Business Ethics, the famous Oxymoron

Three questions you learn to know and love in the BYU social scene:

1. What's your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What's your major?

I can answer the first one without breaking a sweat. The second question almost takes too much effort to explain. I usually answer with something like "I am from the Ogden area." Sometimes I can get away with that answer. Other times the interrogator insists I give a more specific location. I have several answers but my most common is "I'm from this place called Taylor. No, you haven't heard of it. It's Taylor, not taylorsville. I know you don't know where Taylor is because I grew up in Roy which is about 5 minutes away and I never knew it existed until I moved there. Even though I am from Taylor and I should have gone to Fremont, I went to Roy High because I grew up in Roy. The name of the person that you know from Roy probably sounds familiar to me but I probably don't know them. If you want to get really technical, Taylor isn't an "official" city because it doesn't have a postal office so I guess I could have just told you I live in West Ogden but I didn't want you to think I'm from the ghetto, because I'm not. I am in fact a country girl who has cows and horses for neighbors, and yes, my family owns horses. I also didn't want you to list off 15 people that you know that happen to be from Ogden that I know I won't know." Now if you thought that was bad, imagine what happens when they ask me my major.

When I first applied to my program I was naive and believed that all majors were looked on equally. Boy was I wrong. "Yeah, I'm a business major." This answer gets several responses. My favorites include, but are not limited to a slight nod and raised eye brow as they say "so do you plan on having a family." Of course I do, but I wouldn't give them the benefit of such a simple answer so ... "Yeah, maybe when I'm 60 I'll adopt a child. Until then I plan on focusing completely on my career because I want to be a Junior Partner in a Fortune 500 company. If you are single with out kids you have a much easier time being a millionaire and I think that is what is most important in life. Besides, I am a feminazi and I don't really think a husband could contribute much in my life." Another response to my answer is said with a sarcastic "Oh, you're one of those." Yeah, I'm one of those. The "one of those" they are referring to is the people found in "The Great and Spacious Building". Just because we like to have our future in our hands and we love the feel of a dollar bill in our pocket doesn't mean us business majors are such bad people ... or are we?

Here are the statitistics from my Business Ethics Class:

When asked "Did you cheat to get into Graduate School?"

–43% Liberal Arts said yes
52% Education said yes
63% Law and Medicine said yes
AND NOW ... Drum roll please ....
75% of people in a Graduate Business Program said Yes to this question.
(The lawyers are even more ethical than "my type")

Another appauling stat:
Convicts in 11 minimum security prisons had higher scores on an ethical dilemma exam than MBAs.

And yet another:
76% of MBAs were willing to understate expenses that cut into their companies' profits..

Let me be completely frank with you. I don't think there is anything wrong with having money. I don't think that people who want to make money so they can live comfortably have anything wrong with them. And I especially don't think that humanities majors have any special insight into whether my building and the "great and spacious building" have any connection. So ... Yes, I am a business major and yes, I plan on being successful. And, even though, my major and my gender (since I have a strong interest in being able to buy as many shoes and clothes as possible) makes me more susceptible to ethical dillemas, doesn't mean I am already doomed to fail. In fact, until you come visit me in the state pen. for committing a major white collar crime and say "I told you so", I think it's fair to say I'm innocent until proven guilty.
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