Abstract
The appropriate MBA curriculum has been debated for nearly a half century. More recently, critics contend that the emphasis on functional fields in MBA education has incorrectly elevated the importance of shareholder value resulting in unethical behavior. Although some criticism of MBA programs has merit, shareholder wealth maximization should remain the dominant management objective because it is relatively easy to implement and generally consistent with the interests of stakeholders.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AIER. (2003). American Institute for Economic Research. Hayek, Dewey and Embodied Cognition. Summer Conference.
Byrne, J. (1991). The best b-schools: Big changes since 1988 have made a lot of graduates happier. Business Week, October 28. 102–107.
Chesley, G., & Anderson, B. (2003). Are university professors qualified to teach ethics. Journal of Academic Ethics, 1, 2.
Ewers, J. (2005). Is the MBA obsolete? U.S. News and World Report, April 11. 50–53.
Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A., & Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder theory and the corporate objective revisited. Organizational Science, 15(3), 364–369.
Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility is to increase it’s profits. New York Times Magazine, Sept. 13.
Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(1), 75–92.
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Gordon, R., & Howell, J. (1959). Higher education for business. New York: Columbia University Press.
Harrison, J., & Freeman, R. E. (1999). Stakeholders, social responsibility and performance: Empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives. The Academy of Management Journal, 42(5), 479–485.
Hayek, F. A. (1945). The use of knowledge in society. American Economic Review, XXXV(No.4), 519–530 September.
Hayek, F. (1979). Law, legislation and liberty, volume 3 p. 157. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Jampol, J. (1998). New visions for executive education. Time, March 30.
Lublin, J., & Rhoades, C. (2005). It better not be lonely at the top in the new world of today’s CEO. The Wall Street Journal, March 16. A10.
Mintzberg, H. (2004). Managers, not MBAs. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Pfeffer, J., & Fong, C.T. (2002). The end of business schools? Less success than meets the eye. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 1(1), 78–89.
Pierson, F. (1959). The education of American businessmen: a study of university-college programs in business administration. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Porter, L. W., & McKibbin, L. E. (1988). Management education and development: Drift or thrust into the 21st century. New York: McGraw-Hill. p.112.
Roll, R. (1984). Orange juice and weather. American Economic Review, 74(5), 861–880.
Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations (5th edn.) In: London: Methuen.
Social Investment Forum. (2002). Market slump providing unexpected boost to socially responsible mutual funds. Washington DC Social Investment Forum.
The Economist. (2005). Free degrees to fly: Already a big business, is higher education poised for a take-off? February 26, 67–70.
The Economist. (2007). The business of making money: Private equity’s strengths and it increasingly apparent weaknesses. Briefing Public Versus Private Equity, July 7–13, 68–70.
Vogel, D. (2005). The market for virtue: the potential and limits of corporate social responsibility. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Devaney, M. MBA Education, Business Ethics and the Case for Shareholder Value. J Acad Ethics 5, 199–205 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-007-9049-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-007-9049-1