The ENRON scandal: The downfall of the ENRON corporation

Enron began business in 1986 as a result of the merger of two natural gas companies intent on creating the first nationwide natural gas pipeline. Enron wanted to take advantage of the newly deregulated markets for energy and become a market middleman for energy. They wanted to accomplish this by bringing together buyers and sellers of energy, in addition to delivering natural gas. But instead of simply bringing buyers and sellers together, Enron entered the contract …

…the collapse of Enron, certainly "creative accounting" had a huge impact on the company. But when combined with an overly competitive environment and a system that fed egotism and greed, it made for a very destructive combination. Anytime that management loses sight of good business practices and is more concerned with the price of the stock rather than impact the decisions will have on the future of the company, that company is destined for failure.