As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others.
Therefore I promise:
- I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
- I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.
- I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
- I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
- I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
- I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
- I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
- I will be accountable to my peers, and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
The development of this oath was done by MBA students at Harvard, led by Max Anderson, who just completed his MBA at Harvard and took a job at Bridgewater Associates, a money management firm. It was signed by 20 percent of the MBA class, and was also picked up by MBA grads at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and other universities.
I see where the oath pledges to take resources (human and otherwise) out of the global/societal system but I do not see where it is mandated to give matching resources back to the same system. Without that component to the oath, societies will be damaged while “ethics” can be claimed. This oath, on its surface, would seem to be a good thing but it needs more work.