Do MBAs prioritize profit over good?

Business schools promise to develop future leaders, but do they teach students to serve society or simply maximize profits? 

Professor Chris Marquis, who has taught for 20 years at Harvard, Cornell, and Cambridge, argues that business schools prioritize dealmaking, competition, and profit over social responsibility.

The issue is significant because nearly one in five American undergraduates majors in business, while the MBA remains the most popular graduate degree in the United States.

When ambition takes a back seat
Many students enter MBA programs hoping to solve pressing problems, from climate change to health care. However, Professor Marquis says some quickly shift their attention to high-paying careers in finance and consulting, often competing for jobs at firms such as McKinsey and Goldman Sachs.

The professor says that widely used case-study methods at colleges ask students to adopt the perspective of senior decision-makers, often overlooking workers, communities, and broader social consequences.

He also raises concerns about corporate influence on teaching materials. Companies can review case studies before publication, potentially softening criticism and protecting executives’ reputations.

Even Enron’s business model received positive attention in Harvard Business School case studies before the company’s fraud and collapse came to light.

Research by Nobel laureate economist Daron Acemoglu and colleagues found that firms appointing managers with business degrees in the US and Denmark reduced workers’ wages and labor’s share of income without achieving faster productivity or business growth.

A call to rethink business education
Marquis argues that ethics electives cannot fix a system designed to prioritize private gain. Instead, universities should develop interdisciplinary programs that examine cooperatives, unions, sustainability and public policy alongside traditional corporations.

The goal is not to abandon students but to build an education system that helps future leaders address inequality, environmental challenges, and other social problems.