner describes Enron under Skilling’s management. 5. Enron and the Bushes, David Corn, The Nation, February 4, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question This article, first published in 1994, provides a glimpse into Enron’s political and global reach during its rise. The ties between Enron and the Bush family go back to the 1980s, asserts David Corn. The author’s findings suggest that the political influence of the Bushes may have been brought to bear in dealings with Argentina. 6. Enron’s Power Play, Wendy Zellner, Business Week, February 12, 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Enron president Jeffrey Skilling—at the time this article was written, poised to become the CEO-elect— talks about Enron’s role in California’s power markets. Skilling portrayed Enron as “the good guys” taking on “the entrenched monopolies,” but beleaguered Californians, fighting soaring energy costs and electricity blackouts, had their doubts. The Enron business model is explored in the context of California’s botched attempt at deregulation. 7. Why Enron Deserves Our Gratitude, Irwin Stelzer, The Guardian, January 29, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Irwin Stelzer describes “conservative businessman” Kenneth Lay’s leadership of Enron as having “led a revolution” in the electricity and gas industries, one that “replaced government regulation with effectively operating free markets.” Stelzer argues that Enron and Lay deserve to be remembered for leading the fight for competition. Although Enron made many mistakes, Stelzer asserts that creating competitive markets in power industries was not one of them. Unit 3. Enron’s Corporate Culture and Management Style Jump to the related links for Unit 3 | Return to the top of this page 8. Enron’s Culture Fed Its Demise, Joe Stephens and Peter Behr, Washington Post, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Joe Stephens and Peter Behr report that at Enron, “losers fell by the wayside but victors stayed in the game….” Enron’s intensely pressured, winner-take-all corporate culture may have contributed to the suicide of former Enron vice-chairman J. Clifford Baxter in January 2002, and it certainly encouraged executives to take risks with investments and accounting procedures. Enron, they found, was a pressure cooker. 9. The Enron Corporation, , Human Rights Watch Report, 1999 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In this report, the international organization Human Rights Watch explores allegations made against Enron Power Development Corporation, regarding its dealings at the Dabhol power project in India. The Enron subsidiary is charged with unethical flexing of political influence and even the use of intimidation and physical force to get its way. Human Rights Watch gives background on the project and details the alleged human rights violations. 10. Enron Made a Sound Investment in Washington. Company Spread Cash to Open Doors, Change Rules, Jim Drinkard and Greg Farrell, USA Today, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Jim Drinkard and Greg Farrell contend that Enron was highly successful as a Washington influence broker. Its lobbying efforts contributed to deregulation in its spheres of business and reduced scrutiny of its business practices—which, ironically, contributed to both its rise and to its collapse. 11. Enron for Dummies, Bill Keller, New York Times, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question “What kind of company is Enron, exactly?” Bill Keller acknowledges what so many of us have been afraid to admit—that we don’t really have a clue what Enron does (or did) to make money. In delving into the mysteries of Enron, Keller discusses derivatives, Enron management culture and business practices, and other interesting, perplexing conundrums about the energy giant. 12. My Dinner With Enron, Robert Fisher, Hartford Courant, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Robert Fisher admits that he is less than sympathetic to Enron employees in the wake of the collapse in value of Enron stock. He believes that the company culture contributed substantially to Enron’s demise. In his experience, even Enron middle managers were narrow-minded, smug, and arrogant—hardly the innovative thinkers that many business writers had described them as being. While Fisher is horrified at the results of the Enron implosion, he is not really surprised by it. 13. Houston, We Have a Problem, James Meek, The Guardian, January 30, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question James Meek provides an entertaining look into Enron’s corporate culture and management style, which were bred—and flourished—in Houston’s very competitive social scene. Meek traces Enron’s shifting business strategy during its rise, and he portrays a management that was almost Shakespearean in its misguided self-regard. 14. How Enron Blew It, Mimi Swartz, Texas Monthly, November 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In this lengthy article, packed with interesting details and insights into the Enron culture, personalities (especially Jeffrey Skilling), and practices, Mimi Swartz discusses how “Enron transformed itself from a stodgy, troubled pipeline company in 1985 to a trading colossus in 2000,” and she contemplates the factors that led to its collapse. Unit 4. Warning Signs Multiply Jump to the related links for Unit 4 | Return to the top of this page 15. The Myth of Enron, Laura Goldberg and Tom Fowler, Hartford Courant, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The authors delve into Enron’s deceptive accounting practices. Article after article heralded Enron’s “innovation,” but Laura Goldberg and Tom Fowler look into indications that the glory that was Enron was more myth than reality. They wonder if even Enron’s core business of marketing and trading energy was as successful as the company claimed. 16. Enron in Perfect Hindsight, Heesun Wee, Business Week Online, December 19, 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In this commentary, Heesun Wee contends that Enron’s collapse should have been foreseen. The signs were there, including Jeffrey Skilling’s mysterioius resignation in August 2001, but people don’t like to argue with success. Wee says everyone failed to see the red flags that were waving right in front of them. Management, employees, investors, auditors, the media—all were asleep at the wheel. Too many people were in awe of Enron’s stock performance. 17. 10 Months Ago, Questions on Enron Came and Went With Little Notice, Felicity Barringer, New York Times, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Felicity Barringer reports on the insights of Bethany McLean, who in early 2001 asked some hard questions of Enron, including, “How exactly does Enron make its money?” in an article for Fortune magazine. Her questions set off a flurry of protests by Enron executives. It turns out that McLean was right, but few heard the warnings, to their regret. 18. At Enron, Ignorance Was Bliss, Dan Ackman, Forbes, January 14, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Dan Ackman asks how much Enron’s top executives—and the Bush administration—knew about what was happening at the huge corporation. Ackman looks into Enron’s dealings with Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. He believes that Enron was so politically connected that it had actually become too hot to handle, at least in any public way. 19. Azurix: Enron’s Once-Promising Spin-Off Hits the Skids, Alexandra Biesada, Texas Monthly Biz, November 2000 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question This article provides some insight into Enron’s dealings in Azurix, a global water company. Alexandra Biesada reports on the ties between Azurix CEO Rebecca Mark, a protegé of Enron head Kenneth Lay, and Enron. Mark’s fall from power was followed by the decline of Azurix. Biesada says that Mark’s brief tenure at Azurix “was a blemish on an otherwise remarkable career.” 20. Q & A: Enron’s Plight, , BBC News Online, January 10, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question This article from the British Broadcasting Corporation raises some cognent questions about Enron’s rise and decline. Why were people so disinclined to take a close look at what the company was doing? Now, those who have favored extensive government deregulation might be thinking twice, and investors are well advised to look carefully before they leap. 21. What Did Ken Lay Know on August 20?, Mike McNamee et. al., Business Week Online, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question On August 20, 2001, Enron chief Kenneth Lay was interviewed by BusinessWeek Online. In reviewing Lay’s statements on that day—which, it turns out, was several days after whistleblower Sherron Watkins had submitted her now-famous memo—BW Online wonders whether Lay really believed what he said: “There are no accounting issues… no previously unknown problem issues.” The Securities and Exchange Commission is curious to know, too. 22. The Letter to Ken Lay, , Fortune, January 16, 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Sherron Watkins, now heralded as a whistleblower, wrote this memo to Enron chief Kenneth Lay in August 2001, expressing her anxiety about accounting irregularities at Enron. In it, she discusses Raptor and Condor, the departure of Jeffrey Skilling, and Enron’s valuation. She made the memo public after Enron’s collapse. Unit 5. Implosion: Enron Stock Collapses, Bankruptcy Is Declared Jump to the related links for Unit 5 | Return to the top of this page 23. Enron, We Hardly Knew Ye, Andrew Leonard, Salon.com, November 9, 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Andrew Leonard wryly notes that the implosion of Enron should convince us to demand that government impose tougher regulations on corporations, requiring more financial “transparency.” He explores Enron’s “opacity” in its accounting strategies and ways in which investors were misled. But he doubts that investigations into Enron by the Bush administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission will lead to anything. 24. Enron: Who’s Accountable?, Daniel Kadlec, Time, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Daniel Kadlec reports on how evidence was shredded and how top executives hunted for a bailout as Enron imploded. Four days before Enron disclosed a $618 million third-quarter loss, one of its lawyers instructed employees at Arthur Andersen to destroy all audit material, except for the most basic “work papers.” In examining Arthur Andersen’s history, Kadlec ponders who should audit the auditors, and he asks if 401(k)s can be protected. 25. The Enron Economy, Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, January 1–14, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Robert Kuttner contends that “several icons” collapsed with Enron’s implosion—a pension double standard, bogus accounting, the business press, and deregulation generally. Enron, he says, is “the emblem of the Bush administration’s way of life.” 26. Enron’s Enablers, Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect, February 11, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Harold Meyerson looks at Enron’s connections with Vice President Dick Cheney and other high officials in the Bush administration. The administration may not be guilty of trying to help Enron avert bankruptcy, Meyerson concedes, but it still must face “the scandals of trying to help Enron do just about everything else.” Meyerson also addresses the failures of Congress and the dangers of the exotic new financial derivatives. 27. The Perfect Storm, Mimi Swartz, Texas Monthly Political Reader, January 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Mimi Swartz explains that it is no surprise to many people in Houston that Enron turned out to be “nothing but a house of cards.” She asserts that Enron caused its own disaster, through greed, arrogance, and a failure to learn from the past. 28. Enron on the Hill, David Corn, The Nation, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question David Corn explores Enron’s relationship with political figures and possible reasons behind the lax regulatory policies that underpinned the corporation’s financial strategies. Corn doubts that members of the U.S. Congress—whether Democrats or Republicans—are really going to give the politics of Enron much hard scrutiny, given the campaign contributions and lobbying efforts of the company and the accounting and business industries. 29. Manager Says Enron Shredded Documents, Peter Behr, Washington Post, January 22, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Peter Behr reports the charges made by Maureen Castenada, a manager in Enron’s foreign-investments section, that widespread shredding of documents was occurring at Enron’s headquarters long after the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigation of the company in October 2001. Unit 6. Fallout: Reactions From Employees, Financial Markets, Media, and Government Jump to the related links for Unit 6 | Return to the top of this page 30. The Spreading Enron Mess, , The Economist, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In reporting on the ever-widening fallout from Enron’s collapse, The Economist asserts that the United States will have no choice but to address current modes of campaign financing and to tighten financial and corporate regulation. This article discusses some of the major players in the Enron story such as Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow, as well as figures from Arthur Andersen, including Nancy Temple, Michael Odom, and David Duncan. 31. Enron Chief Quits as Hearings Open, Dan Morgan and Peter Behr, Washington Post, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Dan Morgan and Peter Behr report on the January 23, 2002, resignation of Kenneth Lay as chairman and CEO of Enron. Though he will remain a member of Enron’s board of directors, Lay explained that the company needs to be run by someone who can concentrate full time on reorganizing the company after its bankruptcy. Lay will be very busy responding to a multitude of lawsuits stemming from Enron’s implosion and to investigations by various congressional panels. 32. GAO Vows to Sue for Cheney Files, Dana Milbank and Dan Morgan, Washington Post, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has entered into a conflict with Vice President Dick Cheney over the release of documents related to his task force on U.S. energy policy. The GAO wants to see what the records reveal about Enron’s influence, if any, on the task force. Other connections between Enron and the Bush administration are explored in this article. 33. U.S. to Reconsider Agency Contracts in Enron Scandal, Richard W. Stevenson and Richard A. Oppel Jr., New York Times, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question As the Enron debacle deepens, the Bush administration has ordered federal agencies to review their contracts with both Enron and accounting/consulting firm Arthur Andersen. The administration is working hard to distance itself from Enron and to assure the public that the company’s collapse is a business, not a political, problem. 34. Enron Employees File Suit Over Their 401(k) Losses, , Houston Chronicle, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question This article reports on the Severed Enron Employees Coalition, a group of more than 400 former Enron workers who have filed a class-action suit against the corporation, seeking damages for losses they sustained for investing in the company’s 401(k) plan. At the heart of the issue are the actions of Enron executives who may have encouraged employees to invest in Enron stock even when they knew the company was in deep trouble. 35. Andersen’s Reputation in Shreds, Ralph Frammolino and Jeff Leeds, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The authors profile Arthur Andersen, the accounting/consulting firm that was founded 88 years ago by a well-respected Northwestern University accounting professor. Andersen’s role in the Enron mess may prove to be the death knell for the venerable, once highly respected company. 36. All Enron Cards on the Table, Henry A. Waxman, Washington Post, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Congressman Henry Waxman (D-California) is on a mission to learn the details of contacts between Enron executives and Bush administration officials, especially Vice President Dick Cheney and his energy task force. Waxman contends that the White House is more anxious about the Enron mess than it has been letting on. 37. Enron Fiasco Isn’t Any Prettier at the State Level, Michele Jacklin, Hartford Courant, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Michele Jacklin explores possible business ties between Enron and various Connecticut government or quasi-government bodies. A “questionable partnership” with Enron and the quasi-public Connecticut Resources Authority, for example, will likely result in a loss of millions of dollars—a loss that will most likely be paid for by taxpayers. 38. Enron Letters, , Houston Chronicle, January 17, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Here, the Houston Chronicle publishes some of the e-mails that has received from various former and current Enron employees, as well as others affected by the company’s collapse. The employees discuss their feelings about Enron—past and present, positive and negative. Topics range from Enron company culture to losses suffered under the 401(k) plan. 39. State of the Enron, Frank Rich, New York Times, February 2, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Frank Rich asserts that “Enron may be as much a cultural scandal as it is a business and political scandal.” He observes that the unfolding story of Enron’s rise and fall has revealed “a world in which insiders get to play by one set of rules—entree to Enron side partnerships that could turn minimal investments into millions overnight—while the unconnected and uninitiated pick up the bill.” In this scathing indictment, Rich investigates this culture of greed and arrogance. 40. Around the World, Many Views of the Enron Scandal’s Meaning, Alan Cowell, New York Times, January 31, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question In this piece, Alan Cowell discusses the Enron and Arthur Andersen mess from the views of various countries around the world, including Australia, India, Canada, Czechosolvakia, Britain, Singapore, and Argentina. Unit 7. Perspectives on Enron: Politics Jump to the related links for Unit 7 | Return to the top of this page 41. The Great Divide, Paul Krugman, New York Times, January 29, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Paul Krugman explains his theory that the Enron mess will turn out to be a more pivotal event in American history than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Enron scandal, Krugman observes, “was clearly about [Americans and Americanism]. It told us things about ourselves that we probably should have known, but had managed not to see.” How America’s politicians respond to the Enron scandal may well decide the country’s political future. 42. Here Comes the Feeding Frenzy, Toby Moffett, Hartford Courant, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Former Connecticut congressman Toby Moffett takes an experienced, weary look at what is likely to be the “feeding frenzy” in Washington, D.C., emanating from the Enron scandal. There is plenty to investigate in the Enron story, Moffett acknowledges, and he doubts that this sort of excessive and repetitious governmental reaction, stemming mostly from politicians’ egos, will serve the common good. 43. Keep Away, Ryan Lizza, The New Republic, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Ryan Lizza examines how the Bush administration is coping with questions about its handling of the Enron scandal and suggests that President Bush’s ability to deflect criticism away from his political circle should not be “misunderestimated.” Lizza explains why the White House spin machine has been succeeding in this effort. 44. Enron Got Its Money’s Worth, Robert Scheer, The Nation, January 22, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Just because politicians may not have worked to save Enron when its death throes were apparent does not mean that the company did not get its money’s worth for all the millions of dollars it contributed to various political campaigns and causes, argues Robert Scheer. He describes some major concessions to Enron provided by the Bush administration, such as in the Bush energy plan. 45. The Great Giveback, Howard Fineman, Newsweek, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Should Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) and other politicians be giving back the campaign contributions they received from Enron? Howard Fineman provides information and links about the rise and fall of Enron and its huge network of political influence built over the past two decades. 46. Enron’s Washington, Matt Bivens, The Nation, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Matt Bivens discusses the longtime financial ties of many Bush administration officials with Enron, including those of Attorney General John Ashcroft, who has recused himself from participating in the investigation of the company’s collapse; presidential adviser Karl Rove; and Republican Party national chairman Marc Racicot. Unit 8. Perspectives on Enron: Accounting Jump to the related links for Unit 8 | Return to the top of this page 47. Accounting in Crisis, , Business Week, January 28, 2002 View in: Acrobat | View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The Enron scandal focused the world’s attention on a part of the business community that rarely gets significant attention, namely, accounting. The lapses and conflicts on the part of Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen, are so glaring that significant and systemic changes in auditing practices have become urgent. This article focuses on the kind of changes that need to be implemented. 48. Unaccountable in Washington, Michael H. Granof and Stephen A. Zeff, New York Times, January 23, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The authors explain that the best way to investigate the Enron mess vis-à-vis Washington is to follow the money trail. They contend that the Enron story really begins in the 1970s and 1980s, when members of Congress pressured the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission not to demand tougher standards for financial reporting in the petroleum industry. 49. The Enron Effect, Allan Sloan and Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The authors discuss the effect on the accounting industry as the Enron scandal spreads. Now politicians are pounding the table and insisting upon reforms. But how long will their zeal last, and will it result in any significant changes? Judging from the results of earlier accounting scandals, such as those involving Sunbeam, nothing much will happen. 50. The Enron Collapse and Auditor Independence: Why the SEC Should Go Further in Regulating Accounting Firms, Barton Aronson, FindLaw, January 24, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The Enron debacle isn’t the first time that auditor independence has been called into question. Should accounting firms be allowed to offer consulting services along with traditional auditing services to their clients? Barton Aronson contends that the two services are often incompatible with good business ethics. 51. Evidence Proving Fraud May Turn Out to Be Elusive, Floyd Norris and Kurt Eichenwald, New York Times, January 30, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The Enron case highlights a weakness in the system that exists to encourage companies to describe their financial health fairly: legal loopholes abound. Proper accounting can be overly reliant on the good faith of companies and auditors in applying the rules. Unit 9. Perspectives on Enron: Business and Management Jump to the related links for Unit 9 | Return to the top of this page 52. Could Enron’s Business Model Actually Work?, Daniel Altman, New York Times, January 28, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Enron’s basic business model for virtual trading companies still has merit, despite the company’s collapse. Daniel Altman discusses derivatives in particular in looking at Enron’s failures and successes. 53. Lessons Learned From Enron: Say "No" to "Yes-Men", John Reh, Management.About.com, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question It is human nature to gravitate toward those who agree with you, but John Reh believes that it is a basic responsibility of managers to really listen to those who challenge the status quo. A company culture that allows for such challenges is more likely to lead to innovation and productivity than one that squelches dissent. 54. Where Was the Board?, Reginald L. Babcock, Hartford Courant, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question So far, most of the focus on Enron’s collapse has been on its management and accounting auditors. Reginald L. Babcock wonders what the corporation’s board of directors was busy doing while the company was floundering. He discusses what a well-governed corporate board should do. 55. Crime in the Suites, William Greider, The Nation, February 4, 2002 View in: Acrobat | View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question William Greider contends that the collapse of Enron signifies the failure of market orthodoxy itself. The “corrupt practices and betrayed obligations to investors, taxpayers and voters” should not surprise anyone, says Greider, but the enormous scale of the Enron mess makes them harder to brush aside. Greider discusses the Enron debacle, Global Crossing, and other distressing corporate and political indicators. 56. The Right Way to Blow the Whistle, Heesun Wee, Business Week, January 30, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Enron’s Sherron Watkins has revived discussion of corporate whistleblowing. She has attracted so much attention with her tale of Enron’s accounting misadventures that whistleblowers may finally get some respect. Unit 10. Perspectives on Enron: Investing Jump to the related links for Unit 10 | Return to the top of this page 57. Division’s Motive for Hiding Losses May Be Unlawful, Tom Fowler, Houston Chronicle, January 26, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Enron’s energy-services unit put its trading operations under the umbrella of the company’s wholesale marketing arm. Was this impetus efficiency or hiding losses? The net result was to help keep Enron’s stock price from sliding. Was it illegal not to tell the true reason for moving the money-losing operations from one unit to another? 58. Merrill’s Enron Ties Grow, , CNN Money, January 30, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Why did about 100 executives from investment company Merrill Lynch invest millions of their own money in one of Enron’s controversial partnerships? The personal investments of LJM2 Co-Investment LP, an Enron partnership set up by Enron’s former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, raises serious questions about conflict of interest. 59. Houston Law Firm Helped Craft Enron Deals, James V. Grimaldi and Peter Behr, Washington Post, January 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins seems to be implicated in a number of deals that helped drive Enron into bankruptcy. Was shareholder fraud involved? James Grimaldi and Peter Behr look at the law firm’s— and Arthur Andersen’s—involvement in the Raptor and Condor partnerships. 60. The Enron Debacle: What Does It Mean for Employee Ownership?, Martin Staubus, Foundation for Enterprise Development, January 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question The director of the Foundation for Enterprise Development explores what the Enron debacle means for employee ownership, including 401(k) plans. Martin Staubus contends that what Exxon Valdez was for the environment, Enron was for the financial world. He enumerates the lessons learned from the collapse of Enron stock and concludes that management fraud will always remain a risk in employee ownership. 61. Meet the Street: What to Look for in Financial Statements, Post-Enron, Yoon Cho, TheStreet.com, January 25, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Yoon Cho contends that Enron is an isolated case in terms of degree, but not in kind. Cho suggests that corporate accounting will never be the same and that investors will increasingly favor companies whose financial statements are clearest and most transparent. 62. Enron’s Web of Complex Hedges, Bets, Michael A. Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Michael Hiltzik discusses Enron issues of concern to investors. It appears that in the company’s accounting, derivatives may have become tools of fiscal concealment and manipulation. These financial contracts can involve significant risks and can sharply exaggerate market gains or losses. 63. As Derivatives Unravel, It’s Your Lookout, Edmond Warner, The Guardian, December 1, 2001 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Edmond Warner discusses the problems inherent in investing in derivatives. In “the hands of criminals and cretins,” a derivative is often both complex and dangerous. Unregulated financial instruments should give investors pause, a fact highlighted by Enron’s collapse. 64. A Fog Over Enron, and the Legal Landscape, Diana B. Henriques and Kurt Eichenwald, New York Times, Janaury 27, 2002 View in: HTML | Fill out the Test Your Knowledge form | Try a Quiz Question Securities law experts have condemned the way Enron structured and sold its partnership LJM2. It appears that partnership investors were given a chance to profit from confidential information, while Enron shareholders were kept in the dark. But did the arrangement really violate U.S. securities laws and regulations?