Episode summary
Business schools are failing their students, says Cambridge professor Christopher Marquis
Summary
Christopher Marquis argues that business schools are not delivering on the promise they sell to applicants. He says students arrive wanting to make a difference, but the curriculum and recruiting process push them toward shareholder primacy and a narrow set of careers in consulting, finance, and big tech. In his view, repeated reform efforts after Enron, the financial crisis, and the rise of stakeholder capitalism have not changed the basic outcome.
Key takeaways
- Christopher Marquis says business schools are failing students by steering them toward shareholder primacy rather than broader social impact.
- He argues that many graduates end up in consulting, finance, or big tech, which he sees as a standardized outcome from large business schools.
- Marquis says the curriculum should be redesigned around climate, inequality, sustainability, and other societal challenges.
- He says schools should change incentive, reporting, accounting, and strategy systems to reward value creation for communities as well as shareholders.
- Marquis points to Natura as a model of a company that tries to deliver value to communities while operating as a business.
Notable quotes
“I FEEL THAT BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE FAILING THEIR STUDENTS”
“THEY GET SLOTTED INTO A VERY NARROW SET OF CLASSES FOCUSED ON SHAREHOLDER PRIMACY, BASICALLY”
“I THINK BUSINESS SCHOOLS HAVE TRIED MANY TIMES TO CHANGE AFTER ENRON, AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, THE RECENT FOCUS ON STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM, ALL OF THOSE HAVE FAILED”
“HOW CAN COMPANIES ACTUALLY DESIGN THEIR INCENTIVE SYSTEMS, REPORTING SYSTEMS, ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS, STRATEGIES AROUND DELIVERING VALUE TO ADDRESS OUR SOCIETAL CONCERNS”
How the episode opens
2018? The answer is red tesla roadster, which is still orbiting the sun.
Welcome back to squawk box. This is a provocative conversation we're about to have. Fall is application season.
Students are vying for spots in university programs across the country. Our next guest is generating a lot of buzz with an essay he published in the New York Times last weekend, arguing that business schools should be shut down and redesigned to focus on societal impact. Joining us right now is cambridge business school professor Christopher Marquis.
Good morning to you. Good morning. So you put this essay out, I assume all of your business school professors that you've you've been teaching at all these different business schools.
They must hate you.
Well. — I. — Don't think they hate. — Me, actually. I think that actually. — A lot of them have. — Come out and said, what you're saying is right. I appreciate the courage that you had to say it. And there certainly are some critiques. But but the majority.
Those who haven't read this essay. Why don't you why don't you give us the the 32nd version for the audience?
Sure. I've been teaching at business schools for 20 years. I feel that business schools are failing their students.
They pitch themselves as saying, we're going to make a difference. You can make a difference in the world. Come to the business school.
And it turns out they get slotted into a very narrow set of classes focused on shareholder primacy, basically. And there's research that shows that people that come out of business schools, that they deliver value to shareholders, not to workers or not to communities. And I think business schools have tried many times to change after enron, after the financial crisis, the recent focus on stakeholder capitalism, all of those have failed.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- business education reform
- business schools criticism
- societal impact
- shutting down business schools
- media essay
Companies and tickers mentioned
- NYT
- New York Times
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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