ok, i hear the argument for zero tolerance on cheating. part of me likes that policy, especially since the PR spin could be gorgeous. but what about the other side?
my roommate employs a brilliant consulting technique which has a name that escapes me right now. it's really simple though, you just keep asking why. i think the magic number is asking why 5 times. perhaps the name is the "5-why technique". consultants are so brilliant.
here goes:
1. WHY do people cheat?
--because they are afraid of failing.
2. WHY are they afraid of failing?
--because they have been moderately successful their whole lives so when put in a difficult situation, they choose to succeed at all costs instead of flirt with failure.
3. WHY do they want to succeed at all costs?
--because they feel a sense of entitlement to the degree.
4. WHY do they feel a sense of entitlement to the degree?
-- because they were admitted to the program.
5. WHY were they admitted to the program?
--to give them a degree.
a ha. you see it? i worked hard to make it work out this way, because as i've learned in this little exercise, the 5-why technique can end up with any conclusion, however absurd it may be.
let's assume that from day one, you walk in and think the program is going to give you a degree. it doesn't matter what you do throughout the 2 years. you saw the comment in the previous post: everybody passes. why *wouldn't* you feel entitled to the degree if you were admitted?
i'd be curious to hear what people think about whether you EARNED your degree or if you just finished a curriculum and were GIVEN a degree. there's a subtle difference but changes the entire attitude you would take.
if you had to EARN your degree, would you let anyone cheat off you? conversely, if you knew everyone was going to pass regardless, would you help someone out in the spirit of team fuqua?
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2 comments:
1. Why do internationals seem to cheat so much more?
- Fuqua is harder for some of them so there is more pressure to cheat.
2. Why is Fuqua harder for them?
- The classes are harder when you don't speak the language as well.
3. Why does Fuqua admit students who don't speak English very well?
- Admissions isn't aware they don't speak English very well, because their TOEFL scores reflect solid English skills.
4. Why does someone who doesn't speak the language very well have a good TOEFL score?
- They are either very lucky or they cheated on the TOEFL.
5. Why would a student without good language skills cheat on the TOEFL, knowing that the classes are in English and it will be hard to understand what's going on?
- Everybody passes
6. Is cheating on the TOEFL a good indicator that someone might cheat at Fuqua?
- Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
Hi, my name is Fernando graduated from Fuqua in 03. Responding to the last comment, it is as difficult to cheat on the TOEFL as to cheat on the GMAT. I was an international student at Fuqua and also a Judicial Representative. I never cheated nor needed any extra help to pass. I as well as almost all of my international students friends did not find Fuqua harder than US students did. In fact, many of us found out it was easier than we expected, specially since a) There are no math skills real requirements and b) everyone passes. I was even embarrased on how an easy it was. Among all the International students I interacted with from three different classes, I only found one of them who couldn´t communicate properly in spoken english. Since the TOEFL tests reading, grammar and listening skills, actual English conversation skills are the only ones not tested and the ones in which international students may find trouble with. It´s easy to see that a decision models exam does not need high conversation skills.
According to a recent study (http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/mbacheat_1.html), 56% of MBA candidates say they cheated, regardless of nationality. I am not aware of the details of this incident, but If this average holds at Fuqua's 08 class and if all international students (39% of the class) cheated, "only" 40% of US students would have cheated as well. Note that if the international students cheating goes to 50% of the total, you'll need around 60% of US students to cheat as well. My point is that, even if you catch many non US students cheating, that doesn´t imply that US students don't cheat. Maybe, there are many you cannot catch. Or maybe not. My point is that you just don't know. It seems to me it is an easy way of self defense to segregate does who did commit an honor code violation as a group who does not belong to the community (i.e., international students= cheaters, US students = saints and victims of unethical foreigns who are really not a part of the Fuqua Team). However, I strongly believe that being born and/or educated in a different country does not necesarely implies a set degree of potential to act unethically. At the end of the day, the top executives at Enron and Worldcom were Americans...
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