MBA Oath
Encyclopedia
MBA Oath is a voluntary student-led pledge that asks graduating MBAs to commit towards the creation of value "responsibly and ethically." As of January 2010, the initiative is driven by a coalition of MBA students, graduates and advisors, including nearly 2,000 student and alumni signers from over 500 MBA programs around the world. By formalizing a written oath
and creating forums for individuals to personally commit to an ethical standard, the initiative hopes to accomplish three goals:
Therefore I promise:
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
, a professor at HBS, traces the evolution of the management degree in his book From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Princeton University Press, 2007). According to Khurana, the original intent of instituting a management degree was to educate a managerial class that would run America’s corporations in a way that would serve the broader interests of society rather than the narrowly defined interests of capital or labor.
Despite the fact that initial business schools were established with an eye towards serving the public good, Khurana notes that business schools have strayed away from their initial intent. As Khurana stated in a December 2007 interview, “The university-based business school of today is a troubled institution, one that has become unmoored from its original purpose and whose contemporary state is in many ways antithetical to the goals of professional education itself.”
Second, the global financial crisis of this past year has prompted many in the public and in the press to question whether business schools are successfully executing their missions of educating leaders for society. In particular, a number of articles placed the blame on MBAs that constructed a financial system without adequate controls. In addition to connections between HBS and the global financial crisis, the release of Philip Delves Broughton's book Ahead of the Curve challenged HBS's curriculum and argued that business schools needed to become more pragmatic and less idealistic. As Broughton (HBS MBA Class of 2006) states, "Business needs to relearn its limits, and if the Harvard Business School let some air out of its own balloon, business would listen.”
Together, the two events above compelled a group of students to organize the MBA Oath initiative. HBS graduate student Max Anderson and a team of HBS graduate students led a student-based initiative to encourage all HBS graduating students of the class of 2009 to sign on to the MBA Oath. More than half of the HBS graduating class signed the Oath. Since that time participants from more than 250 schools have subscribed to the terms of the MBA Oath. A history of the MBA Oath and a defense of its terms and purpose is described in "The MBA Oath" authored by Max Anderson and Peter Escher. The efforts of Max Anderson and co-author Peter Escher have garnered world-wide attention in their mission transform the field of management into a profession with common standards of ethics similar to those of law and medicine. In short, the MBA Oath is an initial, grassroots attempt to restore ethics and standards in the field of management education.
is believed to be the first of its kind at a business school. The Oath of Honor has been in place since June 2006, when the Thunderbird Board of Trustees officially approved the oath as a part of “the application process, the curriculum and at graduation,” when students are asked to sign it.
The Thunderbird Oath of Honor reads,
“As a Thunderbird and a global citizen, I promise:
I will strive to act with honesty and integrity,
I will respect the rights and dignity of all people,
I will strive to create sustainable prosperity worldwide,
I will oppose all forms of corruption and exploitation, and
I will take responsibility for my actions.
As I hold true to these principles, it is my hope that I may enjoy an honorable reputation and peace of conscience.
This pledge I make freely and upon my honor.”
Similarly, all graduates of Columbia Business School
must pledge to uphold a Columbia Business School Honor Code, which reads as follows: “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
In October 2009, the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management created an oath of professional conduct and is asking graduates to take the oath as part of their graduation proceedings. One of the creators of the student-led effort expressed interest in pushing for a long-term goal of creating a central regulatory board that would oversee business conduct.
taken by doctors. HBS Professors Rakesh Khurana
and Nitin Nohria
are working with the World Economic Forum
and the Aspen Institute
to create an MBA Oath that might be used globally. In an Harvard Business Review
piece published in October 2008, Khurana and Nohria linked the connection between professionalism of a profession and the profession's ability to deliver value to society:
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
and creating forums for individuals to personally commit to an ethical standard, the initiative hopes to accomplish three goals:
- to make a difference in the lives of the individual students who take the oath,
- to challenge other classmates to work towards a higher professional standard, whether they sign the oath or not, and
- to create a public conversation in the press about professionalizing and improving management.
MBA Oath (short version)
As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others.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.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
History
Although the MBA Oath has formalized a written version of an ethical code of conduct for managers, the concept behind ethics in business can be traced back to the initial formation of management education in the early 20th century. Rakesh KhuranaRakesh Khurana
Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. He is also the co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard University. Rakesh received his degrees in organizational behavior from Harvard's Ph.D. program in 1998, A.M from Harvard...
, a professor at HBS, traces the evolution of the management degree in his book From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Princeton University Press, 2007). According to Khurana, the original intent of instituting a management degree was to educate a managerial class that would run America’s corporations in a way that would serve the broader interests of society rather than the narrowly defined interests of capital or labor.
Despite the fact that initial business schools were established with an eye towards serving the public good, Khurana notes that business schools have strayed away from their initial intent. As Khurana stated in a December 2007 interview, “The university-based business school of today is a troubled institution, one that has become unmoored from its original purpose and whose contemporary state is in many ways antithetical to the goals of professional education itself.”
Impetus
The impetus for the MBA Oath arose following two separate events. First, HBS’s Centennial celebrations on April 8, 2008, which marked the 100th anniversary of its founding as the world’s first two-year masters program in management education in 1908. As a part of the Centennial celebration, HBS faculty led students in case discussions regarding the “future of the MBA.” During these sessions, HBS students reflected on the first 100 years of management education and how it might change in the coming 100 years.Second, the global financial crisis of this past year has prompted many in the public and in the press to question whether business schools are successfully executing their missions of educating leaders for society. In particular, a number of articles placed the blame on MBAs that constructed a financial system without adequate controls. In addition to connections between HBS and the global financial crisis, the release of Philip Delves Broughton's book Ahead of the Curve challenged HBS's curriculum and argued that business schools needed to become more pragmatic and less idealistic. As Broughton (HBS MBA Class of 2006) states, "Business needs to relearn its limits, and if the Harvard Business School let some air out of its own balloon, business would listen.”
Together, the two events above compelled a group of students to organize the MBA Oath initiative. HBS graduate student Max Anderson and a team of HBS graduate students led a student-based initiative to encourage all HBS graduating students of the class of 2009 to sign on to the MBA Oath. More than half of the HBS graduating class signed the Oath. Since that time participants from more than 250 schools have subscribed to the terms of the MBA Oath. A history of the MBA Oath and a defense of its terms and purpose is described in "The MBA Oath" authored by Max Anderson and Peter Escher. The efforts of Max Anderson and co-author Peter Escher have garnered world-wide attention in their mission transform the field of management into a profession with common standards of ethics similar to those of law and medicine. In short, the MBA Oath is an initial, grassroots attempt to restore ethics and standards in the field of management education.
Business school oaths
The MBA Oath is not the first to be implemented at a business school. The Thunderbird Oath of Honor taken by most graduates of the Thunderbird School of Global ManagementThunderbird School of Global Management
Thunderbird School of Global Management is a private business school whose main campus is located in Glendale, Arizona. Founded in 1946 by retired U.S...
is believed to be the first of its kind at a business school. The Oath of Honor has been in place since June 2006, when the Thunderbird Board of Trustees officially approved the oath as a part of “the application process, the curriculum and at graduation,” when students are asked to sign it.
The Thunderbird Oath of Honor reads,
“As a Thunderbird and a global citizen, I promise:
I will strive to act with honesty and integrity,
I will respect the rights and dignity of all people,
I will strive to create sustainable prosperity worldwide,
I will oppose all forms of corruption and exploitation, and
I will take responsibility for my actions.
As I hold true to these principles, it is my hope that I may enjoy an honorable reputation and peace of conscience.
This pledge I make freely and upon my honor.”
Similarly, all graduates of Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
must pledge to uphold a Columbia Business School Honor Code, which reads as follows: “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
In October 2009, the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management created an oath of professional conduct and is asking graduates to take the oath as part of their graduation proceedings. One of the creators of the student-led effort expressed interest in pushing for a long-term goal of creating a central regulatory board that would oversee business conduct.
Professionalizing the MBA
In a larger context, the MBA Oath represents a small step towards professionalizing the management field in ways similar to the medical and law professions. The MBA Oath is the management equivalent of the Hippocratic OathHippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine, or by one of his students. The oath is written in...
taken by doctors. HBS Professors Rakesh Khurana
Rakesh Khurana
Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. He is also the co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard University. Rakesh received his degrees in organizational behavior from Harvard's Ph.D. program in 1998, A.M from Harvard...
and Nitin Nohria
Nitin Nohria
Nitin Nohria is the 10th and the current dean of Harvard Business School. He is also the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration, co-chair of the HBS Leadership Initiative and sits on the executive committee of the University's interfaculty initiative on advanced leadership.Over the...
are working with the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
and the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
to create an MBA Oath that might be used globally. In an Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
piece published in October 2008, Khurana and Nohria linked the connection between professionalism of a profession and the profession's ability to deliver value to society:
True professions bear a code of conductCode of ConductA code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes....
, and the meaning and consequences of those codes are taught as part of the formal education of their members. A governing body, composed of respected members of the profession, oversees members’ compliance. Through these codes, professional institutions forge an implicit social contract with other members of society: Trust us to control and exercise jurisdiction over this important occupational category. In return, the profession promises, we will ensure that our members are worthy of your trust—that they will not only be competent to perform the tasks they have been entrusted with, but they will conduct themselves with high standards and integrity. On balance we believe that a profession, with well-functioning institutions of discipline, will curb misconduct because moral behavior is an integral part of the identity of professionals: a self-image most are motivated to maintain.
Further reading
- Ganz, Jacob. "First, Do Not Steal from Shareholders." NPR Planet Money, May 29, 2009.
- Gergen, David. "How Business Can Stand Tall Again." Fortune Magazine, May 4, 2009.
- Holland, Kelley. "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools? New York Times, March 15, 2009.
- MacDonald, Chris. "The MBA oath helps remind graduates of their ethical obligations." Canadian Business, October, 2010.
- Schwab, Klaus. "Time for a New Business Ethos." World Economic Forum Opinion Editorial.
- Hippocratic Oath for Doctors (Modern Version).