Spring Break
Do Community Values Really Impact How Students Live their Lives?
Jarasa Kanok (OA), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: News
Is HBS's approach to Community Values an effective way of encouraging students to behave ethically or is Community Values just a waste of time?
I spoke with a number of people on campus who interact with students in a variety of settings to determine if students tend to behave in accordance with HBS Community Values. While the consensus was that HBS students are largely good, instances of inappropriate behavior speak to an undercurrent of elitism and condescension when students interact with people outside the bounds of the MBA program.
In thinking about how I might contribute to this issue of the Harbus, with its focus on HBS Community Values, I have struggled with a fairly fundamental question. Is HBS's approach to Community Values an effective way of encouraging students to behave ethically, or is Community Values just a waste of time?
For starters, let me remind you what the HBS Community Values are. To be completely honest, even though I signed a form saying I would live by these values during pre-matriculation, even though these values are posted in every classroom on campus, and even though I have referred to these values multiple times in my role as an L&V rep, I have to look these up every time because I can never remember all of them:
-Respect for the rights, differences, and dignity of others.
-Honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community.
-Accountability for personal behavior.
With no disrespect intended to my fellow L&V reps, I question whether any of us could recite these three values if called to do so (though I am quite confident all of us could provide a rough approximation). Certainly, if an L&V rep (whose role is largely about promoting these values) struggles to articulate these values, what does that imply about how much these values really matter to students in their daily lives on campus?
In an attempt to gain more perspective on this issue, I spoke with a number of people on campus who interact with students in a variety of settings. Do students tend to behave in accordance with, or in violation of, these Community Values?
I spoke with a number of people on campus who interact with students in a variety of settings to determine if students tend to behave in accordance with HBS Community Values. While the consensus was that HBS students are largely good, instances of inappropriate behavior speak to an undercurrent of elitism and condescension when students interact with people outside the bounds of the MBA program.
In thinking about how I might contribute to this issue of the Harbus, with its focus on HBS Community Values, I have struggled with a fairly fundamental question. Is HBS's approach to Community Values an effective way of encouraging students to behave ethically, or is Community Values just a waste of time?
For starters, let me remind you what the HBS Community Values are. To be completely honest, even though I signed a form saying I would live by these values during pre-matriculation, even though these values are posted in every classroom on campus, and even though I have referred to these values multiple times in my role as an L&V rep, I have to look these up every time because I can never remember all of them:
-Respect for the rights, differences, and dignity of others.
-Honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community.
-Accountability for personal behavior.
With no disrespect intended to my fellow L&V reps, I question whether any of us could recite these three values if called to do so (though I am quite confident all of us could provide a rough approximation). Certainly, if an L&V rep (whose role is largely about promoting these values) struggles to articulate these values, what does that imply about how much these values really matter to students in their daily lives on campus?
In an attempt to gain more perspective on this issue, I spoke with a number of people on campus who interact with students in a variety of settings. Do students tend to behave in accordance with, or in violation of, these Community Values?
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