enron the smartest guys in the room film reflection
ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Links to an external site.) film reflection. After reading the Ritzer article (Links to an external site.) and watching the ENRON film, write an essay on any three of the following questions. Do not answer them one by one; you should craft a college-level essay with a strong introduction, body, and conclusion, using APA formatting. Whichever questions you use here, you must also connect them to the Ritzer article.
- Describe ENRON’s corporate culture. How did executives serve to reinforce a culture of privilege?
- How did a particular perspective about bureaucracy fit into the corporate culture at ENRON and how were workers subsequently impacted?
- How do explain, sociologically, the positive attitude so many ex-employees had of their experiences at ENRON despite the terrible outcome?
- At one point in the film, an ex-employee stated that “we all should have gotten out quicker.” Discuss this segment of the film reflectively. What were the signs that employees “should have” seen? Is her speech a fair assessment?
- Describe ENRON’s corporate culture. How did “rank and yank†and the comparison to race car driving serve to reinforce that culture? How did a particular perspective about bureaucracy fit into this model?
- How did Kenneth Lay “rule as the Master of Manipulation”?
- Explain McDonaldization and the outcome of ENRON’s crisis using an example of any former employee interviewed in the film.
Your assignment should be a paper 1-2 pages long, not including the required title and reference pages. Adhere to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA (Links to an external site.). Include at least three scholarly sources (you may use the recommended readings) to support your answers. The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these sources. Remember to use in-text citations as appropriate and to include your sources in your reference page.
Refer to the Critical Thinking Activity Rubric available in the Course Content for grading details.
