INCAE President, Arthur Sparrow, has been a long time supporter of responsible business. He was part of the Young Global Leaders task force at the World Economic Forum that worked on composing and perfecting the oath and is now a member of the Oath Project’s Advisory Council. INCAE students translated the oath into Spanish, and President Condo introduced the opportunity to sign the oath at INCAE during the 2010 graduation. In 2011, a group of first year INCAE MBA students decided that because of the entrenched culture of corruption in Latin America there was a need to get beyond signing the oath to living the oath. As a result these students decided to start the INCAE MBA Oath Club.
With the support of President Condo and the administration, a group of first year INCAE MBA students started the MBA Oath Club. The INCAE MBA Oath Club is open to all full time INCAE MBA students who are willing to sign the Club’s Basic Statement of Belief (see below in resources section). They build awareness surrounding issues of ethical business, advocate for better practices on campus and off, network with likeminded students, professors, and professionals, host an oath ceremony, and have cultivated on-going support through a formal support group structure.
The INCAE MBA Oath Club has designed a five-component methodology to help its members go from signing the oath to living the oath. The five-component methodology is based on five inter-related activities: ethical analysis, issue advocacy, global networking, oath signing, and group support. (See chart in resource section below for further clarification).
- ETHICAL ANALYSIS: The Use of the MBA Oath As an Analytical Tool.
- ISSUE ADVOCACY: The Use of the MBA Oath as a Platform to Advocate for Professionalism and Ethical Behavior.
- GLOBAL NETWORKING: The Establishment of INCAE Links with Other MBA Oath Supporters throughout the World.
- OATH SIGNING: The Signing of the MBA Oath As a Personal Decision to Commit to an Ethical Career.
- GROUP SUPPORT: The Use of Group Support Mechanisms to Reinforce the Personal Commitment to Living the MBA Oath.
The INCAE MBA Oath Club designed an oath club with both student and lifetime membership options to help ensure the continuation of both the club and the behavior for which it stands. Working closely with the administration, having the President’s support, and networking with students from different schools (and in different countries) were also key to their success.