The MBA Oath: Setting a Higher Standard for Business Leaders

Be the first to write a review

Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher

Thank you for requesting this book as a NOOK book from the publisher.

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Meet the Author

Advertising

Overview

"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 create alone..."

So begins the MBA Oath, conceived in early 2009 by Max Anderson, Peter Escher, and a team of Harvard Business School students. They saw that in the wake of the financial crisis, the Madoff scandal, and other headlines, MBAs were being vilified. People were angry because business leaders, many of whom were MBAs, seemed not to care about anything beyond their own private interests. Many began to question the worth of business schools and the MBA degree.

The oath quickly spread beyond Harvard, becoming a worldwide movement for a new generation of leaders who care about society as well as the bottom line. Thousands of graduating MBAs have now pledged to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, just as medical students swear by the Hippocratic oath before they can practice.

This book is the manifesto for the movement. It provides not only a strong case for why the MBA Oath is necessary but also examples of how it can be applied in the real world. It will help guide businesspeople through some of the toughest decisions they'll make in their careers.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

The authors, not long out of Harvard Business School, along with many other classmates and supporters, are proponents of the hot new idea of an "MBA oath," similar in some ways to the Hippocratic Oath, as an inspiration and accountability tool for the jungle-like business climate. Shadows of Enron and assorted villain-companies, and the dire financial situation of the current recession drive the project, which they view even at this early state as a successful effort to clothe business managers with foundational ethics and morality. Now a global movement, the eight-point oath involves promises of responsibility, growth, development, honesty, and respect for the law. The authors dissect it thoroughly, with illustrations from a variety of interesting case studies and tests. As more than 10,000 schools worldwide offer MBA degrees, the writers caution that a business school ranking is influenced by the average compensation of a graduate during his first year after school and that compensation, rather than value, has become the keystone of an education. They also note that a sixty-four-page ethics manual proved powerless in the hands of Enron management. Suggesting that managers operate at a baseline level of doing no harm, The MBA Oath is a strong call for ethical reform.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781591843351
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Publication date: 4/29/2010
Pages: 288
Sales rank: 424,137
Product dimensions: 6.04 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 0.96 (d)

Meet the Author

Max Anderson and Peter Escher, two recent graduates of Harvard Business School, worked with a team of MBA students to found the MBA Oath in May 2009 and garnered worldwide attention for their mission to establish an official code of business ethics. Anderson currently serves as chairman of the MBA Oath organization and lives in New York City with his wife and daughter. Escher is a board member and serves as its founding executive director.

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review

( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

den2pdx

Posted May 8, 2012

Raises the bar for management

The aim of these authors is to help make a profession of business management by creating an oath of ethical conduct for MBAs. They did a fine job. At times it is hard to tell if they want to reform management or refine it, but it is clear that they believe an MBA should be a hallmark of professionalism, not a license to chase the almighty dollar.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble