The Honor Code
Setting a High Standard
Kessler, Tim
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: GSB News
There is a lot of talk these days about what kind of standards business leaders should be held to, and what role business schools should play in "teaching" these standards. There is a general agreement that the bank CEO should be held to a higher standard than the bank teller, but, as Dean Snyder explains, a major challenge of business schools is finding a way to incorporate this belief into repeatable actions in our day to day lives. The Honor Code could solve this problem, but we are wasting our chance to capitalize on this powerful resource.
The Honor Code is so rusted from lack of use it no longer performs its elemental function. Designed to make members of an institution accountable to no one but each other, it should prompt us to adhere to the higher standard that is found lacking every time another fraud is uncovered or another company destroys its shareholder's money. The rub is, in order to make it effective we need to believe in it and follow it in our daily routines, which we simply are not doing now. Understanding and abiding by the Honor Code is the first step we can take towards becoming the responsible business leaders of the future that this school hopes to produce.
An honor code doesn't fix the economy or prevent corporate fraud, but it is what we can do now, and it is how we can incorporate the same integrity that will be needed to maintain the trust of our shareholders and customers in the future into our lives today. For instance, current discussions of how to reform banking regulations often collapse with a lament that there will always be an incentive for companies to outwit those to whom they are made accountable. But with an honor code we are accountable to each other, and we do not feel a need to find new ways to deceive our classmates. This is a higher standard that could, and should, be a valuable operating model for the business world. This should be one of the lessons from business school that we reflect on throughout our careers. Before we can have something to reflect on though, we need to strengthen the Honor Code so that it can do what it is meant to do.
The Honor Code is so rusted from lack of use it no longer performs its elemental function. Designed to make members of an institution accountable to no one but each other, it should prompt us to adhere to the higher standard that is found lacking every time another fraud is uncovered or another company destroys its shareholder's money. The rub is, in order to make it effective we need to believe in it and follow it in our daily routines, which we simply are not doing now. Understanding and abiding by the Honor Code is the first step we can take towards becoming the responsible business leaders of the future that this school hopes to produce.
An honor code doesn't fix the economy or prevent corporate fraud, but it is what we can do now, and it is how we can incorporate the same integrity that will be needed to maintain the trust of our shareholders and customers in the future into our lives today. For instance, current discussions of how to reform banking regulations often collapse with a lament that there will always be an incentive for companies to outwit those to whom they are made accountable. But with an honor code we are accountable to each other, and we do not feel a need to find new ways to deceive our classmates. This is a higher standard that could, and should, be a valuable operating model for the business world. This should be one of the lessons from business school that we reflect on throughout our careers. Before we can have something to reflect on though, we need to strengthen the Honor Code so that it can do what it is meant to do.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
russian girlfriend
posted 3/21/10 @ 8:45 AM CST
Indeed an informative article.
seo paslaugos
posted 4/11/10 @ 12:31 PM CST
I consider, that you commit an error. Let's discuss.
Post a Comment