American business schools did not always enjoy the reputation that they have today. The first business programs were founded in the late 1800s, but many people (including the self-taught Andrew Carnegie) scoffed at the idea of a university degree to train people in business. In creating the Harvard MBA, the revered B- School’s founders were not even sure what classes they should offer. In the end, the curriculum drew heavily on the work of the “father” of scientific management, Frederick Winslow Taylor. That same work was later derided as pseudo-science and Taylor defended himself against allegations that his results were faked.
Fast-forward to the late twentieth century when B-Schools ruled and the newly degreed could expect a six-figure income right out of the starting gate. Fast-forward once again to the present day – a financial debacle the size of the Grand Canyon and enough finger-pointing to startle a squid. And, wouldn’t you know, some of this century’s biggest financial baddies earned their degrees at top ranked B-Schools like Harvard, Wharton, Princeton, and Yale.
Scholars and pundits from NPR to Harvard Business Review have been asking if it is possible that B-schools are actually to blame. What are they teaching those youngins anyway?
“Fundamentally, when individuals are divorced from the consequences of their actions, they may well engage in activities that are detrimental to any number of others,” said Dr. Marc Chopin, dean of the W.A. Franke School of Business at NAU. Rather than focus on particular ethical theories in teaching students to be aware of these consequences, Chopin said, “We have chosen to provide students with a method to examine an ethical dilemma from a variety of perspectives to enable them to make choices in light of the impact of their decisions on multiple constituencies.”
Dr. Brian Lindquist is the dean of the School of Business at University of Phoenix. According to him, schools of business should “help students understand their own values and to assess how well those values align with the stated values, as well as the actions, of organizations with which they come into contact.” In his view, these values are taught at home and social responsibility is something that students “have decided to embrace (or not) before arriving at a business school program.” As for the role his institution can play in the process, Lindquist stated that students should appreciate the needs of stakeholders and how they can be served. “It makes no difference how the university itself is organized,” he said.
University of Phoenix is a privately owned subsidiary of Apollo Group, Inc., a publicly traded private university with annual revenues of $2 billion. The Phoenix-based corporation is headed by CEO Charles Edelstein, formerly a strategic and financial advisor and managing director of the Swiss financial services company Credit Suisse. Whether or not business schools or their faculties should bear some share of culpability for
our present economic crisis, Chopin believes that “awareness of our roles in society” is important, and noted that it has taken on a higher profile in the Franke School business school curriculum over the past several years.
Last year, MBA students at NAU started a local chapter of NetImpact, which promotes socially responsible business practices. The international non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by MBA students, focuses on education, network- ing, and social action to promote its mission of shaping the future of business and society.
The organization claims 20,000 members and 160 chapters. Concerning the specific role that business schools can play, Chopin said that faculty “work to demonstrate that economic and social systems are interrelated.” Students should “consider the broader context in which decisions are made.”
Nonetheless, Chopin admitted, many current faculty lack formal training in ethics instruction. “It becomes a challenge,” he said, “to incorporate ethics across the curriculum.” A recent development is a teaching rubric developed by Franke School Associate Dean Eric Yordy and marketing instructor Jennifer Mitchell. Their model has been well received at NAU and at other universities.
According to Chopin, “business schools should train students to consider the impact of their future decisions on clients, customers, their firm and profession, and the broader society.” FbN