The Buck Stops and Starts With You
So many people in the world believe that management education has contributed
to the systematic failure of leadership, and I believe they are right! Why, you
might ask, because business schools today fail to teach their students about values
and ethics. According to Podolny (2009), “people have come to believe that
business schools are harmful to society, fostering selfinterested, unethical,
and even illegal behavior by their graduates”.
So how can we fix this problem? The first step in reducing the
misconception of management education is for business schools to show society
that they have the same values. To do
this, businesses schools must start by re-evaluate the courses required for
management education. Although the concept management education involves looking
at the big picture, business schools need to start teaching their students the ideology
of ethics; defining how minor details fit within the big picture.
In addition, business schools
need to start hiring teachers with management experience. Teachers need to be
able to give their students a holistic understanding of business problems and
solutions. This will help business schools expand their current curriculum and encouraging
qualitative research on leadership values and ethics.
Furthermore, business schools need to stop competing on rankings and
communicate the real reason behind obtaining a degree in management. Although a person with a degree in management may
make a lot of money that should not be the reason for obtaining the degree.
Business schools need to teach their students the value behind the degree and
how it can be used to make a positive impact in the world.
Lastly business schools should implement a code of conduct, much like
that of doctors and lawyers. The code of conduct would be used as a way to
regulate unethical decisions made by graduate students. Thus, any graduate who
breaks the code could potentially have his or her degree revoked.
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