a voluntary commitment by essec graduates the oath project
TRANSCRIPT
A voluntary commitment by ESSEC graduates
The oath project
Professions like law and medicine require: formal educationslicensing exams and other requirementsenforceable codes of conduct
Is Business a Profession?
How can we turn business into a true profession?
History of the business oath1900: MBA programs around the world are created to professionalize the practice of business
2002: INSEAD and a few other schools adopt an oath
– but only for a few years
2004: Thunderbird adopts their own oath
2008: Harvard adopts their oath
2008: Harvard Business School article spurs interest in the Oath during the Financial Crisis
2009: The MBA Oath and The Oath Project launch to develop an international standard
Service to Society
We believe that in order to broadly acknowledge business leaders, and MBA grads, as professionals, one day, all business leaders will hold themselves to the higher standard of integrity and service to society which is the hallmark of a true professional.
The idea of creating an oath for business managers is an old one, and has been discussed for many years.
In fact, MBA programs were first created in the United States, in part, from a desire to “professionalize” the practice of management.
The key figures
There are currently 3718 official signers of the oath.876 from Harvard Business School86 from Kellogg School of Management11 from Berkeley136 from INCAE58 from NYU20 from London Business School15 from Thunderbird10 from Instituto de Empresa17 from IESE27 from ESSEC!
Does signing an oath make people more ethical – or transform the world – right away? Of course not. But it’s the start of an important world-wide conversation about the purpose of business, and whether we should aim to serve the public good.
Animate the debate
Animate the debateCons
Not enough impactDoes not change
anythingDilutes business
practicesBusiness of
business is business
ProsRecognize
responsibility to society
Business as a profession
Bring values to workStart a discussion on
ethicsDecrease unethical
business practices
Press Reviews
INSEAD Dean Suggests The Time Is NowPublished: September 17, 2009 In a provocative essay on Businessweek.com, INSEAD Dean J. Frank
Brown suggests that business schools need to seize on the current environment as an opportunity.
If business schools don’t focus more on ethics now, today’s concern about business ethics will fade away, and no progress will be made after all the world has been through in the past couple of years.
We only need to look back at news articles from 2002 to find talk of a pre-Enron and post-Enron environment and its effect on business education. Many point out that not enough was done at that time and that following a path of inaction now will lead to yet another sense of deja vú a few years down the road.
Press Reviews
INSEAD Professors debate Oath Published: November 30, 2009 Two INSEAD professors, Theo Vermaelen and N. Craig Smith, provide a set
of well-thought-out perspectives on the MBA Oath. Vermaelen makes the provocative argument that the Oath actually invites
violation of fiduciary duties and ethical standards. Meanwhile, Smith states that the Oath may be one of a number of
appropriate responses by business schools to business misconduct. Both provide different viewpoints on that core MBA Oath dilemma – can the
Oath encourage improved behavior? View the articles:
http://knowledge.insead.edu/contents/csr-mba-hbs-oath-091125.cfm?vid=342 http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/centres/isic/TheGreatDebate.cfm
Press Reviews
Les MBA se cherchent une morale Libération. Économie 25/01/2010 Les masters de management des affaires européens intègrent des cours
d’éthique dans leur cursus.
«Il faut rester modeste sur la portée des cours d’éthique, renchérit Craig Smith. On cherche à sensibiliser les gens mais il y aura toujours des banquiers opportunistes.» Le professeur de l’Insead plaide alors en faveur d’un serment, que feraient les élèves pour une conduite éthique, afin de redonner leurs lettres de noblesse à des business schools montrées du doigt depuis la crise.
http://www.liberation.fr/economie/0101615455-les-mba-se-cherchent-une-morale
How would it work at ESSEC?
Students can first sign online on the official MBA oath websiteWe have a designated website for ESSEC so that we can track which student signedThen at graduation one student would read the oath out loud and those who wish
to can repeat what is said.All the oath takers should stand up in the audienceThe students identified as having previously signed online could get a mention on
their diploma or an additional certificate along with a nicely formatted version of the oath
For the launch in October 2010 we are planning on having a debate with a high profile guest speaker like Michel Camdessus – former Managing Director of the IMF
A lifelong project For the oath not to stay a simple one time commitment but rather become
meaningful to the oath taker’s future career, we encourage practices that will allow them to truly live the oath, like personal reflection on commitment and designating a lifeline.
• We would like to integrate these questions into conferences and encourage professors to integrate ethics into their class discussion.
• We also plan on having students write a personal statement about what the oath means to them, which could be handed to them in a nicely presentable format at graduation.
• Each student could designate a witness, a fellow student for example with whom they can continue to exchange during their careers
• We also suggest a yearly conference and events around the oath taker community• In the long run we could create a club of the ESSEC oath takers with special events
in partnership with the IIES, ESSEC alumni and other associations at ESSEC
Why sign?
We have lived through the failure that came from the old way of doing business. We want to invite you to join this early vanguard of new leaders who are committing to a higher standard.
There may be no more relevant question in the world today than “What is the responsibility of business to society.” Think about the questions about BP in the Gulf, Google in China, Goldman as a market maker. These all revolve around the issue of what duties business and business leaders ought to bear. In the MBA Oath we make a stand about these questions and we invite you to take a stand too.
Sign here : http://mbaoath.org/take-the-oath/mba-graduates-and-alumni/sign-the-oath/
The Association Net ImpactNet Impact is a worldwide network of students and young
professionals present in more than 200 MBA programs, with its headquarters in San Francisco
Our mission : using business for the social good
Our actions : conferences, information, networking, career building, initiatives targeting businesses and the social economy
We also organize this project at ESSEC - Come join us!