Think business schools are all about finance?

Nashville, Tennessee

TIM Vogus, a professor at Vanderbilt University's business school, was stoking the debate in his classroom one day this fall, asking first-year MBA students about one of the most successful, and controversial, companies of the day. On the syllabus was Uber, a case study in both sensational business success and rampant corporate misbehaviour. "A toxic culture might be obvious when you think about Uber," Prof Vogus said. "But I'm an old person. What is this whole 'bro' thing?" There were some awkward chuckles, and then hands started popping up. "It's carrying fraternity culture with you into adult life," said one student, Nick Glennon. Another student, Jonathon Brangan, said, "It's arrogance mixed with the feeling of invincibility." "You basically have these 20-year-olds who are in charge of these companies that are worth billions of dollars," said Monroe Stadler, 26. "And they fly too close to the sun." An MBA education is no longer just about finance, marketing, accounting and economics. As topics such as sexual harassment dominate the national conversation and chief executives weigh in on the ethical and social issues of the day, business schools around the country are hastily reshaping their curricula with case studies ripped straight from the headlines.

At Vanderbilt, there are classes on Uber and "bro" culture. At Stanford, students are studying sexual harassment in the workplace. And at Harvard, the debate encompasses sexism and free speech.