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Now, we wondered, in the middle of an uncertain economic recovery, how much were moral hazards still on students' minds?
Not surprisingly, we got a range of distinctive answers, first in class and then more deeply in follow-up phone conversations. If there was any common theme expressed by the four second-year GSB students we spoke to most extensively, it was that the failings of big business frequently had been sensationalized by the media and politicians. "Huge mistakes were made," acknowledged Natalie Diekmann. But her greater emphasis was that "saying the whole business world is unethical doesn't make any sense to me."
Kris Sandor, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former submarine officer, approached the topic largely as a problem of a lax and permissive business culture, in contrast to individually instigated mischief. "I don't think there's a pervasive ethical bankruptcy," he said. "The system allows for people to act very capitalistically and opportunistically—and unchecked. Then their activities snowball. That just leads to people who are making money at somebody else's expense or invoking too much risk. But if you pull somebody particular aside, they're not going to strike you as the evil empire."
Sandor's most optimistic view, echoing a number of classmates, is that future executives, such as those who come from GSB classes, will operate more conscientiously by second nature. "I would hope our generation is sensitized to things like highly leveraged or sketchy derivatives," he said. "We should know better as we get into those positions."
Students had spoken succinctly during the conversation in class, with a few of them repeating two basic notions: that it's a wild exaggeration to cast business people as generally villainous, and that a corrective tide is coming in the startups and management initiatives their generation will lead. A week later, Boidock was almost fiery.
"Seeing some of the business environment now, with the BP situation in the Gulf, or going back to examples like Enron, it reminds me that with great power comes great responsibility. It may not always be that way, but I think it should be. In fact, just say it that straightforwardly: That's the way it should be."
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2010/novdec/farm/news/ethics.html
Not surprisingly, we got a range of distinctive answers, first in class and then more deeply in follow-up phone conversations. If there was any common theme expressed by the four second-year GSB students we spoke to most extensively, it was that the failings of big business frequently had been sensationalized by the media and politicians. "Huge mistakes were made," acknowledged Natalie Diekmann. But her greater emphasis was that "saying the whole business world is unethical doesn't make any sense to me."
Kris Sandor, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former submarine officer, approached the topic largely as a problem of a lax and permissive business culture, in contrast to individually instigated mischief. "I don't think there's a pervasive ethical bankruptcy," he said. "The system allows for people to act very capitalistically and opportunistically—and unchecked. Then their activities snowball. That just leads to people who are making money at somebody else's expense or invoking too much risk. But if you pull somebody particular aside, they're not going to strike you as the evil empire."
Sandor's most optimistic view, echoing a number of classmates, is that future executives, such as those who come from GSB classes, will operate more conscientiously by second nature. "I would hope our generation is sensitized to things like highly leveraged or sketchy derivatives," he said. "We should know better as we get into those positions."
Students had spoken succinctly during the conversation in class, with a few of them repeating two basic notions: that it's a wild exaggeration to cast business people as generally villainous, and that a corrective tide is coming in the startups and management initiatives their generation will lead. A week later, Boidock was almost fiery.
"Seeing some of the business environment now, with the BP situation in the Gulf, or going back to examples like Enron, it reminds me that with great power comes great responsibility. It may not always be that way, but I think it should be. In fact, just say it that straightforwardly: That's the way it should be."
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2010/novdec/farm/news/ethics.html
