Business School Blues
On
September 16, 2001, many American churches were standing room only. History has proven that tragedies get our
attention. In the immediate aftermath of
the September 11 attacks, millions of Americans flocked to churches and houses
of worship. But, for most, the shift in
spiritual behavior was short lived. According
to tracking research by the Barna Group, within a few months the spiritual
lives of the nation’s population were back to pre-attack levels (Barna,
2011). Enron is a financial equivalent
of 9-11. Ethical terrorist like Ken Lay,
Jeff Skilling, Arthur Anderson, and others disguised themselves as businessmen
and ultimately leveled our economy. Just
as society woke to the realization of its vulnerability as a nation, the
collapse of our economy and the unethical actions of business leaders have shaken
many to the importance of ethical standards.
When
a terrorist cell is found, CIA agencies dig deep into their background to
uncover motives and ideology. We must do
the same for the ethical failures of our business leaders. One of the first places to start is our
country’s business schools. It is time
to stop providing the obligatory ethics class and take more aggressive action
to invest in qualitative studies centered on leadership, ethics, values, and
integrity. Four years after the
scandals of the financial crisis prompted many deans and faculty to reexamine
how they teach ethics. Some say they
still have not gotten it right (Korn, 2013). Daniel Goleman (1995) said, “There is growing
evidence that fundamental ethical stances in life stem from underlying
emotional capacitates. Those who are at the mercy of impulse—who lack
self-control—suffer a moral deficiency: The ability to control impulse is the
base of will and character” (p. xxii). Academia must address the heart as much
as the mind.
I’ve learned there
is a great difference between being smart and being wise. My wife has a high school education and she
is the wisest woman I know. I am working
on my second graduate degree and still make impulsive decisions. Outside the latest technological impact in
academia, little has changed over the past century. In fact, with the advent of Standards of
Learning (SOLs), our schools may have taken a step backwards. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the area
of leadership, ethics, and values. Something
has to change.
Podolny (2009)
said, “Fifty years of effort to increase rigor have left even the best business
schools with a bias against teaching qualitative disciplines like ethics and
leadership” (p. 1). This unwavering
focus and attention solely on “hard” disciplines such as, economics,
statistics, accounting, and marketing have created deep thinkers with shallow
consciences. As a result, people are
losing faith in America’s business schools.
In order to reduce
people’s distrust, business schools need to show that they value what society
values. They need to teach that
principles, ethics, and attention to detail are essential components of
leadership, and they need to place greater emphasis on leadership’s
responsibilities (Podolny, 2009). It
must start early and follow through the learning life cycle. When we were young, our “multiplication tables”
were memorized and embedded in our mind because of repetition. Ethics and values should be included as part
of all education curriculum from middle school through graduate school. Classes should start with definitions and
explanations and grow to case studies, role-playing, and real life
observations.
For example, ABC
News and John Quinones created a behind the scenes show called, “What Would You Do?” It is designed to catch unsuspecting people
in real life ethical situations.
Business schools should conduct similar experiments. And thankfully,
some are.
The Massachusetts’
Babson College, Michigan State University and other schools in Colorado are
holding conference calls to exchange ideas on program design, course content,
and building support among faculty members (Korn, 2013). While some ethical courses are peppered
throughout college schedules, they need to be immersed on all disciplines. For instance, Boston University’s School of
Management is introducing a required ethics course for freshmen business
students, and is also taking instructors in other business classes to
incorporate ethics into their lessons (Korn, 2013).
Today, church attendance
has declined to pre 9-11 numbers (Barna, 2011).
As Enron fades and the economy reestablishes its footing, will we forget
as well? Will ethics become just another
course to fill the time? Or, will we
keep pressing forward with additional qualitative studies to improve leadership
and ethics? Our goal as a nation should
be to ensure business school graduates enter Wall Street and Main Street
willing to make America stronger by gaining back the trust of the American
public. Our future and freedom depend on it.
Steve
References
Barna, G. (2011). Barna Study
Explores Faith in New York Since 9-11. Retrieved from
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY:
Bantam Dell.
Korn, M. (2013). Does an ‘A’ in
Ethics Have Any Value? Retrieved from
Podolny, J. (2009). The Buck Stops
(and Starts) at Business School. Harvard
Business Review,
87(6),
62-67.
