Why Lehman Brothers & others fall

Lets keep aside the technical details of subprime crisis & investment decisions of Lehman Brothers, and think holistically as what caused fall of these giants & the financial crisis.

Was it greed & unethical practices? I thought we came of that age after the Enron, Tyco episodes and introduction of corporate governance.
Or was it policies of Bush Administration?
Or the fundamental financial structure was flawed, which happened to be hidden till now?
Or any other reason??

As the whole world gets sucked slowly into the crisis, with every single page of WSJ & Economic Times carrying the gloomy news, one is forced to think that whether this mess could have been avoided somehow?
Only after we answer the above questions, as what went wrong in holistic sense, then only we can go to next pertinent question, as how such avoidable crisis can be avoided in future?

Suggestions for New Threads

If anyone wish to start a new thread on any meaningful topic, post your comment here. I will be very happy to start a new post on the suggested topic.
Looking forward to suggestions.

Renewable Energy Sector

I was surprised to notice that many of the MBA students here are looking forward to the career in Renewable energy sector. It is indeed a very welcome development. But why, has renewable energy sector caught their attention. Well, everyone here, after MBA wants to do something meaningful in his/her life. In today's world when everyone talks about global warming & oil crisis, its obvious to see the energy sector in a larger context as means to contribute to society & environment.

Also renewable energy sector is the one, which is growing in spite of energy crisis. This sector is still attracting the investment, making it a viable career path, in recent times of layoff. In the social responsibility forum, the companies representatives did tell that they are staffed with all young generation, and not much of the people are willing to join oil companies.

The present MBA batch mirrors the same sentiment. For many students here, going into energy sector is a career change. I hope that recruiters will not harp much on the relevant previous experience and give the chance to these motivated individuals.

Social Responsibility Forum at IE

A Corporate Sustainiblity Forum was organised at Instituto de Empresa, Madrid. It was a great success. Many topics like social business, financing options, hybrid business models were also touched upon. Speakers from various companies like those in High-Tech industry, FMCG, Energy gave an overview of their efforts in direction of social responsibility, through their products.

The efforts in renewable energy sector was inspiring. These sessions saw a high attendance, as many students at IE look forward to career in renewable energy after their MBA. But what caught me by surprise was that even oil companies were already sensitised towards the looming oil crisis & were making investments in this sector.

There are many companies whose products do not lend them towards social responsibility, like companies making arms & ammunitions, cigarette making companies etc. How can these companies too like oil companies can contribute towards social responsibility??