Related Articles
INSEAD: Half a century of excellence in business education
Barbara Bierach - 09-30-2009
Coincidentally a year after Lehman Brothers has collapsed, INSEAD, one of the worldwide leading business schools, INSEAD celebrates its 50th anniversary and it is using the occasion to demonstrate to the world that its curriculum and the alumni it has produced, have indeed been a blessing to the business world rather than a curse.
Why an MBA oath?
N. Craig Smith - 12-17-2009
Business schools have become an easy target as the butt of jokes about the causes of the current economic crisis. A recent segment on ‘The Daily Show,’ an American satirical television programme, explored the theme of MBAs being to blame for the crisis and the MBA oath as a possible remedy. Its presenter feigned surprise that not all students were willing to sign up to an oath that said: “I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.” No doubt the view that MBAs would have difficulty in making such a commitment is more widespread and yet it seems such a straightforward commitment to make. So in answer to the question, ‘why an MBA oath?’, one response surely must be: ‘Why not?’ Why should it be so difficult for MBAs to commit to behaving ethically?
Why MBAs should not sign the Harvard Business School oath
Theo Vermaelen - 12-18-2009
Harvard MBAs have proposed that all MBA students sign an oath. It pledges, among other things, to “contribute to the well-being of society” and to “create sustainable economic, social and environmental prosperity worldwide.” I don’t believe that this is a good idea, for three reasons. First, some parts of the pledge are inconsistent with fiduciary duties and ethical standards. Second the oath is a misplaced response to the financial crisis. Third, I don’t believe in pledges as an instrument to guide people’s behaviour.