Wednesday, June 3, 2009

New business ethics?


Oliver Stone's 1987 film of high-finance corruption, "Wall Street," was intended as fiction, but actually was an astonishingly accurate indictment of an actual culture of dishonesty. The film's villain, Gordon ("Greed is good!") Gekko, eventually became the iconic symbol of ruthless Wall Street gluttony.

Wall Street's avarice in recent years has not only sickened the public but has aroused a new generation of business school graduates to embark on a crusade of ethics reform to protect investors from self-serving brokers and fund managers.

Harvard MBA grads have created the "MBA Oath," a high-minded pledge that places integrity, honesty, investors' interests and personal accountability above achieving personal wealth. So far, 160 of Harvard's 800 MBA grads have signed it.

Students who designed the oath are hoping that all business schools eventually will require a graduating oath along the lines of professional ethics oaths taken by attorneys and accountants.

Reform already is well underway as a result of the backlash against Wall Street. Business schools have added professors to teach expanded ethics courses.

Oaths alone don't change human behavior. However, this generation of business school graduates has been raised on social values that include protecting the environment, volunteering to work among the needy and committing corporate activities to improving communities as well as the investment of shareholders.

If this burning desire of reform persists, Wall Street is in for a shock from these young crusaders. It's also in for some big changes.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.