MBA breeding ground for future white collar criminals

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May 1 (Bloomberg) -- The cheating episode at Duke University may cause academics to conclude the post-Enron emphasis on teaching ethics in graduate business schools is a failure.

Thirty-four first-year master's of business administration students at Duke's Fuqua School of Business were disciplined in the program's largest cheating scandal. Nine students face expulsion for collaborating on a take-home test, violating the professor's rules.

Business students are more likely to cut corners than those in any other academic discipline, several studies show. A Rutgers University survey last year found that cheating at business schools is common, even after ethics courses were added following scandals that bankrupted Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc.

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I can't speak for an MBA , but undergrad in business has to be the biggest joke in the world. All year, the only people I see at the library studying are health sciences majors and engineering majors (my major). Finals week rolls around and you start to see the business majors show up... and most of them browse facebook and just talk for a couple hours and leave (The stuff they do have to study is easy as hell anyway). I've sat in on a couple classes before and as you look around, theres a bunch of kids always screwing around playing flash games... For many kids, it just seems like the major to pick when they dont know what to major in (and therefore aren't very motivated)... my peeved 2 cents
 
Absolutely true what you just said. I was a Science major and had to study all year.
The business majors dish out copies of last year exams which in most cases are 100% the same as the current year , so much so that they have to 'miss' 2 or 3 questions to make it seem normal .
the biggest joke i would say is Management.
 
Quote from tommymoose:

I can't speak for an MBA , but undergrad in business has to be the biggest joke in the world. All year, the only people I see at the library studying are health sciences majors and engineering majors (my major). Finals week rolls around and you start to see the business majors show up... and most of them browse facebook and just talk for a couple hours and leave (The stuff they do have to study is easy as hell anyway). I've sat in on a couple classes before and as you look around, theres a bunch of kids always screwing around playing flash games... For many kids, it just seems like the major to pick when they dont know what to major in (and therefore aren't very motivated)... my peeved 2 cents
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I have to admit that I take exception to your comment that business undergrad is a joke. I'm curious - what types of business classes did you specifically sit in on?

I have taken a variety of optional classes as part of my business degree, and some areas of study are highly focused on memorization at the earlier (100 & 200) levels, such as Psychology. Time spent studying for those types of classes was very different than my business-related classes, i.e. reading large volumes of material vs. working through large numbers of assignments and group projects. I personally spent far more time on my computer at home than I ever did in a library. I have also seen many bored/distracted students in all sorts of classes, unfortunately many professors don't add much value to lectures.

The exact level of difficulty would likely vary a fair bit depending on specialization, but accounting and finance majors are not exactly a cakewalk. My perception is that engineering is very math-focused, yet I still think that you would have found some of my finance classes to be very challenging. If you doubt this, go do a business major and take classes focusing on bonds, derivatives and the more advanced forms of project finance (binomial trees, etc.).
 
Quote from Marin88:

Absolutely true what you just said. I was a Science major and had to study all year.
The business majors dish out copies of last year exams which in most cases are 100% the same as the current year , so much so that they have to 'miss' 2 or 3 questions to make it seem normal .
the biggest joke i would say is Management.
More...

It's a pity that the professors at my university didn't believe in doing what you describe, it would have made my degree much simpler. Yes, I am being sarcastic.
 
Quote from Chagi:

I have to admit that I take exception to your comment that business undergrad is a joke. I'm curious - what types of business classes did you specifically sit in on?

I have taken a variety of optional classes as part of my business degree, and some areas of study are highly focused on memorization at the earlier (100 & 200) levels, such as Psychology. Time spent studying for those types of classes was very different than my business-related classes, i.e. reading large volumes of material vs. working through large numbers of assignments and group projects. I personally spent far more time on my computer at home than I ever did in a library. I have also seen many bored/distracted students in all sorts of classes, unfortunately many professors don't add much value to lectures.

The exact level of difficulty would likely vary a fair bit depending on specialization, but accounting and finance majors are not exactly a cakewalk. My perception is that engineering is very math-focused, yet I still think that you would have found some of my finance classes to be very challenging. If you doubt this, go do a business major and take classes focusing on bonds, derivatives and the more advanced forms of project finance (binomial trees, etc.).
More...

I'm glad you responded to defend your major. I didn't mean to offend those business majors out there that take their classes seriously and put effort into them. I guess its easier to notice the ones who are slacking in the library and chatting and miss the ones in their rooms studying. I forget what one of the classes was, but one I remember sitting in on was a management class and it was basically common sense put into powerpoint slides... my freind showed up to class half the time and still got a B-. You pointed out two of the sections of business that I definately do think are legitimate (finance and accounting especially). I think these majors accomplish something... you can develop specialized skills with them unlike many majors out there.

I think what it comes down to is this - you get out of school what you put into it. With an engineering degree, I HAVE to put in alot of effort if I even just want to pass a class. With business it seems much easier to slip through the cracks if you just want to pass.... but if you want to do very well the effort IS required. I hope you understand what I'm saying.
 
yeah business is pretty easy compared to engineering or science for most people. But still it requires a lot of teamwork and projects. Plus the pay out of school is pretty good for the amount of work you have to do.
 
Quote from tommymoose:

I can't speak for an MBA , but undergrad in business has to be the biggest joke in the world. All year, the only people I see at the library studying are health sciences majors and engineering majors (my major). Finals week rolls around and you start to see the business majors show up... and most of them browse facebook and just talk for a couple hours and leave (The stuff they do have to study is easy as hell anyway). I've sat in on a couple classes before and as you look around, theres a bunch of kids always screwing around playing flash games... For many kids, it just seems like the major to pick when they dont know what to major in (and therefore aren't very motivated)... my peeved 2 cents
More...

I also did business degree.. :D
 
business ethics=oxymoron
mba, useless degree.
many successful traders dont have it.
cfa certificate is a better credentials to get.
 
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