HD Guidelines

Assignment 2 involves a case study analysis in the answering of three questions. Case studies are designed to utilise theory in the analysis of a particular example, in this case Enron.

Executive Summary

Enron is both a simple and a complex case to follow; simple in that it clearly has to do with general problems of leadership, rewards, culture, unethical behaviour and so on. Complex insofar as unravelling the financial dealings is difficult. I do not expect to see too much discussion of the financial complexities but would expect to see the location
of the case within the wider context of corporate culture within the USA and the key issues for Enron (225 words)

Analysis and problem diagnosis

You will need to demonstrate that you can apply theories of leadership to help you analyse the particular problems that faced Enron. What are cause and effect, what are the most important issues and could they have been avoided? AS the whole point of case analysis is the application of theory to practice I shall be looking at how well you apply the different theories as an explanation of what happened. You also might wish to consider the extent to which  leadership was the problem and not some other factor (450 words approximately)

Theory and practice

You will need to demonstrate that the case study can help understand the theory that looks at the relationship between leadership and culture specifically. Thus you will need a definition of culture and an analysis in general terms of the relationship between theory and culture. Does leadership shape culture or vice versa? How easy/difficult is it to shift culture particular if it is part of prevailing social and cultural norms? (450 words approximately).

Recommendations

What can we learn from the Enron case and what recommendation can you make for the role of leadership in curbing unethical behaviour? Thus a key part of any case analysis are the recommendations. I would expect to see recommendations that address the dimensions of suitability, feasibility and acceptability. Are your recommendations suitable for a case such as Enron? Are they feasible in terms of not imposing too big a burden on a company such that it becomes over-regulated? Are they acceptable to key stakeholders including the public eg the public in various countries would probably like to see some curbs on executive rewards, particularly in the banking
industry. Other stakeholders eg governments, seem much more reticent. (450 words approximately).

Presentation

How well is it written, how is it structured and how convincing are the arguments

• I expect clear and coherent arguments.
• I expect grammar, spelling, punctuation etc to be correct.
• I am also looking for a logical structure.
• References should be correctly used both in the text and presented in an appropriate manner at the back. Either use the Harvard system or APA.

There is no set format for this but I would expect to see the use of sub-headings to delineate the different questions asked.