{"id":225,"date":"2014-01-24T16:20:35","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T16:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scqa.hult.edu\/en\/news\/blogs\/2014\/january\/the-problem-of-dodginess\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:22:11","slug":"the-problem-of-dodginess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/the-problem-of-dodginess\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem of Dodginess"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Problem of Dodginess: In a world where bad behavior is rewarded, can anybody keep MBAs honest? <\/strong>By Hult Professor John Beck and Hult President Dr. Stephen Hodges for Biz Ed Reboot.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I was an Associate Partner at Accenture, my boss asked me to interview a potential new hire for our think tank. The interviewee was nice enough, but I thought we could do a lot better. I didn\u2019t think he had many new thoughts\u2014and that seemed like a prerequisite for a<\/em> think<\/em> tank. I wrote up my assessment and sent it in.<\/em><\/p>\n

My boss landed on me like a ton of bricks. \u201cHow dare you write that? Now there is no chance we can hire him!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I rewrote my evaluation; the guy was hired. As it turned out, I was not wrong in my initial assessment. <\/em><\/p>\n

– John<\/em><\/p>\n

This was one of John\u2019s early, formative experiences with \u201cdodginess.\u201d Most companies say they want everyone to report unethical behavior, but in practice many really mean, \u201cDo what the boss tells you to do.\u201d Speaking out even once can be a job-ending offense. And above all, \u201cplay nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professors should definitely prepare students for how to deal with people whose ethics are questionable\u2014or, what the Brits call \u201cdodgy.\u201d We all know people who are dodgy. We may not always have proof that they are actually unethical, but they feel<\/em> dodgy. There\u2019s just something about them that\u2019s not trustworthy, even if you can\u2019t pinpoint it. So you avoid doing business with them, and you certainly don\u2019t work for them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why whenever Steve speaks to prospective students, and they ask him, \u201cWhat is good and bad about Hult?,\u201d he gives it to them straight. \u201cThere\u2019s no point in trying to avoid the bad stuff,\u201d he explains, \u201cbecause odds are they\u2019ve already heard about it on the Internet. I\u2019ve learned I have to come out before they ask and say, \u2018People are going to tell you X about Hult, and here\u2019s why they\u2019re wrong.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if business schools could do something important to help their graduates avoid dodginess in their careers? Because if they made that commitment it would require them to create a system where students are held to their promises by their teammates, not by the institution itself. Students would have to enforce the code of conduct amongst each other to show how damaging dodginess can be. They would learn that if you are dodgy as a leader, you\u2019ll lose your team and you\u2019ll never get high performing employees. And likewise, as employees, if you don\u2019t hold your boss to the same standard and call out dodgy behavior, you\u2019ll only encourage it to happen again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very important for us to note that this takes a lot of courage to do. It\u2019s not easy to call out peers or your boss when they\u2019ve done something wrong; there are many risks involved. But it does pay off in the end, and students will only learn this on their own.<\/p>\n

Make the most of what your career has to offer with a Masters in International Business<\/a> from Hult. To learn more, take a look at our blog From Student to Professional<\/a>, or give your employability a huge boost with an MBA in international business<\/a>. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to explore everything about the business world, the future, and yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Problem of Dodginess: In a world where bad behavior is rewarded, can anybody keep MBAs honest? By Hult Professor John Beck and Hult President Dr. Stephen Hodges for Biz…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Problem of Dodginess | Hult International Business School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Problem of Dodginess: In a world where bad behavior is rewarded, can anybody keep MBAs honest? 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