06 January 2006

Skandal Korporasi AS Terbesar Yang Menguap Cepat

Resensi oleh Stuart Shiffman
Pertama kali dimuat di Bookreporter

Judul buku: CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS: A True Story
Penulis: Kurt Eichenwald
Penerbit: Broadway Books
Tebal:
ISBN: 0767911784


Baca cukilannya

Perhaps the fallout from the first major decision of the Enron Corporation should have served as a warning for the company's future. As Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and others laid the groundwork for a new energy giant, they consulted with a New York firm to suggest a name for their company. Several months and millions of dollars later, "Enteron" was the suggestion. It combined both the international and energy aspects of the new enterprise. Everyone seemed to love the new name.

Unfortunately no one bothered to check Webster's. "Enteron" is also a word for the digestive tube running from the mouth to the anus. Given that one of "Enteron's" major products was natural gas, the choice of names made the new company a laughingstock. "Enteron" quickly became "Enron."

As you journey through the pages of Kurt Eichenwald's CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS, your analysis of the Enron tale will largely depend upon the perspective you held before you turned to the first page of this exhaustively researched and massively documented saga. Is it a tale of well-intentioned businessmen who simply made bad business decisions, or is it a saga of greed, corruption and corporate America run amuck? After 600 pages of reading, there is ample material to support either of those positions.

Although it has been more than four years since the collapse of Enron, the paint on the portrait of its collapse still has not dried. While several individuals involved in the debacle have gone to prison, there has yet to be an actual trial that would allow for public disclosure of many of the events that Eichenwald documents in his book. Obviously, much of the account comes from first-person interviews with many of the well-known actors in the financial tragedy. A cynical reader might be justified in believing that many of those interviews were self-serving attempts in advance of trial to make individuals appear as innocent as possible. In CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS we learn what happened at Enron from inception to collapse. We just don't know why it happened.

This is not a criticism of the book, but an observation of its style. Eichenwald has chosen to avoid dry historical narrative in favor of the modern style of recreating dialogue, meetings and scenes based upon anecdotal recollections of subjects all conditioned upon anonymity. While that may diminish the overall impact of the book, it certainly enhances its entertainment value. CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS reads like a popular thriller, albeit one without murder or mayhem.

Whether the Enron actors are criminals or dupes will be a matter resolved by jurors in Texas courtrooms over the next several years. Regardless of that verdict, however, it certainly is uncontradicted that the players on this stage were by and large greedy, selfish and arrogant. Andy Fastow, one of the Enron participants, already serving prison time, was far more interested in negotiating a severance package than either showing concern for the floundering company he controlled or accepting responsibility for its downfall.

Even Sherron Watkins, the whistleblower elevated to heroine status in the news, was far more interested in advancing her career through her whistle blowing efforts than saving the company. Eichenwald suggests that Watkins told Congress far more than she possibly could know when she publicly testified about Enron's activities. There are no heroes in this sordid history, an analysis that leads one to believe that there will be more Enrons in our future just as there have been Enrons in our past.

In 1841, Charles Mackay chronicled the investment bubbles and financial shenanigans of the 17th and 18th centuries in EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS AND THE MADNESS OF CROWDS. So prescient were Mackay's observations that the book remains in print today and is often cited as one of the best books ever written about investments and investing. Investment success has a synergy of its own that yields more success. As investors experience greater return they are less inclined to recognize or believe warning signs that portend danger. CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS reminds us all once again that while greed may be good for some, it is not good for all.

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