And in Other News, Apples Fall Close to Tree

The Star reports today that, according to a recent study, "MBA students in Canada and the United States are more likely to cheat than students in other disciplines because they believe it is how the business world operates — and because they believe their peers cheat". And thus we find the core ethos that comprises the future of business leadership in North America, and, I would suspect, elsewhere as well. The study was based on a voluntary survey of 5,000 students from a total of 32 graduate schools in both Canada and the U.S. Of course, those who cheat on assignments would never answer such a survey falsely, would they?

The BAH indoctrination is clearly at work here: At University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, where they see students as being "highly competitive with a high need for achievement", they have found an (administrative) solution: "students at Rotman must sign a form every time they submit course work for grading to ensure they comply with academic honesty policies. When MBA students work in teams, they also must sign forms stating that they didn't cheat, nor did their teammates." Ah yes, the magic talisman of the BAH mentality - the signed form. Can there be any clearer indication that a completely new way of thinking about business, management and management education is sorely needed?
[Technorati tags: mba | cheat | bah | valence theory]