No MBA Oath at HBS Class Day 2010
The much talked about MBA oath will not be featured in this year’s Class Day festivities at Harvard Business School, The Harvard Crimson reported today.
This voluntary pledge to adhere to a set of standardized values for business managers–a code of ethics similar to the Hippocratic Oath–generated much buzz last year as the world grappled with B-school blame and responsibility in the wake of the financial crisis.
HBS students developed a version of this oath last spring for the MBA Class of 2009 to sign during a special Class Day ceremony. A total of 60 percent of the MBA Class of 2009 signed the oath””half of whom signed on Class Day, the Crimson reveals.
So, why no encore showing of values solidarity?
Student organizers cited administrative policy and concerns over inciting controversy during Commencement celebrations as reasons for declining the request for an oath-signing ceremony this year.
A “strong vocal minority” opposes the oath, and some students take issue with wording which could be seen as pushing a liberal political agenda””such as a pledge “to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.”
Despite its absence from this year’s event, many still applaud and support the effort behind the oath.
“From my perspective, I’m pretty amazed at the amount of progress that’s been made in literally a year in terms of students who have signed up and infrastructure built to create a body of oversight,” said HBS professor Rakesh Khurana, who has been involved with the movement since its inception.
For more on this story, read the complete article here.
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