How do you see the popularity, utility and relevance of the MBA degree panning out in the next decade?
With the continued growth of the global economy, and accelerated economic development in most of Asia, the MBA has firmly established itself as the qualification of reference both for young professionals looking to accelerate their career progress and the companies that need to manage growth. Many of the lessons of the dot.com crash five years ago revolved around a lack of strong managerial experience and weak business plan analysis. By providing the fundamentals of management and analytical skills to complement an MBA graduate’s initial professional experience, the business school is able to develop the future business leaders that India will need to maintain its internal development and international expansion. Tata, Infosys and Mittal will be joined by other cutting-edge companies who are transforming the way that India does business, and the MBA is sure to have helped many of their managers to their current positions of seniority.
In November 2005 the McKinsey Global Institute identified what it calls China’s “looming talent shortage”. We might expect to see demand for business schools rise both for international graduates from Chinese MBA programs and for Chinese graduates from international programs. The report estimates that over the next 10 years the country will need 75,000 leaders who can work effectively in global environments, to match the global aspirations of many Chinese companies. I foresee the same talent shortage in India, and MBA graduates will be best placed to take advantage of this demand.
What should be one’s strategy while short-listing a set of schools he or she wants to apply to?
I am a firm believer that an MBA is only worth pursuing if it will bring the candidate a sufficient level of professional advancement and personal development. Can it help them to boost their career opportunities, and open new areas of expertise and mobility? Will they come out of the program with greater confidence and self-awareness, focusing on their strengths to build an exciting career that is matched with self-fulfilment?
If a business school can deliver this then the MBA program is well worth considering. The candidate may also find that they are not just limited to a handful of schools that have long dominated the top of a b-school ranking. By researching the characteristics of the schools, finding out more about the student experience, and how students are achieving their personal and professional goals, they may well find a more diverse shortlist of MBA programs. Meeting with schools and finding out more about the MBA as a qualification is essential, hence the popularity of the QS World MBA Tour events in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The face-to-face discussions with admissions and alumni, as well as workshops on how to select the right school for you, provide a much clearer picture of matching your ambitions with the right school.
Successful MBA applicants, whether applying to schools locally, or in Europe and North America, need to demonstrate a level of familiarity not only with the MBA qualification – how it can help them to build on existing skills and experience, and the direction of their post-MBA career – but also with the personality and strengths of the school. What sets Chicago apart from Wharton? How does IMD differ from INSEAD? Some of these schools might look similar on paper, but they each have their own identity and approach to management development. Research is key.
When researching a school, what 5 most important parameters should one evaluate against?
In building our searchable MBA database, TopMBA Scorecard , we have tried to encourage candidates to look beyond traditional rankings of the business schools, and introduce five or six search criteria that can really help to narrow down the list of matching schools. Whilst program type (full-time, part-time, Exec MBA etc), course length (often a choice between 1 and 2 years) and program cost (which can vary considerably) are three fairly obvious parameters when comparing courses, candidates needs to think about other factors that will influence both their experience, their post-MBA opportunities, and the return on their investment of time and money.
It might sound obvious, but school location is a key evaluation, influencing the regional strengths of the school and the ties to recruiters for subsequent recruitment opportunities. It is no surprise that Chicago, Columbia, NYU, LBS and Cass all have excellent reputations in the field of finance. They are right next to the financial markets and can more easily attract guest speakers from the financial institutions, or offer a strong network for summer internships and post-MBA careers. Schools in California can similarly benefit from ties to Silicon Valley, whilst others offer a gateway to areas of expertise (aerospace, luxury brand management, bio-tech etc) or a foothold in a fast-growing region such as Asia.
This ties in to the idea of evaluating schools based on specialisation. Beyond the generalist nature of the MBA qualification, schools have carved reputations in certain areas such as entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, non-profit, real-estate, IT management or healthcare. The schools not only work hand in hand with the related industry, but also have strength and depth in their faculty to develop an area of expertise. They might have an incubator to attract venture capital for entrepreneurial business plans, or offer work-study programs that give students a hands-on experience of working with NGOs.
It is not always easy to identify the areas of specialisation, so we have tried to do a lot of the research for candidates by working with schools to develop an in-depth Scorecard search.
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Over the years, how do you see the American, European and Australian MBA programs differentiating themselves from each other?
Whilst the US can rightly claim to have developed the original blueprint for the MBA program, European and Australian business schools have made enormous strides in the last 15 years, and now boast a number of world-class institutions. The majority of US business schools remain committed to the 2-year program, arguing that a Masters program requires a two year study period to cover the related material, and offering students the chance to do a summer internship between year 1 and year 2. European programs tend to be shorter, and attract slightly older students with more professional experience.
Two of the enduring differences between US, Canadian, European and Australian programs are the international diversity in the class profile, and the case study material used in the classroom. North American schools have an increasingly international student body, but we are still talking about only 30 to 40 pc of the class coming from outside the US or Canada.
European schools have a wider diversity of nationalities, though Europe as a whole still dominates the overall percentages. Australia has made the most of its proximity to Asia and subsequently recruits large numbers of Asian students.
All schools try to achieve a balance in the classroom, and prefer not to have one dominant culture. I think it is worth pointing out that applicant numbers from India have risen so steadily in the last 5 years that is has become increasingly competitive for these candidates to stand out in the admissions process. Such applicants therefore have to demonstrate a greater maturity and motivation, and make it clear to the school what they have to offer that makes them stand out, based on their academic record and their professional achievements
Fifteen or twenty years ago many of the non-US business schools were still overly dependent on American case study material. Since then there has been far more locally developed study material, which means that a European school can offer a much richer insight into European markets and ways of doing business. The same is equally true for schools in Australia and the Asian markets, which face specific regional and cultural and challenges and therefore require an adapted management approach. I think this trend towards regional focus will continue, and whilst schools encourage their students to think globally and act locally, schools will continue to strengthen their local expertise. Companies will be aware of this, and therefore adopt recruiting strategies that reflect the study experience of their future hires.
Deepening ties with local recruiters will also mean that candidates will look to schools to offer a regional platform for their post-MBA career opportunities. If you want to move your career to Europe, where better to start than a European business school.
What are the pros and cons of doing a two-year MBA with 3-4 years of work experience over waiting for 6-7 years and then doing a one-year MBA?
In addition to comments made above about the course length of your MBA, I think that a factor for consideration when deciding between a 1-year or 2-year program is the clarity of your post-MBA objectives. Those who have a clear idea of what they intend to do after their MBA may feel that they do not need a summer internship in banking or consulting to see if the would be happy with this sector after graduating. If they already have 6 or 7 years of experience they are probably looking for a shorter, more intense course format will bring them more quickly to their professional goals.
However the two-year format does provide more time to think about future career options, and typically offers more electives in the second year if a student wants to develop an area of specialisation. Very few MBA graduates who commit to the 21 months of an MBA regret the additional commitment in time and money, arguing that they are making an investment for the next 20 or 30 years of their lives.
What is your view on taking the help of consultants for writing one’s application? Do consultants help people make a better application?
The business schools are very clear that they want applicants to submit essays that are the result of their own thoughts and effort and that accurately reflect the achievements and ambitions of the candidate. They understandably frown upon the practice of having someone write the essays for you, and will reject a candidate if they firmly believe that this has happened. That said, we are all welcome to seek the input of a third party, whether a partner, family member, colleague or friend to read through your work, share their feedback and help you to get a sense of the overall impact and style of your work. They may even identify a particular strength or achievement that you had overlooked, and explain why they think it would be an appropriate and convincing example to use in your application.
An admissions consultant can equally play the role of an objective reader, helping you to sort priorities, strengthen your supporting examples and tighten the overall content. Sometimes we are so deeply involved in our own work that it is difficult to step back and do justice to the various ideas that we wish to share with the school. A good consultant will be able to judge what is appropriate, effective, and convincing, and if they have familiarity with the different schools, can help you to better match your experience and strengths with the profile of the school.
However there is no magic formula, and ultimately it is your achievements and your future potential that will secure your place in the MBA program of your dreams, so don’t think that by writing a check to an admissions consultant you have also just written your way into b-school. Respected consultants can help you produce a better application, but are nevertheless ensuring that it is your words and your experience, and your motivation that shines through.
How should somebody looking to switch careers approach the ‘Why MBA’ Question?
I personally believe that this is amongst the most important essays, and certainly the one that many admissions officers read first. They are trying to get a sense of your self awareness to see if you have understood how an MBA could benefit you, the level of coherence of you going to business school based on your intended career development, and your level of motivation to work out just how committed you are.
The MBA, and in particular the two-year program, is very often used by candidates to help them switch careers. As such there is nothing unusual about explaining your ambition to move from developing systems for a bank to developing your career in investment banking, or from a functional position to a more strategic managerial role. However this career evolution must make sense to the Admissions Office, based on your background and skill set. If you stated the desire to move into banking but showed little talent or interest for numbers the school might question your ability to make such a transition. Similarly moving from programming lines of code to devising national marketing campaigns for a soft drink manufacturer might seem a stretch to the business school, and they will need to better understand why this switch is coherent with the past and if your expectations from the MBA are realistic.
The Admissions Office wants to understand if you have really thought about going to business school, if it makes sense for you, and what you want to get out of an MBA. You should spend a lot of time on this essay in order to tell a compelling story. This is also where you can show your knowledge of the school and how well you think you will fit there. If you have met the school at the QS World MBA Tour, discussed what you liked from your time spent with the admissions officer and alumni, you can do a better job of explaining how you see yourself fitting in. You can also use the website, student2student, and similar resources to interact with the community and get a feel for its culture.
How should a prospective student use various business school rankings to select schools to apply to?
With caution. For the last decade, the management education sector has been obsessed with the ranking of business schools. There is a growing controversy about whether these rankings provide useful information for MBA applicants, or are misleading and creating a ‘herd instinct’ towards a few schools, which is of no benefit to anyone. Some argue however that with so many rankings now published we have reached a healthier situation where no single ranking dominates the market.
Either way, unless a prospective student really understands the methodologies and weighted algorithms being used by each ranking, they can very quickly be misled or confused. The FT for example places great emphasis on salary 3 years after graduation. BusinessWeek produces results that are heavily influenced by satisfaction levels of students and recruiters, whilst US News & World places significant weight on the GMAT. Unless the candidate is aware of these varying approaches they must wonder how so many different media rankings yield such different results.
Perhaps ultimately the biggest failing of the traditional rankings has been their inability to integrate a prospective student’s own criteria when trying to identify the right business school for him or her. If a candidate is thinking of studying a one-year MBA program focused on Entrepreneurship in Europe or Asia, the mainstream rankings from US media will not prove very useful.
Our thinking when creating the TopMBA Scorecard was to begin by getting a prospective student to identify their own criteria when choosing a school – location, course length, cost, Return On Investment (ROI) based on pre and post-MBA earnings, specialisation, etc and from there they could produce a personalised ranking. It is possible that no single set of results looks like another. Birin, a software engineer who wishes to spend 2 years on the US east coast to focus on finance, will have a very different set of results than Gita, who is focused more on marketing, possibly in a shorter course in a European b-school.
The rankings can be very influential – overly influential – so whilst you are likely to check them out, do research them first, and compare with your more personalised responses generated on Scorecard.
Matt Symonds is co-Founder of the QS World MBA Tour, and author of the bestselling book on applying to b-school, “Getting the MBA Admissions Edge”. An experienced public speaker in more than 40 countries, whether on TV, radio or public presentations, Matt is an authority on Graduate and Executive Management Education, and is passionate about helping individuals to realize their hopes and dreams.
The QS World MBA Tour visits Mumbai on Thursday 5 July and New Delhi on Saturday 7 July. To register now, pleae go to www.topmba.com.
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