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American energy firm Enron has had one of most famous falls from grace in history due to misrepresenting its income and equity value. In its prime, the Houston based corporation was worth approximately $70 billion and its shares were sold for about $90 each. Enron made several "partnerships" with companies it created, which were used to hide huge debts and losses on its stock market trading business. The company went bankrupt in December 2001 and its shares decreased to penny stock levels. Thousands of people lost their jobs and thousands of investors lost billions of dollars. (npr.org, 2015) Starbucks, on the other hand, has continued to remain honest about everything and it has certainly paid off. As of December 2014, the coffee shop chain's market capitalization is an impressive $61 billion. Business analyst Mark Kalinowski has predicted that within the next 2 decades, Starbucks will be worth more than McDonalds, which is currently valued at over $90 billion. Howard Schultz has stated that it's not always easy to do the right thing, but it is better to take short term losses than to go against its core values. (Yerak, 2014).
In 2012 Starbucks was ranked number 73 in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For". The following year it was again voted "World's Most Ethical Company" in the Ethisphere, a title the firm had held since 2006. Even during the recession, the corporation managed to maintain a good healthcare package for its employees. Unlike many companies, all Starbucks employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week are offered attractive benefits that consist of stock options as well as medical, dental, and vision insurance. In June 2014, it was announced that the company will offer full time and part time employees tuition reimbursement for 2 full years of classes if they receive their education via Arizona State University's online study program.