Write a paper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeFdIHWy8cw (Links to an external site.)

Above is a link to a truncated documentary of the Enron fiasco. If you choose to watch the full length documentary through Netflix or Hulu, that is your choice.

http://dcollins.faculty.edgewood.edu/pdfdocuments/Enron%20Case%20Gini.pdf (Links to an external site.) is an example of a really good case study done by Denis Collins on Enron as well.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethical implications of the decision-makers inside Enron upon decision-making within an organization in general (p. 170 and other places in your textbook are a good start) through the lens of teaching business ethics from a teacher's perspective, rather than a student's perspective. This perspective applies to you students because you are actually teachers in disguise--whether you enter into the world as non-academic organizational members or as school teachers and college professors. It is also often said that one learns better by teaching, even as a student.

Koehn (2005) published a paper called "Transforming Our Students: Teaching Business Ethics Post-Enron" in the journal Business Ethics Quarterly (see link below) in which the author advocated a business ethics pedagogy that eschewed the usual line of reasoning that regulation and policy are all that is needed to prevent unethical behavior. Koehn's (2005) pedagogical position on "pressuring students to know themselves better" (p. 142) is illustrated through three approaches.

Your task is to watch the documentary and read the case study on Enron, then read the linked article by Koehn and write an 8-10 page analysis paper on how Koehn's three pedagogical approaches potentially address the prevention of a "repeat" of Enron. (a) Your paper should include a brief overview of what transpired at Enron and, in particular, the ethical issues that arose, potential causes, and the failures of mere regulation to prevent Enron's despicable behavior (Koehn's paper can assist with this latter part). (b) Your discussion should incorporate theories of ethics such as utilitarianism, Machiavellianism, and Kant's categorical imperative. You may use these or other theories to support your points, but you must discuss at least two theories in relation to your analysis of Enron. Use outside sources as necessary. (c) Discuss Koehn's (2005) three approaches to teaching business ethics that illuminate what Koehn means by the statement that "the beginning of wisdom...is a gaze inward" (p. 143). (d) Last, can Koehn's approaches to teaching business ethics be a relevant alternative to preventing the next Enron via a mere regulatory approach? Why or why not?

The format of the paper will be 8-10 pages, Times New Roman, font size 12, double spaced. Your bibliography will not count as page length, but a bibliography is required, as our in-text citations. Failure to cite your sources is grounds for plagiarism. You don't want that headache, and, frankly, neither do I.

http://www.uky.edu/~jtgros2/teaching%20ethics.pdf (Links to an external site.)

 

Notes on Grading: A lack of citations and/or bibliography will be heavily graded as a lack of either is a form of plagiarism.