B-schools need code of conduct livemint.com | Premchand Palety |
A few days back, I was in Indore where I visited an upcoming B-school. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the school had a code of conduct document published in the form of a booklet, even though it was limited to only students and did not talk of the expected behaviour of faculty members and the director. Many top B-schools in our country don’t have such a code. The document would have been complete if it had also included the code of ethical behaviour for all its employees and management. All governing board members and directors who aspire to demonstrate ethical behaviour in their campus should have such a code. |
One important aspect of such a code should be the expectations of conduct from the directorand faculty members who are supposed to be the role models for the students. They should not seek any personal favour in any form from students and treat them as adults with respect and dignity. The director should be made responsible for the data of the institute displayed on the website or published in advertisements or submitted to external agencies, especially with respect to placements, number and qualification of faculty members,?which must be authentic. The admission process should be completely transparent, in accordance with established procedure. The accounts should be properly maintained and should be in public domain. Students should have the right to know how their fee amount is being spent. The director and faculty members should also be made accountable for their activities outside the campus such as their presence on company boards or teaching in other campuses. The code should also mention actions for which there would be zero tolerance, such as any gratification taken or given in any form such as money or gifts for any activity. For example, admission of students, awarding work to contractors, promotion of staff, placement activities and getting approval or clearances from government bodies. If All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) personnel or any ranking agency representative visits thecampus, the best memento could be a book authored by a faculty member of the institute. |
||
Defining rules: Students at MDI, Gurgaon. A code of ethics helps management, employees and students take decisions in difficult situations. Ramesh Pathania / Mint |
|