商学院寻求扩大政治视野

Looking east from the tower of Healy Hall, the hilltop landmark of Georgetown University, the white dome of the US Capitol building dominates the Washington landscape. Now the home of the federal legislature is attracting attention from a different quarter.

从乔治敦大学(Georgetown University)耸立在小山上的标志性建筑希利大楼(Healy Hall)里向东望，美国国会大厦的白色圆屋顶在华盛顿成片建筑中最为醒目。如今，这个联邦立法机关所在地正受到一个特殊领域的关注。

Leading US business schools are recognising how the financial crisis has prompted government to play a more active role in the economy and in response are re-evaluating their approach to public policy and its impact upon business.

美国顶尖商学院认识到，金融危机已促使政府在经济中扮演更加积极的角色，为此它们正重新评估自身在公共政策领域的做法以及公共政策对商业的影响。

The subject has never been considered a traditional strength of schools, but as legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Act – a reform that increases US government oversight of financial institutions’ trading activities – has had consequences for entire sectors, schools are taking a fresh look at the topic.

公共政策从来不是商学院的传统强项，但随着《多德-弗兰克法案》(Dodd/Frank Act)等新法规对各个领域都产生了影响，各商学院正在重新审视这一课题。《多德-弗兰克法案》将加大美国政府对金融机构交易活动的监管力度。

“Business education has long been focused on core disciplines to the exclusion of the policy environment in which businesses operate, says John Mayo, executive director of the Center for Business and Public Policy at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

“商科教育长期以来一直注重核心学科，忽视了企业运营的政策环境。乔治敦大学麦克多诺商学院(McDonough School of Business)企业与公共政策中心(Center for Business and Public Policy)执行主任约翰·梅奥(John Mayo)表示。

Mark Duggan, a professor of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and recent member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, agrees. “Historically, it is fair to say that the policy-making world has not been foremost in the minds of business schools.

宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)沃顿商学院(Wharton)企业经济学与公共政策教授、白宫经济顾问委员会(White House council of economic advisors)近期成员马克·达根(Mark Duggan)赞同上述观点，他说：“可以说，政策制定领域历来都不是商学院关注的重点。

The reason for this is that business schools are not equipped to engage successfully with matters beyond their field, says Bhaskar Chakravorti, executive director of the Institute for Business in the Global Context at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. “Business schools have very little intellectual foundation to tackle questions of political context, he says.

对此，塔夫斯大学(Tufts University)弗莱彻法律与外交学院(Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy)全球背景与商业研究所(Institute for Business in the Global Context)执行主任巴斯卡尔·查克拉沃尔蒂(Bhaskar Chakravorti)认为原因在于商学院没有能力处理自己所擅长领域之外的事情。他说：“商学院没有应对带有政治背景的问题的知识基矗

Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business partners with the Fletcher School to offer dual masters degrees in international affairs and business, for students wishing to address issues at the intersection of business and policy. Other business schools, including Harvard and Columbia, have teamed up with their university’s respective public affairs schools – Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs – to offer joint degrees.

达特茅斯学院(Dartmouth College)的塔克商学院(Tuck School of Business)携手弗莱彻法律与外交学院，面向希望研究商业与政策交叉领域的学生，开设国际事务与商业专业的双硕士学位课程。还有一些商学院也与各自所属大学的公共事务学院合作开设了双学位课程，例如哈佛(Harvard)商学院与哈佛肯尼迪政府学院(Kennedy school of government)，哥伦比亚(Columbia)商学院和哥伦比亚大学国际关系与公共事务学院(School of International and Public Affairs)。

Bringing the significance of public policy to the attention of MBA students is a growing concern for many business schools, which are enhancing public policy elements in their curricula.

很多商学院日益注重让MBA学生认识到公共政策的重要性，在各自的课程中增加了公共政策的部分。

“For most MBA [students] this is the last formal education they will receive, says Matthew Slaughter, associate dean of the Tuck School. “To be internationally capable, today’s MBA graduates must understand the goals and mechanisms of government decision makers.

“对于大多数MBA学生来说，这是他们最后一次接受正规教育，塔克商学院副院长马修·斯劳特(Matthew Slaughter)说，“要在国际上吃得开，如今的MBA毕业生必须了解政府决策者的目标和处事方式。

This summer Tuck launched the Center for Global Business and Government, headed by Prof Slaughter, to prepare future business leaders with an understanding of the complex interactions between companies and governments.

今年夏天，塔克商学院成立了由斯劳特教授领导的全球商业与政府中心(Center for Global Business and Government)，帮助未来的企业领袖认识企业和政府之间的复杂联系。

Marianne Bertrand, professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, believes it is essential that MBA students have a greater awareness of debates concerning market failure, regulation and lobbying.

芝加哥大学布斯商学院(University of Chicago Booth School of Business)经济学教授玛丽安·贝特朗(Marianne Bertrand)认为，MBA学生有必要更多地关注有关市场失灵、监管和游说的辩论。

“Students arrive in my class with black-and-white views, she says. While she accepts that these issues may not be directly applied in graduates’ careers, she says that a sophisticated understanding of government’s relevance is critical for students to engage successfully with government policies that affect their companies.

“学生们来的时候带着黑白分明的观点，她说。她承认这些问题对于学生们毕业后的职业可能不会有直接的用处，但她认为深刻了解政府相关事务十分重要，可以帮助学生很好地应对可能影响他们所在公司的政府政策。

Prof Mayo believes business schools will have underachieved if they do not expose students to perspectives from outside the insular world of business. Georgetown’s Center for Business and Public Policy, established in 2002, comprises 20 senior academics from Georgetown and beyond. It engages McDonough students through a series of seminars involving the business and policy communities, on economic policy issues that affect business.

梅奥教授认为，如果商学院不能让学生们接触到孤立的商业世界以外的东西，就算不上成功。乔治敦大学于2002年成立的企业与公共政策中心囊括了来自校内外的20名资深学者。该中心举办一系列有商界和政策界人士参与的研讨会，探讨影响企业的经济政策问题，以此吸引麦克多诺商学院的学生。

Part of the centre’s “evolution of regulation series involves senior federal regulators coming to the school to discuss their work and its impact. With the university’s law and public policy schools, a certificate is planned for those McDonough students who take part in these seminars.

在该中心的“监管的演变系列研讨会上，联邦高级监管人员会来到学校，讲述自己所做的工作及相关的影响。该项目与乔治敦大学的法学院和公共政策学院合作，参加这些研讨会的麦克多诺商学院学生将获得一张证书。

Some students, such as Richard Caperton, an MBA alumnus of 2010, join the centre in a research capacity during their MBA programme. Mr Caperton, who today works for the Center for American Progress, an influential Washington-based think-tank, is one of a small number of Georgetown MBA students who were looking to continue in the public policy realm after graduation.

一些学生在攻读MBA期间进入该中心参与研究，其中包括2010级MBA校友理查德·卡珀顿(Richard Caperton)。卡珀顿目前在颇具影响力的华盛顿智库——美国进步中心(Center for American Progress)工作，在乔治敦大学MBA学生中，他是少数毕业后打算继续从事公共政策工作的人之一。

“While there is an element of self-selection among Georgetown students – who tend to be more policy-oriented than most business students – they are still coming for a business education, says Prof Mayo.

梅奥教授说：“尽管学生们可以自己选择——乔治敦大学的学生比大多数商科学生都关注政策——但他们毕竟是来接受商业教育的。

Prof Slaughter cites the lack of structured relationships between business schools and government agencies as a limitation on MBA students gaining public policy experience during their degree. “The reality is that key US agencies have no experience with hosting MBAs [for internships].

斯劳特教授称，商学院和政府机构之间缺乏深层次的关系，是限制MBA学生在学习期间获得公共政策相关经验的因素之一。“现实情况是，美国重要机构从来都不会招MBA实习生。

These challenges contrast with the well-trodden path to Capitol Hill taken by several leading business-school academics. Laura Tyson, professor and former dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School and Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School, both served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush respectively. Prof Hubbard has this year served as economic adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

上述这些挑战与数名商学院知名学者走向国会山的阳关道形成反差。加州大学伯克利分校(UC Berkeley)哈斯商学院(Haas School of Business)前院长劳拉·泰森(Laura Tyson)和哥伦比亚商学院院长格伦·哈伯德(Glenn Hubbard)分别担任过比尔·克林顿(Bill Clinton)和乔治·W·布什(George W. Bush)总统经济顾问委员会(Council of Economic Advisers)的主席。其中哈伯德教授今年又担任了米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)总统竞选活动的经济顾问。