Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006
Charismatic Leadership and Corporate Cultism at Enron: The Elimination of
Dissent, the Promotion of Conformity, and Organizational Collapse
Dennis Tourish, Ph.D.
Naheed Vatcha
Abstract
Enron stands out as one of the most spectacular failures in business history.
Thus far, most attention has been focused on its accountancy practices. This
paper, by contrast, explores its internal culture and the leadership practices
of its top people. These included a particular emphasis on charismatic
leadership, particularly in the persons of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling; the
promotion of a compelling vision by these leaders, of a totalistic nature;
individual consideration, expressed in a recruitment system designed to activate
a process analogous to conversion; and the promotion of a culture characterized
by conformity and the penalizing of dissent. Drawing on the vast archive of
material now available on Enron, and in particular on the best known accounts of
former employees, the paper discusses to what extent Enron can be usefully
regarded as an example of a corporate cult. Finally, the discussion is located
in the context of emerging trends in business and leadership practice, and
considers the extent to which what happened in Enron is suggestive of a growing
business phenomenon.
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