Many people may be familiar with the scandal surrounding the Enron Corporation. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Enron, Kenneth Lay, was recently convicted of illegal actions that cost many Enron employees substantial amounts of money through the loss of jobs, pensions, and other benefits. Fewer people may be aware that Kenneth Lay was born in Tyrone, Missouri into an impoverished background, with a father who was a minister and part-time salesman. As he rose to the level of CEO of a major corporation (Enron), with corresponding growing earnings; he may have begun to sacrifice ethics for the increased earnings (and corresponding power). That is, one hypothesis for Lay's behavior might be that he has a personality that is prone toward valuing earnings (and power) more than ethical and human treatment of people. Therefore, this consideration of the Kenneth Lay-Enron case suggests two hypotheses that might explain why he might have treated Enron employees as he is accused of doing. These may be generalizable to other people, besides Kenneth Lay, to more generally explain the social psychological factors that contribute to unethical behavior. The two hypotheses are:

If a person is powerful (as represented by the person's earnings), then the person will be more likely to make decisions that preserve or increase her/his power, compared to a person who is less powerful. If a person has a certain personality profile, then the person will be more likely to make decisions that preserve or increase her/his power, compared to a person who is less powerful.