Discuss the Enron case as innovation corrupted in details in Week 11. Before the lecture, you are
expected to watch the documentary film and complete a review, so that you could develop a decent
understanding of the case and relevant issues and we could also have an enriched discussion in class.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of
the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest
business scandals in American history. The film examines the 2001 collapse of the Enron Corporation,
which resulted in criminal trials and subsequent imprisonment of several of Enron’s top executives. Your
review essay is expected to be 600-800 words and address the following questions (but NOT to make it a
list of Q&A):
What really went wrong and led to the collapse of Enron, once the most innovative American company?
What is the connection between corporate governance and the financial market, in the example of Enron?
In your view and given what you have learned from this course, how to conceptualize the role of geography
in the rise and fall of Enron?
Is there anything from the film that has changed your understanding about the popular notion of ‘free
market’?
Sample Solution
