Schools for scandal
Now we are getting a sense where America's corporate miscreants are coming from —elite business schools. On Monday, Duke University reported that 34 MBA students had been caught cheating on an exam.
By all indications, this is not limited to Duke, or even to business schools. Rutgers University professor Donald McCabe, who has studied cheating for 17 years, reports that 56% of business school graduates admit to collaborating on tests. Similar numbers cheat in other graduate programs, and higher numbers do so in college and high school, according to his surveys.
It's hard to say what's more amazing —that so many students cheat, or that they so freely admit it. "It shows how blas they are about it," McCabe says.
Students are coming of age in an era of many temptations and ethical shades of gray. They often express no qualms about downloading copyrighted music, or handing in term papers they've cut and pasted, or even ordered in full, from websites. Texting and other wireless technologies provide instant access to answers on tests. By the time students arrive at college or grad school, they have grown comfortable with the notion that what is possible is permissible.
But there is far more to this story than the temptations brought on by technology. It is hard to be too tough on students after looking at the sorry state of today's business ethics. Too many business leaders enrich themselves at excessive expense to shareholders simply because they can get away with it and it pleases them.
When managers backdate stock options grants to get more advantageous returns, they are essentially stealing. They are also sending a message to tomorrow's leaders that they should hone their cheating skills now if they want to cash in later.
When the senior managers at an airline that has gone through Chapter 11, United, use the bankruptcy restructuring process to grab 8% of the company's shares for themselves, they are sending a similar message. Put simply, it is this: Never underestimate the possibilities for those with ample creativity, few morals and a highly developed sense of personal entitlement.
The fact that so many of today's students see nothing wrong with cheating on tests does not bode well for tomorrow. Unless, of course, you happen to be one of them.
