Spring Break
Man of integrity
Michael Jensen, professor and economist, believes The Aggie Code of Honor is necessary in the workplace.
By: Romy Misra
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Features
Though it is difficult to be upbeat about economic conditions, Michael Jensen, 69, the Jesse Isidor Straus professor of business administration and a financial economist, says we will survive.
"We are in some very difficult circumstances at the moment. The world is sinking into a depression that is likely to be worse than that of the 1930s," Jensen said. "Yet we will survive, and we will learn, and we will come out the other side of this stronger than when we went in."
Though internships and jobs are hard to find, some students are also optimistic about the economy.
"There is no denying the economic slump, but I personally believe that for all the opportunities lost as a result, there will be just as many new opportunities. The trick and difficulty will be in finding these new opportunities," said Long Dao, a junior management information system major. "That is not to say rocky times are not ahead, but if we remain cognizant and employ some creativity, we may find more opportunities in these hard economic times than expected."
Jensen is not just an economist, however. He is a financial economist and consultant, and researches on organizational strategy, and the importance of integrity.
"Jensen is brilliant and extremely humble for someone who is as successful as he is," said Leonard Bierman, a management professor. "His thinking is very broad in scope, which is to some extent reflective of his research, which is very interdisciplinary in nature, spanning not only various fields in business, but also economics and political science."
In February, Jensen chose "Integrity and Performance: Making Yourself All That You Can Be" as the topic of the third lecture in the University Distinguished Lecture series at Texas A&M. The lecture series is a forum to present distinguished scholars from an array of disciplines.
"His lecture was about integrity and the rather simple, but not so simple, notion of keeping one's word, or at worse honoring one's word, Bierman said. "I think the clip he ran of President Obama was excellent and gave students the very important lesson that even if you can't keep your word, it's extremely important to honor it by acknowledging your mistakes. In some ways, what he was saying was that the 'Aggie Code of Honor' should be put in place by all people at all times."
The role of integrity in one's performance at his workplace has been largely unnoticed for a long time, and is equally important to knowledge when it comes to an individual's productivity at work, Jensen said.
"Simply put, integrity as we define it provides access to incredible increases in performance - in whatever performance you are interested in - as well as the personal peace and self-confidence that comes from being a well-integrated person," he said.
Dao said Jensen's lecture was an excellent experience and helped him understand the importance of integrity.
"I definitely took very specific points from the presentation. In terms of honoring your word, I not only take into account whether I can fulfill my commitments, but the quality of my commitment. Can I give what is expected of me?" Dao said. "The repercussion of this mentality will most likely result in fewer acceptances of commitments on my part, but for those commitments I acknowledge, I will maintain much higher quality on my delivery."
Jensen said integrity is important and wanted to introduce it in the curriculum for students. Focusing on integrity will help students achieve their potential, he said.
"This came about as a result of my efforts in creating a new course in leadership with some colleagues," Jensen said. "Integrity turns out to be a necessary condition for extraordinary performance, and few people in the world get that."
Jensen has not limited his work to academia. After retiring from Harvard Business School in 2000, he joined a consultancy firm called Monitor Group and was the managing director in charge of organizational strategy.
"I enjoy both roles, but there is no doubt that I enjoy my role as a scholar the most. But the two roles are complementary," Jensen said. "In some sense, there is a technology transfer between the two roles that makes the combination better than either alone."
Starting a career as a consultant after retiring from a university is not routine get into. The innovation of the Monitor team is what attracted Jensen to it.
"I found the people at Monitor very interested in ideas and the clients at Monitor similarly interested in ideas." Jensen said. "And the opportunity to actually put ideas to work is exhilarating."
The worst recession since the 30s?
Some financial historians believe the current recession will be the worst since The Great Depression. If it lasts until April, it will go on the record as the longest since 1981-82, which lasted
16 months. During that recession, the Midwest was hit the hardest.
"We are in some very difficult circumstances at the moment. The world is sinking into a depression that is likely to be worse than that of the 1930s," Jensen said. "Yet we will survive, and we will learn, and we will come out the other side of this stronger than when we went in."
Though internships and jobs are hard to find, some students are also optimistic about the economy.
"There is no denying the economic slump, but I personally believe that for all the opportunities lost as a result, there will be just as many new opportunities. The trick and difficulty will be in finding these new opportunities," said Long Dao, a junior management information system major. "That is not to say rocky times are not ahead, but if we remain cognizant and employ some creativity, we may find more opportunities in these hard economic times than expected."
Jensen is not just an economist, however. He is a financial economist and consultant, and researches on organizational strategy, and the importance of integrity.
"Jensen is brilliant and extremely humble for someone who is as successful as he is," said Leonard Bierman, a management professor. "His thinking is very broad in scope, which is to some extent reflective of his research, which is very interdisciplinary in nature, spanning not only various fields in business, but also economics and political science."
In February, Jensen chose "Integrity and Performance: Making Yourself All That You Can Be" as the topic of the third lecture in the University Distinguished Lecture series at Texas A&M. The lecture series is a forum to present distinguished scholars from an array of disciplines.
"His lecture was about integrity and the rather simple, but not so simple, notion of keeping one's word, or at worse honoring one's word, Bierman said. "I think the clip he ran of President Obama was excellent and gave students the very important lesson that even if you can't keep your word, it's extremely important to honor it by acknowledging your mistakes. In some ways, what he was saying was that the 'Aggie Code of Honor' should be put in place by all people at all times."
The role of integrity in one's performance at his workplace has been largely unnoticed for a long time, and is equally important to knowledge when it comes to an individual's productivity at work, Jensen said.
"Simply put, integrity as we define it provides access to incredible increases in performance - in whatever performance you are interested in - as well as the personal peace and self-confidence that comes from being a well-integrated person," he said.
Dao said Jensen's lecture was an excellent experience and helped him understand the importance of integrity.
"I definitely took very specific points from the presentation. In terms of honoring your word, I not only take into account whether I can fulfill my commitments, but the quality of my commitment. Can I give what is expected of me?" Dao said. "The repercussion of this mentality will most likely result in fewer acceptances of commitments on my part, but for those commitments I acknowledge, I will maintain much higher quality on my delivery."
Jensen said integrity is important and wanted to introduce it in the curriculum for students. Focusing on integrity will help students achieve their potential, he said.
"This came about as a result of my efforts in creating a new course in leadership with some colleagues," Jensen said. "Integrity turns out to be a necessary condition for extraordinary performance, and few people in the world get that."
Jensen has not limited his work to academia. After retiring from Harvard Business School in 2000, he joined a consultancy firm called Monitor Group and was the managing director in charge of organizational strategy.
"I enjoy both roles, but there is no doubt that I enjoy my role as a scholar the most. But the two roles are complementary," Jensen said. "In some sense, there is a technology transfer between the two roles that makes the combination better than either alone."
Starting a career as a consultant after retiring from a university is not routine get into. The innovation of the Monitor team is what attracted Jensen to it.
"I found the people at Monitor very interested in ideas and the clients at Monitor similarly interested in ideas." Jensen said. "And the opportunity to actually put ideas to work is exhilarating."
The worst recession since the 30s?
Some financial historians believe the current recession will be the worst since The Great Depression. If it lasts until April, it will go on the record as the longest since 1981-82, which lasted
16 months. During that recession, the Midwest was hit the hardest.
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