Reasons of Systemic Collapse in Enron

This article studies the moral development at Enron from the perspective of its long-term CEO and chairman Ken Lay. I focus on some critical decisions in the early years of Enron and speculate why Lay chose in favour of non-systems intelligent solutions in leading morale. According to the outlook developed it is plausible to think that immoral behaviour at Enron stemmed not so much from Lay’s immoral character but from his Christian values. Neglecting opportunities to change his value structure Lay avoided tough decisions that marked loss for others. Consequently, unable to make decisions objectively based on systemic rather than individual motives, he lost his opportunity in creating coherent corporate values promoting moral integrity. If the suggested causality is true, it underlines the importance of conscious moral leadership as an everyday discipline.