As debates about the purpose of business and business schools continue apace, one recurrent theme is that business management should be a profession like law and medicine in order to promote responsible conduct and trustworthy business leadership.

This thesis in its contemporary form was propounded in 2005 by two highly regarded scholars, Rakesh Khorana (professor at the Harvard Business School) and Nitin Nohria (then HBS professor, now HBS dean), and an HBS research associate (read their op-ed here). It remains a subject of debate and controversy today. (See Khurana’s response to Professor Richard Baker’s recent HBR critique, available here.)

If implemented, their ideas could have a significant impact on corporate governance. Business people would take a licensure exam on set of subjects; they would be subject to a code of professional responsibility; and a professional association would impose sanctions on those who violated the code. Thus a new set of norms would guide and constrain business leaders beyond the policies and practices of the individual firm, standard setting on narrow topics (consistent with the antitrust laws) by discrete industry groups and the law and regulations of state and federal government.

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