Business graduates taking an ethical oath
At the Harvard Business School, students have been circulating an oath for peers to sign, promising to work "in an ethical manner". 
The first graduates to complete their degrees since the financial crisis began have written the oaths which have been taken up by the business school, according to the Guardian.
Students going through their career development have vowed to strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide and to manage their enterprises in good faith, guarding against decisions and behaviour that advance their own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
Around 20 per cent of the Harvard graduates have undertaken the oath as interest in business ethics courses have increased, and student activities are becoming more focused on making business serve long-term social values.
The oath states that its long-term goal is to change the field of management into a "true profession, one in which MBAs are respected for their integrity, professionalism, and leadership."
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Rather odd rant from Tom Peters on this subject that descends into a moan about Jack Welch.
http://www.tompeters.com/blogs/main/011150.php
Sounds more like a branding exercise to me. Hypocritic oath would be more appropriate ;)
Some 900 Harvard students have now signed up to the MBA Oath, with students from another 25 business schools also supporting the idea.
http://mbaoath.org/
Business ethics are starting to push their way onto the mainsstream curriculum for business degrees worldwide. I know personally that one will be introduced in Lancaster University's Management School with in the next year.
I will be interviewing the people behind the MBA Oath shortly, so if you have any questions you would like to ask, let me know.
Interesting idea to get everyone to take an oath. Problem is if you are unethically inclined then taking the oath won't make any difference?
Have you noticed how kids at infant school change from being acceptive of everybody as they get older and have more external influences?
Hi Adi,
Would be interested to know what tools and techniques they have given to those taking the oath to help them [i]
"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 build alone."
I like this. Kinda sums up what a manager should be I think. Looks like the thing has really taken off as well so kudos to the guy for that.
While the ideals listed in the Oath are commendable, I believe that they do not directly nor adequately address many of the corporate excesses that have given MBAs—whether from Harvard or any other school—a bad name.
In the interest of being constructive, here are some areas that strike me as important enough to put more “teeth” behind such a public oath and declaration:
Governance: What will Oath takers promise with respect to their interactions with federal and state regulators, the use of corporate tax loopholes and offshore tax havens, and their involvement in boards of directors, both in corporations and nonprofits?
Human Resources: What will Oath takers promise to do in terms of hiring decisions, practices, and metrics for evaluation? Will Oath takers become managers who encourage their employees to volunteer and engage in civic activities in local communities on company time?
Pay: What will MBA Oath takers pledge to do when it comes to executive pay relative to what shareholders receive? What will be their positions on golden parachutes and prearranged severance packages? Will they promote philanthropy, both on a corporate and individual level? And, will they share equity in their ventures with employees at every level of the business?
I agree Nick in that an oath alone isn't quite enough to change business practises. For one - this graduates will come in at the bottom or middle of organisations - and may have managers above them who practically force them to break the oath.
The write up in the economist points out that the campaign for an MBA oath dates back to 2004 when Angel Cabrera, president of Thunderbird, a business school in Arizona, suggested that his students write one - it soon became an official part of the schools MBA programme.
So Harvard are just catching up!!
That is actually pretty cool. I do wonder however how much the 'rules' contained in the oath are actually followed. I mean it's one thing to say you'll act in a certain way, another thing to actually do it.