Many believe that management education has contributed to the
systematic failure of today’s leaders. This hits close to home for me, or at
least close to my college home. I graduated from Mississippi College, the same
alma mater of Bernie Ebbers, a little less than one year after he drove himself
to federal prison in Louisiana to begin his sentence. This is quite ironic that
Mississippi College, a Christian College and an overall fine institution,
happened to be the institution of choice for one of the most notoriously
corrupt. Regardless of being in the same alumni pool, I am still proud of “MC”.
Scandals have repeatedly rocked the business world causing a lot of
questioning over the effectiveness of Business Schools; accusing that they do
not teach and instill critical thinking and moral reasoning which is why MBAs
made “the shortsighted and self-serving decisions that resulted in the current
financial crisis” (Podolny, 2009, para. 2). The tirade against business
curriculum does not stop there.
Fact is, so deep and
widespread are the problems afflicting management education that people have
come to believe that business schools are harmful to society, fostering
self-interested, unethical, and even illegal behavior by their graduates. How
did we get into a situation in which MBAs are part of the problem rather than
the solution? (Podolny, 2009, para. 9)
If those in Business Schools are so bright and so wise, what can be
done about this? This is also something quite personal to me as I am a graduate
student in a business program. Plus I
work in higher education as an academic advisor. Education is something I love
and believe in. I do not want to see something as beautiful as learning become
tarnished by some very terrible examples of those who abuse their knowledge and
abilities. Just because you can do something does not mean you should.
I would like to take a moment, though, to argue that fault cannot fall
solely upon academia; that societally we need to take responsibility. Business
schools do not tell people to go out and doing unethical things. “Business
schools cannot be expected to assume total responsibility for ethical debacles
in corporations and throughout the business world. Education is hardly the sole
determinant of human behavior, and responsibility for ethics education is not
the exclusive province of business schools” (Ethics, 2004, para. 3). Business
schools are merely providing the tools to be successful in the business world,
perhaps a little too well if these skilled individuals are able to pull off
such elaborate schemes.
This is like blaming a school for superheroes for circumstances in
which villains are born or blaming churches for those who attend and yet commit
unthinkable crimes that also happen to be sin. Blame is easy when it is one
sided. But when you point one finger, several point back at the accuser. I
believe corporations in conjunction with business schools need to be
responsible for setting standards of what is acceptable and desirable and
partnering together to make it possible. “Many companies say completing an
ethics course won't make or break a hiring decision—especially since firms tend
to offer their own training for new hires” (Korn, 2013, para. 16). It is going
to take companies anticipating a possible ultimate demise, that they could
become the next WorldCom or Enron, prior to any warning signs of a problem and
the belief that an internal training program alone cannot be the final say in
preparation. Regardless of whether it is during Business School or internal
training on the job, one cannot guarantee better results than another. It is a
package deal. “But whether coverage of material equates to demonstrable learning
outcomes is another issue” (Buchko & Buchko, 2009, para. 14).
Surveys conducted by
the Aspen Institute, a think tank, show that about 60% of new M.B.A. students
view maximizing shareholder value as the primary responsibility of a company;
that number rises to 69% by the time they reach the program's midpoint. Though
maximizing shareholder returns isn't a bad goal in itself, focusing on that at
the expense of customer satisfaction, employee well-being or environmental
considerations can be dangerous. (Korn, 2013, para. 6-7)
With that said, looking at ERAU’s MBAA degree program, it is strongly
focused on quantitative skills and does not focus so much on the “softer
skills” required as part of the core curriculum of the Master of Science in
Leadership or the recently redeveloped Master of Science in Management, for
example. I believe each area has its own unique purpose, but that perhaps an
increased emphasis could be placed on the areas lacking by those who decry MBAs
as not having a holistic approach. I do not believe it is uncommon to have such
a strongly envisioned focus for MBA programs. If the business world embraces
the need for programs like the MSL or MSM maybe the MBA would change its tune
to accommodate having the best of both worlds. Until then I do not see why a
zebra would change its stripes.
Luckily there are always pioneers amongst us. “Some schools are
experimenting with a more integrated approach. Boston University's School of Management is
introducing a required ethics course for freshman business students, and is
also tasking instructors in other business classes to incorporate ethics into
their lessons. It may also overhaul a senior seminar to reinforce ethics topics”
(Korn, 2013, para. 10). There are other schools, I learned recently in the
discussion board of my current class, MSLD 634, that Babson College developed a
curriculum called Giving Voice to Values. There are Business Schools out there
who are trying to make an impact and make a difference. How long will it take
until those who decry MBAs take notice? Or rather, what is it going to take to
notice that there are leaders who are both capable and ethical? If my
predictions are correct, for real change to happen it will take those who do
the hiring of those who receive the Business School degrees to refocus on what
they are looking for in the real world.
References:
Buchko, A. A., & Buchko, K. J.
(2009). So we teach business ethics-do they learn? Journal of Business
Ethics Education, 6, 119-146. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/851623201?accountid=27203
Ethics Education in Business Schools.
(2004). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
http://www.aacsb.edu/~/media/AACSB/Publications/research-reports/ethics-education.ashx
Korn, M. (2013, February 6). Does an
'A' in Ethics Have Any Value? Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324761004578286102004694378
Podolny,
J. (2009). The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business School. Retrieved March 28,
2015, from https://hbr.org/2009/06/the-buck-stops-and-starts-at-business-school
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