Some current and former employees of Enron's retail-energy unit say the company asked them to pose as busy electricity and natural-gas sales representatives one day in 1998 so the unit could impress Wall Street analysts visiting its Houston headquarters.
Enron rushed 75 employees of Enron Energy Services-including secretaries and actual sales representatives-to an empty trading floor and told them to act as if they were trying to sell energy contracts to businesses over the phone, the current and former employees say.
"When we went down to the sixth floor, I remember we had to take the stairs so the analysts wouldn't see us," said Kim Garcia, who at the time was an administrative assistant for Enron Energy Services and was laid off in December [of 2001].
"We brought some of our personal stuff, like pictures, to make it look like the area was lived in," Ms. Garcia said in an interview. "There were a bunch of trading desks on the sixth floor, but the desks were totally empty. Some of the computers didn't even work, so we worked off of our laptops. When the analysts arrived, we had to make believe we were on the phone buying and selling electricity and natural gas. The whole thing took like 10 minutes."
Penny Marksberry-who also worked as an Enron Energy Services administrative assistant in 1998 and was laid off in December-and two employees who still work at the unit also say they were told to act as if they were trying to sell contracts.
"They actually brought in computers and phones, and they told us to act like we were typing or talking on the phone when the analysts were walking through," Ms. Marksberry said. "They told us it was very important for us to make a good impression, and if the analysts saw that the operation was disorganized, they wouldn't give the company a good rating."
Solving the Dilemma
What would you do if you were asked to act busy in front of the analysts?
1. Follow the company's instructions by going to the sixth floor and pretending to be busy for the analysts.
2. Explain to your manager that this behavior is inconsistent with your personal values and that you will not participate.
3. Go to the sixth floor in support of the company's request but not act busy or bring personal artifacts to create a false impression.
4. Invent other options. (Explain.)