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Can we reform business by reforming the M.B.A.? Some business theorists have plans for teaching ethics. And some brain science says we can build ethical training on an evolutionary foundation, our brains' bias against harming others and for fairness. Read More
a relative was in an MBA program in the late Eighties
He called me because he was troubled by what he was learning. He told me some of the problems considered in his ethics class - and the resolutions both the prof and many of the students came up with. "It seems to me," he said, "that what we are doing is figuring out how to screw everybody else out of their money and principles so they believe they liked getting screwed."
You are on the right track in many ways. Addiction to money and power are primary human addictions - unlike tweak, alcohol and heroin, they are legitimatised by our society. It's hard enough recovering with a non-sanctioned addiction. Imagine how hard it is to get clean from a societally-valued one? Addiction is essentially a physical problem, a brain problem...
Please forgive me for being
Please forgive me for being so slow in responding. PT didn't send me the usual e-mails telling me you had written.
Right on! It is a kind of addiction. And yes, like other addictions, it probably has something to do with the dopaminergic circuits that lead us to seek rewards.
To what extent do you think the constant drumbeat of advertising feeds this hunger.
--With warm regards,
Norm
Norm Holland
advertising
is primary visual. The visual system, when triggered, is a huge player in the production of surges of dopamine in the addict - what may be even more important is relatively new research that shows that simply thinking of the drug (say, money and/or power) is enough to trigger a surge.
I talked with my daughter recently about how individuals perceive money. She has a friend who just came out of an MBA program. She said that she believed that some people regard money essentially as a tool to make more money. I've been thinking about how I regard money. Since I work in a profession, writing, which is akin to being a real estate agent in California over the last two years, I regard money as the means to pay rent, buy food, make car payment, car insurance, electricity, water, gas for the car, internet connection, phone and not much more. Were it not for food stamps and a good low-income peoples' clinic, medical care would be impossible. And, as I considered my daughter's words, I realized that if I had more money than I needed to live on, I would be ashamed - and would give it away. That may sound pious and goody-two-shoes, but is would be more accurate to say that it comes out of drawing solace and satisfaction from my connections with the earth and my writing. I am a compulsive slot machine player now in recovery. When I gambled, it wasn't for the money, it was to be in what gambling addicts call the Zone. Even then, in the grip of an addiction which is a microcosm of stockmarket addiction, the money was only a tool to be in the Zone.
Thank you for your attention to this heart-breaking and dangerous addiction that is running the behavior of so many - gambling in any form for any fix.
MBA and addiction
Good comment, and thank you for your testimonial. Yes, I think treating money as only the reason to make more money is a kind of addiction. Those dopaminergic networks!
I read recently that "growth for the sake of growth is the definition of cancer." Maybe the same is true of money, a cancer on the heart.
--With warm regards,
Norm
Norman Holland
growth for growth's sake
translates to growth for profit's sake. The first time I heard that quote it was attributed to the Western writer and critic, Edward Abbey. I've been in a position to be in the company of some people who are multi-millionaires - and I've been thinking about humans adapting their ethics and morals to their "community." The people I've been observing move in circles in which an urban area is defined as a place to shop; the poor are distant figures who need help to raise themselves out of poverty; service workers are essentially animated components of support systems. It's chilling. You might like my PT blog. It is She Bets Her Life - focused on addiction, but in truth, I write about economics, spirituality and injustice.
Thank you for your lucid voice. ms
GMAC contest asks, "What one thing could change MBA education?"
Great article. And timely, too! GMAC (the org that owns the GMAT) just launched an "ideas to innovation" challenge ... an ideas contest. The question to answer is "What one thing could change MBA education?" Anyone can answer. A psychologist. An entrepreneur. An MBA alum, student, faculty member or dean. A taxi driver. The questions and perspectives your article brings up open the door for even greater creative thinking in answering this question.
1 idea. 3 paragraphs. 50,000 dollars is the tune we're singing about the contest. http://www.gmacmetfund.org for more info.
GMAC contest asks, "What one thing could change MBA education?"
Great article. And timely, too! GMAC (the org that owns the GMAT) just launched an "ideas to innovation" challenge ... an ideas contest. The question to answer is "What one thing could change MBA education?" Anyone can answer. A psychologist. An entrepreneur. An MBA alum, student, faculty member or dean. A taxi driver. The questions and perspectives your article brings up open the door for even greater creative thinking in answering this question.
1 idea. 3 paragraphs. 50,000 dollars is the tune we're singing about the contest. http://www.gmacmetfund.org for more info.
GMAC contest asks, "What one thing could change MBA education?"
Great article. And timely, too! GMAC (the org that owns the GMAT) just launched an "ideas to innovation" challenge ... an ideas contest. The question to answer is "What one thing could change MBA education?" Anyone can answer. A psychologist. An entrepreneur. An MBA alum, student, faculty member or dean. A taxi driver. The questions and perspectives your article brings up open the door for even greater creative thinking in answering this question.
1 idea. 3 paragraphs. 50,000 dollars is the tune we're singing about the contest. http://www.gmacmetfund.org for more info.
yikes! the comment form kept saying the message was rejected
sorry for the over-posting! he comment form kept saying the message was rejected.
No problem.
No problem.
Who's Brain Needs Changing?
Interesting set of ideas in this blog post. Gosh knows we need a more substantive discussion around the idea of MBA ethics than, for example, the creation of an honor code. To that end, I really don't think suggesting that it's those darn MBAs alone who need their brains rewired to achieve a newfound appreciation for the innate social code. What about consumers and employers and government officials and the many other dimensions of our society that profoundly impact the decisions people make (good or bad) in corporate roles? Do we really think that magically changing MBA programs to engender ethical learning will allow us to avoid messy, high-profile business disasters in the future. It might help, certainly, but I think there are a lot more brains out there that need a new set of values and perspectives.
Tim Westerbeck
Fixing the MBA Brain
Could education alone do it? Probably not. I do think most doctors and most lawyers, both of whose training stresses ethics, behave ethically. But by no means all. There are penalties (not strongly enforced) for those who make ethical lapses.
Maybe what's needed is some form of punishment for, for example,the BP executives who fudged safety requirements or the Massey Energy executives who did the same. But these people are protected by their being in a corporation.
How do you punish a corporation? How do you reach the people protected from liability by working for a corporation. That seemes to me damned important.
Please forgive me for being so slow in responding. PT didn't send me the usual e-mails telling me you had written.
--With warm regards,
Norm
Norm Holland
Fixing The MBA Brain
I mostly agree with the above - but I would add that most business people are ethical too. What's been under-appreciated - by regulators and society at large - is the damage they can do when they're not. I don't believe business people have necessarily become less ethical in the last thirty years, but I do believe that as the financial market regulations have weakened and the global economy has become more interconnected, business executives are able to do greater harm at greater speed - thus making strong ethics even more important.
I would also add that when business people do things that create harm, they are often at a greater remove from the situation than a doctor or lawyer who misbehaves. A banker who packages a bunch of mortgages into collateral for fancy securities that eventually cause faraway to lose money has a very different relationship with that end result than, say, a surgeon who carelessly botches a medical procedure.
I can't speak to the psychological/neurological ramifications of this, and certainly any kind of remove is no excuse for unethical behavior. But it is a distinction worth noting, and perhaps exploring, in any attempt to improve business education and leadership development.
Cheers,
Kelley Holland
PsyArt and the West Texas Wind
I just checked out the most recent PsyArt and read the article on the West Texas Wind. The pictures of the quilts were stunning - and not unique. Some Navajo weavers make Eyedazzler rugs. Google Images for Navajo Eyedazzler rugs. I think you'll be astonished. The Navajo also define some forms of wind as "evil." The woman who wrote the PsyArt article might like to know about all of this. You can email me at shebestherlife@gmail.com if you want more information. ms
Can the MBA Brain be changed?
They didn't teach us how to be a scumbag in MBA school. There were cases involving poor leaders and failed companies which served as examples of what to avoid. What's going on these days, however, is contrary to what I learned. The majority of people I come across in management went for the paper but failed to learn a thing. This is a much deeper problem that will be very difficult to correct.
Can the MBA Brain be changed?
I agree, Paul, that it's a deep problem and hard to correct. Perhaps it's something intrinsic to American culture. Making a buck seems to be our highest value, one that trumps all others. But I think we need to try.
--With warm regards,
Norm
Norman Holland
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