Summary of the Film

The film is all about a Houston based company that collapsed within a month. The company had assets amounting to more than $64 billion in assets. The movie profoundly checks on the individuals who built Enron from scratch through an illegal Ponzi scheme. The success of Enron was based on the suffering of the people especially the working class (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) | WatchDocumentaries.com”, 2019) The main focus of the film is the Chairman and CEO of the company Kenneth lay and his Chief Operations Officer Jeff. The majority of investors were not able to liquidate their shares, and this was seen as a plot to benefit only the top management of the company (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) | WatchDocumentaries.com”, 2019). The film also shows the actions and greed of the auditor and the banks who did not want to annoy the powerful heads at Enron. According to Lay and Jeff, the company was one of the most successful energy companies in the country, however, the company was tampering with the financial statements in a bid to woo more investors. In the end, it turned out that the company did not sell energy and that it created a nonexistent market for energy and gambled from it. Although some of the officers in the company were taken to court for the activities at Enron, the fate of the top management is still unknown.

Review of Argument

The film is an example of what happens when the authorities are not able to understand the insider information of companies. It is unethical and unfair for traders to create a non-existient market for products and take advantage of uninformed investors. In the case of Enron, it is not clear on to what the top management wanted to achieve. According to filmmakers, it is important to develop arguments from analogy (Morrow & Weston, 2015).  Developing arguments from analogy ensures that there are no generalizations in the storyline. In the case of Enron, the same rule has been used by the filmmakers. Development of strong analogies requires one to use similar examples, and this has been developed in the film (Morrow & Weston, 2015). Seeking informed sources during the filming process is essential to reduce misunderstandings and to help one to understand the storyline of the whole firm. In the case of Enron, due diligence was done to ensure that all informed was shared without leaving anything behind (Morrow & Weston, 2015).  By following all the rules in film making, it is evident that the film was well developed and structured to bring out the meaning, emotions and the reality of the matter as it had been in the book.

Reflection

Reflecting on the case of Enron brings a deeper understanding of how leadership plays an essential role in the entire organization. The company used the charisma of its leaders to craft a healthy organizational culture. To me, this is a crucial lesson that could be used in other scenarios. In the film, it becomes clear how cultural chain reaction can be adverse to a company. The most important at this stage is how good people can be pushed by bad culture to do the unthinkable (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) | WatchDocumentaries.com”, 2019). In the case of Enron, it gets more elaborate that we need to think in the right way. The case of Enron helps me become aware of the ethical issues surrounding businesses. Based on the inspiration from the movie, it becomes important for me to question my approach whenever I do business. The insights from the film are essential as it deepens my understanding of how we can focus on investment that is driven by values.

References

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) | Watch Documentaries.com. (2019). Retrieved from http://watchdocumentaries.com/enron-the-smartest-guys-in-the-room/

Morrow, D. R., & Weston, A. (2015). A workbook for arguments: A complete course in critical thinking. Hackett Publishing.

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