Zero tolerance on corruption and the Harvard Biz School MBA Oath

Continuing the discussion of Patrick Sullivans Ethics Class(which btw I noticed we all as a class thoroughly enjoyed albeit being a saturday) ;-

There are few issues which makes my Blood Boil -
1) missing my BP Tablets in the morning
2) Losing a cricket test match to Australia
3) Any one who rationalizes any form of corruption as a cost of doing business. (Esp in India! or other Developing countries)
Although in terms of adrenaline effect I would name (3) as the top most!

Corruption was written off as a cost of doing business in developing countries. But it is a fact that has emerged thanks to the recent crisis(a crisis can have positive impacts too) today corruption is rightly deplored as a political, economic and moral cancer that robs entire nations of a more prosperous future.It really should be so basic that one need not state it: Public corruption is not justifiable, under any circumstances (and in the case of India this is the 'only' reason for economic backwardness, actors who want 'status quo' to prevail on corruption)


Indian MNC's as Change Agents

A few Indian companies such as the Tata group or Wipro, have taken the
high road, but most firms find it impossible to get anything done without greasing palms. Wipro,headed by Azim Premji, is India's third-biggest global tech services provider (behind Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys). In Bangalore Tiger: How Indian Tech Upstart Wipro Is Rewriting the Rules of Global Competition, business journalist Steve Hamm writes that "Wipro is not just a company, it's a quest." That quest, according to some observers, is as much about moral rectitude as it is about business success. For example, according to Hamm, the company pays no bribes and has a zero tolerance policy for corruption.

Add to the above economic effect the real serious problem,is the the prevalence of corruption in the economy ends up distorting 'cultural' norms within the society.The extent that change in cultural norms will be needed to root out corruption, it will take a persistent, long, drawn-out effort. While economic change or even Stable growth is easier to achieve, cultural change is much slower and more difficult. This is compounded by the rearguard actions of those who are beneficiaries of the status quo and would prefer a laisez faire approach.

In India we had a case where a fresh MBA student,Manjunath who was working for Indias largest Oil company, was Gunned down, there was this case of an MBA Professional who was killed for the principles&values that he stood for. , as long as there a section of 'civil' society which continues to think that corruption is indeed a 'cost of doing business' the externalities of such consequences would always make Manjunaths sacrifice go in vain.


I think this is where we as MBA students can really play a very important role, and I cant be without mentioning what the students of the 2009 MBA batch at the Harvard Business School initiated.The MBA 2009 HBS created the mbaoath.org.
The MBA oath is a voluntary pledge for graduating MBAs and current MBAs to “create value responsibly and ethically”.At last count There were about close to 1700 MBA graduates who have signed up for this.(They also maintain a page on Facebook for this).Rightfully so this was named in the Top Good 100 most important exciting and innovative people ideas that would contribute to a better world. News week featured this as are Business Schools to be blamed for the current financial crisis ?


Tschus
Venkat