During several meetings and university presentations lately, loud mutterings of criticism about business schools and MBA alumni, have been heard in conversations on the financial crisis, the main points seemed to be that the MBA’s of the eighties and nineties focused too heavily on financial value with too little attention on the risks involved.
Whats your opinion? Do you have an MBA, when did you qualify and how do you feel about the focus of the course?
Interestingly some Harvard Business School students took comments by their HBS professors so seriously that they signed a managerial version of the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to”manage the companies they work for in a way that safeguards not just the interests of shareholders but of fellow employees, customers, and the larger society in which they function”
The response was very encouraging, so a final year George Leadership Fellow student – Max Anderson started to research similar oaths already in use at business schools, to get a collective picture of the “MBA” oath. The idea and interest has grown and created a strong imperative to change the business culture. Max Anderson reported that “MBA’s definitely need to rebrand themselves…. but the oath is more than changing perceptions. Its about changing behaviour and changing the business culture from looking out for number 1 to recognising that we are all in this together”
Another George Fellow, Maura Sullivan who signed the oath is joining PepsiCo’s leadership development program, which clearly illustrates how this concept will spread into organisations.
For a full report please visit Harvard Business School website
Reminiscent of the wonderful book Cultural Creatives by Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson, which highlights how sub cultures connect and create change around the world, which is certainly worth a recommendation.
