MBA graduates will vow to be more ethical

When a new crop of future business leaders graduates from the Harvard Business School this week, many will take a new oath that says, in effect, greed is not good.

Nearly 20 percent of the graduating class has signed "The MBA Oath," a voluntary student-led pledge that the goal of a business manager is to "serve the greater good." It promises that the Harvard MBA graduates will act responsibly, ethically and refrain from advancing their "own narrow ambitions" at the expense of others.

"We want to stand up and recite something out loud with our class," said Teal Carlock, who has accepted a job at Genentech. "Fingers are now pointed at MBAs and we, as a class, have a real opportunity to come together and set a standard as business leaders."

In the post-Enron and post-Madoff era, ethics and corporate social responsibility have taken on greater urgency.

"I don't see this as something that will fade away," said Diana Robertson, a professor of business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.