In its recent article “Are B-Schools to Blame?” Forbes explores the notion that business schools are partially responsible for the global financial crisis brought on by the actions of their alumni on Wall Street. Without coming to a definitive conclusion, the article recounts the possible shortcomings of business school curricula, including the tendency to focus on shareholder return rather than on product quality, employees and customers.
The “Forbes Investigator Team” also expresses skepticism that business schools are to blame for decisions made by irresponsible bankers, citing Tuck professor Anant Sundaram, who argues that alumni adapted to the norms and values of Wall Street, actually ignoring the basic finance lessons they were taught in business school. No matter who is to blame for the global financial crisis, business schools will likely adapt their curricula to address some of the concerns expressed in the Forbes article, particularly with respect to ethics, risk taking and long-term corporate performance.