Mood:
brightTopic: "Something in Commons"(5)
The following is not a test, it merely addresses a point. Stanley O'Neal, John Thain, Chris Cox, Rick Wagoner, and George W. Bush all have "what" in common? O'Neal and Thain are the last two executive officers of Merrill-Lynch, Chris Cox was Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, Rick Wagoner the recently ousted CEO of GM, and, of course, the Incomparable Moron himself. Each of these men, famous and infamous in their own right, share a Masters in Business Administration awarded by Harvard University.
The University has recognized the fact that it bears some culpability in the lack of accomplishment achieved by many of its alumni. The University argues that many of its most non-descript attended classes more than 30 years ago, when risk management, macroeconomics, and leadership were not functional portions of the curriculum. In order to address the apparent problems, the University has initiated a case study approach in order to analyze the business school, not unlike the approach taken to analyze companies and industries by students in the business school itself. 217 Professors, the entire faculty, participate in the analysis.
As Secretary of the Treasury Geitner might say, "Let's step back for just a moment," and take a hard look at the situation.
Harvard recognizes that its' methodology is not working effectively, so what to do? They use the same methodology in order to analyze themselves, and to recommend solutions. At the College of the Shire, Gandalf, 30 years ago, told Frodo that such a course of action contributed significantly to the tragic decision of the United States to involve itself in the Republic of Vietnam. Perhaps, thinks Frodo, the problem at Harvard is not with the methodology, perhaps it is with the faculty. THe faculty does not understand the problem, and they do not appear to be competent in devising meaningful solutions.
One graduate, Class of 2006, recently wrote that Harvard business degrees are now "scarlet letters of shame," and he continued "Time after time and scandal after scandal, it seems that a school that just graduates 900 students a year finds itself in the thick of it." The deputy dean, JoAnne Yates, added that "We would like our students, when they graduate, to understand not just quantitative instruments but how they fit into the whole world around finance. We don't want them to think it is games with numbers. There's a certain self-consciousness now that we may be part of the problem. . .Maybe a piece of what's missing is not another course in ethics but the ability to think beyond the data and take action based on good instincts."
Well, duh!
Frodo would like, dear reader, to note that many of the business school students receive federal grants-in-aid, financed by taxpayer funds. Perhaps, not unlike Mr. Wagoner referenced above, it would behoove the President to exercise his authority on behalf of the investing taxpayers, and to request the resignation of all 217 faculty members. He could start in alphabetical order, or if he felt constrained by tenure agreements, simply fire the last hired, and to proceed thereupon.
The business school faculty at Harvard University has produced a generation of business and governmental leaders who were not adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, and now, dear reader, we have the proof. Frodo wonders how many years of confinement should be applied to someone for being a shitty teacher?
