b07_ethics_will_be__oath

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MBA oath – a social innovation at Harvard Business School

The MBA Oath is a voluntary student-led pledge that asks graduating MBAs to commit towards the creation of value “responsibly and ethically.” The grassroots effort was launched in late May 2009 by a group of thirty graduating Harvard Business School (HBS) students in Boston, Massachusetts.

Source: Wikipedia

The principles (short)

Therefore I promise:

  • I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
  • I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers and the society in which we operate.
  • I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
  • I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
  • I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
  • I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
  • I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
  • I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.

Source: Wikipedia

A hopeful start

There are some serious questions concerning the substance and the sustainability of the oath. One could ask, whether the mentioned principles in fact are not in tension, since the conflict of interest is part of the standard situation of management. In a certain way the art of leadership means dealing with complex situations, i.e. dealing with some permanent and objective conflicts of interest.

See the sentence: “I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers and the society in which we operate.” The order of appearence is setting the rank of loyality. First comes the shareholders, last comes society. But did you really expect a revolution in a “intra-systemic” institution like Harvard? Ok, it takes more to “save the world”.

There remains enough to do – the debate just started. Finally I take the oath as a good sign. Some minds actually did understand that there is a need to change some structures – and the curricula structuring the minds. Hopefully the next generation of decision makers will be brave to make the next step.

Links

Pic courtesy: Flickr user Samuel Mann – I found this pic at blog.careermee.com, where a German translation of the oath can be found.

>>>>>>>>> UPDATE 2009-07-06 <<<<<<<<

I just came across a post at Stowe Boyd’s blog worth to mention in this context:

Wow! One of the handful of “management gurus” that I admire, Shoshanna Zuboff, has written a blisteringly stark condemnation of the way that Harvard Business School, and the rest of the MBA mills, have indoctrinated a generation of piss poor business leaders. http://www.stoweboyd.com/message/2009/07/shoshanna-zuboff.html

Maybe you just want to go right here: The Old Solutions Have Become the New Problems – BusinessWeek by Shoshanna Zuboff – Little quote:

... We weren’t stupid and we weren’t evil. Nevertheless we managed to produce a generation of managers and business professionals that is deeply mistrusted and despised by a majority of people in our society and around the world. This is a terrible failure.

Ok!

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