Abstract
Responsibility and accountability of CEOs has been a major ethical concern over the past 10 years. Major ethical dilemmas at Enron, Worldcom, AIG, as well as other well-known organizations have been at least partially blamed on CEO malfeasance. Interviews with Ken Lay, CEO of Enron, after his 2006 fraud convictions provides an opportunity to document his perceived role in the demise of Enron. Possibly no other CEO has had as much impact on the scrutiny and legalization of business ethics as Ken Lay. This analysis is timely because of many information sources now available and the recent Supreme Court decisions on Enron conviction appeals. Using Ken Lay as the focal point, a review of literature provides the background for research questions to explore the role of the CEO in developing an ethical corporate culture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arjoon, Surendra: 2005, ‘Corporate Governance: An Ethical Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics, 61(4), 343-352.
Beggs, Jeri Mullins: 2007, ‘Legislated Ethics or Ethics Education? Faculty Views in the Post-Enron Era’, Journal of Business Ethics, 71(1), 15-37.
Brewer, Lynn, Robert Chandler, and O.C. Ferrell: 2006, Managing Risks for Corporate Integrity: How to Survive an Ethical Misconduct Disaster, (Thompson Higher Education, Mason, OH).
Chen, Al Y.S., Roby B. Sawyers, and Paul F. Williams: 1997, ‘Reinforcing Ethical Decision Making Through Corporate Culture’, Journal of Business Ethics, 16(8), 855-865.
Coffee, John C: 2003, ‘What Caused Enron? A Capsule of Social and Economic History of the 1990 s’, Cornell Law Review, 89(1), 269-309.
Coffee, J. C (2004) Overcriminalization. National Law Journal, 26(48), 13.
Coffee, John C: 2005, ‘A Theory of Corporate Scandals: Why the U.S. and Europe Differ’, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(2), 198-211.
Diogenes’ Lantern Productions: 2010, ‘The Other Side of the Enron Story’, Ungagged.net, http://www.ungagged.net. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
Eichenwald, K. and A. Barrionuevo: 2006, ‘The Enron Case that Almost Wasn’t’, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/business/yourmoney/04enron.html. Retrieved 23 Feb 2009.
Ethics Resource Center: 2007, ‘2007 National Business Ethics Survey’, http://www.ethics.org/research/surveys-and-benchmarking.asp. Retrieved 8 Dec 2008.
Ferrell, O.C., John Fraedrich, and Linda Ferrell: 2008, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 7th edition (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA).
Ferrell, O.C., Debbie Thorne LeClair, and Linda Ferrell: 1998, ‘The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations: A Framework for Ethical Compliance’, Journal of Business Ethics, 17(4), 353-363.
Heminway, J. M. (2008) Does Sarbanes-Oxley Foster the Existence of Ethical Executive Role Models in the Corporation? Journal of Business Technology Law 3(2):221–242.
Kayes, C. D., D. Stirling, T. M. Neilson (2007) Building Organizational Integrity. Business Horizons 50:61–70.
Maignan, Isabelle and O. C. Ferrell: 2004, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing: An Integrative Framework,’ Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(1), pp. 3-19.
Michalos, Alex C.: 1979, ‘The Loyal Agent’s Argument,’ in Tom L. Beauchamp and Norman E. Bowie (eds.), Ethical Theory and Business (Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Minkes, A.I., M.W. Small, and S.R. Chaterjee: 1999, ‘Leadership and Business Ethics: Does it Matter? Implications for Management’, Journal of Business Ethics, 20(4), 327-335.
Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG): 2010, http://oceg.org/. Retrieved 5 Feb 2010.
Petrick, Joseph A. and John F. Quinn: 2001, ‘The Challenge of Leadership Accountability for Integrity Capacity as a Strategic Asset’, Journal of Business Ethics, 34(3-4), 331-343.
Reidenbach, R.E. and D.P. Robin: 1990, Toward the Development of Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Ethics, 9(8), 639-653.
Rockness, H and J. Rockness: 2005, ‘Legislated Ethics: From Enron to Sarbanes-Oxley, the Impact on Corporate America’, Journal of Business Ethics, 57(1), 31-54.
Sims, R.R. and J. Brinkmann: 2003, ‘Enron Ethics (or: Culture Matters More Than Codes)’, Journal of Business Ethics, 45, 243-256.
Smyth, J. E., D. A. Soberman (1968) The Law and Business Administration in Canada. Prentice-Hall of Canada, Ltd, Toronto, 360.
Supreme Court of the United States: 2010, ‘Jeffrey K. Skilling, Petitioner v. United States’, 561 U.S. #08-1394.
Watkins, Sherron, and Jone L. Pierce: 2003, ‘Former Enron Vice-President Sherron Watkins on the Enron Collapse’, The Academy of Management Executive, 17(4), 119-125.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferrell, O.C., Ferrell, L. The Responsibility and Accountability of CEOs: The Last Interview with Ken Lay. J Bus Ethics 100, 209–219 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0675-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0675-y