TOP Business Schools
Who would imagine that a bunch of precocious 24-year-olds would be well-equipped to advise the Indian Government on how to formulate more sound policies?
If you are former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who will step behind the podium on September 13 to mentor PGP-M students at IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) as part of a programme called Globalising Resurgent India through Innovative Transformation, you are probably thinking what nobody else is.
To let a bright bunch of individuals, galvanised by their own mercurial intellect, compete and deliver what a couple of hundred MPs have not been able to; all this because their institution has yet again proved it is in a class of its own.
IIM-A-Business Today (BT) Best B-school survey's topper for 2008-2009-has proved no hyperbole is too much to be able to describe its attributes.
The undisputed leader for half a decade, IIM-A maintains its league among all the stakeholders including young executives, aspiring MBAs and recruiters. Says Vani Kabra, graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE) and MBA graduate from IIM-A, "While LSE was more diverse, IIM-A was definitely tougher and the quality of students far superior." It was at IIM-A that she received a true grounding in teamwork.
"The course structure requires you to work in teams for almost everything, from projects to assignments and presentations," she adds. What's more, exacting standards and long hours mean that students are ready for the 'real world' challenges. This is why IIM-A has been able to race ahead of IIM-Bangalore (IIM-B), despite IIM-B scoring ahead of it on many parameters.
In the BT Best B-school survey, the lack of movement in the higher echelons only betrays a calm veneer. The fact remains that there has been much turbulence after the first six ranks. New entrant Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT-G) has broken into the survey with Nirma Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (NIM-A) making a reentry into the survey after being left out last year.
The other movers are Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. "XIMB is growing consistently with a focus on excellent faculty, research and consulting, robust infrastructure and above all, management education.
The best colleges offer agile programmes, fewer compulsory subjects and more electives
The institute has been working hard in the areas of social development through its social wing, the Centre for Development Research & Training," explains Sasmit Patra, professor and spokesperson, XIMB.
An analysis of individual brand equity indices reveals that many schools gained steam in the priority lists of one constituency but lost out heavily on others. For example, there was a significant drop in rank for K.J. Somaiya (from 17 to 22) and Welingkar (from 15 to 23) in overall ranking although for aspiring MBAs, Welingkar rose from 27 to 10 and K.J. Somaiya from 25 to 21, in comparison to last year.
S.P. Jain went up the ranks for aspiring MBAs from 15 to 11 and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) from 20 to 15. At the same time, schools such as Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), Mumbai and T.A. Pai, Mumbai, lost in this category.
For the HR managers, IIM-B scored way higher than IIM-A except on the criterion of admission eligibility that gave IIM-Aits final lead. Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, broke ahead of IIM-Calcutta and IIM-Lucknow with Symbiosis coming in a close third compared to last year's 11th spot for recruiters. One school that is catching up is Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, having broken into the top 10 again after a year's gap.
Speaking of its winning formula, NMIMS, which received 38,000 applications for 240 seats in its last academic year, believes nothing less than relentless effort at constant improvement is what makes for market value. One has to constantly portray to stakeholders that they matter and there is no let-up in efforts.
The focus has now shifted to social entrepreneurship, elaborates Vice-Chancellor N.M. Kondap. No activity is disregarded and this is exemplified in the students' efforts to pick up supply-chain management tips from rag-pickers in the city.
Not every MBA graduate becomes a star performer. Only top 20 per cent of the 2,000 B-schools in the country get close to enabling, facilitating and delivering star performance. An ABC analysis of any MBA class reveals that only 20 per cent comprises star performers, 60 per cent are the steady growth category and the rest will probably switch fields.
Management programmes are becoming more rigorous and devoid of boundaries. Imagine, the case study of the General Shoe Company-the first-ever case study developed by Harvard Business School in 1921-is taken up and analysed for marketing, leadership, thought process change and financial management, letting students extrapolate as to how the company will perform in the current environment given a different political climate and economic setting.
Another trend is revealed. If future leaders want to be the architects of their own destiny, they should be able to craft their own course structure, which means more agile programmes, fewer compulsory subjects and more electives. "These are a few things that have helped us progress," says K.T. Chacko, director, IIFT.
Curriculum is more current, corporate social responsibility is no longer optional and students must work with NGOs. After all, no business can operate and hope to succeed in the real world without simultaneously tackling real problems.
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