After reading Dan Masny’s column “Business students could profit from learning compassion,” I… After reading Dan Masny’s column “Business students could profit from learning compassion,” I felt compelled, as a business student, to respond.

There is no doubt that over the past few years a few bad companies have created a negative image of capitalism. However, don’t let this vilify the images of the many decent companies in the world. The College of Business Administration, it seems over my four years, has strived to instill a sense of corporate responsibility in its students. In fact, their mission statement says so: “The College of Business Administration mission is to help undergraduate students of high potential and motivation to: Develop as world citizens; acquire the knowledge, analytical capabilities, interpersonal skills and personal qualities required for leadership excellence in organizations; and design and implement a strategy for launching the next stage of their career.”

High ethics and social responsibility are standard in the field of business. The Economist (Jan. 22) has even addressed and recognized the manpower and resources that corporations have allocated to their Corporate Social Responsibility programs. This funding has reached record highs.

Business Week (Nov. 29) cited that this past year corporations and their executives have donated $65 billion to charitable causes, an all-time record. When the tsunami struck, Citigroup and the Boston Consulting Group, which do outsource some of their lines of business, were first to provide logistical support and humanitarian aid.

Masny also takes time to reproach capitalism’s main principle. Profit is essential to capitalism. Capitalism has proven itself effective in the ways it moves products and funds around the world and provides liquidity and wealth that, in turn, makes socioeconomic mobility possible. What would happen if companies failed to turn a profit? Naturally, the shareholders would suffer. In a nonprofit, the shareholders are the direct beneficiaries of the organization’s cause. Shareholders are, in fact, a broad group. The world’s pension funds, charitable trusts, nonprofit organizations and grandparents all take part in capitalism as shareholders and benefit from doing so.

While Masny does a good job outlining the harm business has done, he fails to address the benefit. He also makes the incorrect assumption that business professionals lack compassion as world citizens — as a business student, I am not sure how he can draw this conclusions from the curriculum, and he certainly does not speak for all of us.

David E. Rodriguez

President, Business Student Council

Finance

Senior

CBA