Rankings Reflective Of Value Creation By B-schools

Blurb 1: Students are looking for institutions that will give them the skills to thrive in their workplace, develop their skill sets and build on their interests. The starting salary is no longer enough to persuade students to join a certain institution over another

Blurb 2: The focus of B-school has changed to be more conscious of the environmental, social, and political changes around us. Future management education is working to prepare students to have a 360-degree perspective on the situation and respond with sensitivity

It’s that time of the year again. The B-school entrance exam season stretching from November to February is already underway. Once the spate of MBA entrance exams gets over, the search for the right schools and programmes will begin. There are hundreds of schools to choose from, but how do students decide which is the most appropriate for them?  

Helping break the clutter each year is the BW Businessworld annual B-school survey, the most definitive ranking of management institutions in the country. The study looks into the performance of management education institutes besides highlighting the latest trends in education, demands of the industry, global challenges, and how we are molding the future of management education, among other things.

Working with the industry

What makes a B-school stand out among the rest? During these difficult times, we look for strong leadership, quality education, investment in tech infrastructure, and a forward-thinking approach to curriculum, pedagogy, admission processes, and evaluation. It is not just about being better than other B-schools, but about re-examining the relevancy of the courses and the teaching methods in place, and finding the B-schools that are looking to create not just competent managers but drivers of change. 

Students are looking for institutions that will give them the skills to thrive in their workplace, develop their skill sets and build on their interests. The starting salary is no longer enough to persuade students to join a certain institution over another. The industry has also begun taking a more active role in offering internships, case studies, consultancy opportunities, and training programmes to fresh graduates, ensuring that students gain experience before graduating from a course. 

Hiring managers join the discussion, speaking on best hiring practices, expectations from fresh recruits, strategies to overcome skill gaps, and better integration of management students into their respective organisations.

Focus on quality education 

We turn to management education to find future business leaders, managers, and administrators to help navigate through times of crisis. Now more than ever before, it is necessary to assess whether Indian B-school graduates are equipped to maneuver their way through an ever-evolving global business landscape. Young B-school graduates need to be aware of this changing landscape to be able to make a difference to the economy as a whole. Whether they join a business, start their own, or become educators themselves.

Quality management education is the need of the hour as the country has to meet the needs and expectations of a growing economy. Having faced one of the biggest crises in education and learning, the need for skilled professionals is not only necessary for the industry, but also crucial to the economic prospects of the individual. 

Over the last two years, education institutes have shifted focus to skill-oriented and practical education. While management institutes are focused on professional education and industry-relevant skilling, the outcome of their efforts beyond placements needs to be further explored. 

BW Businessworld rankings take a closer look at the return on investment of institutes, exploring outcome-based evaluation of business schools. Interviews and discussions with notable alumni from some of the top B-schools are featured to explore the long-term impact of management education and the lessons people carry with them throughout their careers. 

Placements and internships

The period 2021-2022 saw nearly 100 per cent placement reports from management institutes across the board. Banking and Insurance, IT & ITES, Financial Services, Consulting & FMCG were among the most popular sectors that were hiring young talent during the placement season. Institutes such as KJ Somaiya Institute of Management reported the highest salary package at Rs 26.50 lakh per annum, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research at Rs 53.16 lakh, and JBIMS reported 10 per cent of the batch securing offers above Rs 34.18 lakh, the higher packages being offered from consulting firms and e-commerce sectors. 

Summer internships have gained equal importance for management institutes. Relevant work experience has become the norm of the industry and is among the best hiring practices. Therefore, it is no surprise that there is now a surge of summer placement announcements by institutions with students receiving packages of up to Rs 90,000 per month. 

Employers are also more likely to hire students who have interned with them in the past to ensure seamless integration into the organisation, effectively combating issues of skill gap.

Diversity, inclusion, sustainability

One of the biggest lessons of the pandemic was the realisation of how ill-prepared we were to handle a crisis. The realisation that a crisis is just around the corner and can have an equally devastating impact, both in the short and long term, was a wake-up call for the industry. 

The focus of B-schools has changed to be more conscious of the environmental, social, and political changes around us. Future management education is working to prepare students to have a 360-degree perspective on the situation and respond with sensitivity.

Centre for Business Sustainability at IIM Lucknow, Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Development at IIM Kashipur, Centre for Development & Environment Policy at IIM Calcutta, and Centre of Excellence for Corporate Governance CSR & Sustainability at IIM Nagpur are all examples of centres set up to develop environmental, social and corporate governance ecosystem within management institutes. These centres offer courses, conduct research, and address a wide range of issues that impact the industry.

Moving beyond specialised courses such as sustainable management, institutes are opening centres of excellence on sustainability, organising workshops on diversity, and creating awareness of pressing environmental concerns and sustainable development.

Upgrading curriculum

Specialised MBA courses, executive management degrees, and online courses are among the latest trends in management education. Online and hybrid mode of education has not only enabled a vast majority of the nation to have access to opportunities but has also helped the industry find and nurture talent from the remotest parts of the country. With upskilling and continuous education gaining momentum, B-schools are designing courses that target the needs of working professionals and accommodate their schedules. Working closely with industry and edtech companies, management education modified and upgraded their curriculum to be more relevant to the industry and flexible to the needs of the student.

EMBA and weekend MBA

IIT Madras, IIM Kashipur, IIM Sirmaur, and NMIMS are among the many management schools that have launched executive MBA (EMBA) degrees, ranging from general management programmes to specialisation in business analytics, leadership & strategy, finance, etc.

EMBA is specifically designed for working professionals who are looking to upskill without leaving their current jobs, with classes taking place on weekends and evenings to better work around the student’s work schedule. Institutes such as IIFT and, more recently, ICFAI have added a new dimension to professional education by offering ‘weekend MBA’ that only take classes on weekends to better accommodate students. The content of these courses are the same as the day programme, however, students may be required to submit a certificate from their employer to be eligible. 

Specialised MBA

Moving beyond sector specialisation such as rural management and healthcare, post-Covid has seen a rise in specialised MBA courses from B-schools working in tandem with the industry. Traditionally, finance, marketing, and HR have been the preferred programmes. However, 2022 saw a surge in courses on business analytics, data analytics, and entrepreneurship. Specialised MBA degrees are ideal for students who already know what field they want to work in and come with relevant job experience. Furthermore, they work to directly address the skill gap in the industry among working professionals.

Upgrading technology

Many MBA courses are now being offered through edtech companies such as upGrad and Coursera. IIMs and private institutes alike are working with edtech companies to make courses more accessible and affordable for people. Institutes are holding workshops that focus on learning tools, incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning, and digital technology applications into their programmes. 

Rankings 

B-schools are assessed on the basis of leadership, knowledge creation, institutional capabilities, transition of knowledge into workforce and finance. These factors are further broken down to explore the overall investment into education by the institute and its impact on the graduating students, faculty and industry. During a time when skilling and skill gap are high concerns for the market, it is imperative for management institutes to step up and work in collaboration with the industry, government, faculty and closely with students to ensure that the knowledge and practical experience remain relevant to the ambitions of the individual, market and institution alike. We find IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore once again leading the pack, closely followed by IIM Calcutta and IIM Lucknow. We also find a higher number of private universities performing well in the 2022 rankings with institutes such as MDI, SPJIMR and NMIMS among the top 20.

Management institutes that find themselves further down the rankings seem to perform low when it comes to evaluating the impact, displaying lower numbers in the ‘return on investment’ and ‘global interface’ categories. This goes hand in hand with less industry linkage, intellectual capital and innovation. Older and larger institutes have an advantage with larger data to properly evaluate impact, while newer and smaller institutes may need more time to build industry relationships, collaboration and a strong alumni base.

BW Businessworld B-school survey features interviews with management institute directors and leaders who identify the changing trends in education, evolving pedagogies, research developments, tackling social issues and bridging the academia-industry divide. The following pages are a treasure trove for academics, students, faculty and even HR professionals looking to hire their next set of rising stars.