In the past two years of global economic turmoil, it has become fashionable to "blame" market woes on MBA graduates. While certainly some of the people at the root of banking, real estate, and other financial scandals hold MBAs, many other MBA alumni have been working diligently to stabilize the markets, build sustainable businesses, and strike a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment.
Ross Geraghty, managing editor of topmba.com, recently commented on the "corporate witch-hunt" that blames MBAs for all of our modern economy's ills. He particularly takes issue with an article by Lucy Kellaway in The Economist last fall, criticizing the ineffectiveness of most MBA graduates. Geraghty counters her arguments by providing several examples of how MBA programs benefit companies and students.
The concepts of social responsibility and the "triple-bottom-line" (people, planet, and profit) have become common in MBA programs in recent years. While there will undoubtedly always be MBAs whose mantra is "Greed is good," Geraghty points out that there is much more to the MBA than pursuit of profit.
