In and outside the classroom, students and professors are debating the causes of, and cures for, the economic crisis. Wanted: ethics and jobs
By Francesca Di Meglio
Until recently, the world's business schools have been largely sheltered from the gale force winds that have buffeted the global economy, but that's starting to change.
A vibrant crisis blog at MIT
Although the official history of this crisis will be written by economists many years from now, what's happening on business school campuses today - in classrooms, faculty offices, and hurried campus walks - amounts to a rough first draft. For many business school professors the quest for causes is by far the most appealing aspect of the crisis. " The most interesting conversation is trying to sort out the reasons, the why of it, " says Susan Chaplinsky, professor of Business Administration at University of Virginia Darden School of Business. " What safeguard wasn't tripped and why was there this 'group' thinking? "
Causes of the crisis were a topic students grappled with in a course offered last fall by Simon Johnson, professor of entrepreneurship and global economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's Sloan School of Management. About 180 students weighed in on the crisis by posting on Johnson's blog at various points in the semester, and the discussion has continued there.
Some from outside the course have joined the discussion. A roaring debate last fall as to whether automakers should be bailed out helped convince Johnson that a loan was a good idea, he says. His site gets about 20,000 to 25,000 page views per day. One of its most popular pages is the section Financial Crisis for Beginners , which explains mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, and other technical terms in the news. Johnson says students?and others?appreciate the ongoing nature of this inquiry. The class really never stops because people can always log on and find answers to questions or state opinions as the news unfolds. " I have a big responsibility to help with the discussion and thinking, not just to prevent the next crisis but to help us get out of this one, " says Johnson.
Spotlight on CEOs
For many professors and students taking part in business school debates, the causes of the crisis are both institutional and personal: absurd risk taking, irrational decision making, and CEO pay packages that encourage both. Lack of personal responsibility and ethical lapses on the part of top executives are two others that come up frequently.
In fact, if there is one positive to come out of this turmoil, it would be a healthy skepticism on the part of business students - MBAs and undergrads alike - concerning the motives and actions of CEOs, the people they aspire to be.
