Scenes From Up And Down The Stairs

Business schools in India are at a crossroads. On the one hand, there is a growing demand for more B-schools to accommodate more and more students dreaming of a coveted MBA degree. On the other is a fading MBA gleam, with the industry gradu-ally folding its hands on recruiting neophyte managers. While murmurs about this were doing the rounds, last year industry body Assocham bit the bullet and said only seven per cent MBAs were employable. Today, the statistical ratio may be worse, as more schools churn out mint-fresh MBAs.

In this scenario, leading B-schools like the IIMs are reinventing themselves to stay relevant and bring out graduates that matter to the industry. A bill for autonomy of the IIMs has already been passed by the Lok Sabha. This will give it more teeth, apart from more freedom to choose its curriculum and match  steps with the industry’s needs. Many of the other top B-schools will follow a similar line. But the ones lower down the line will need to do serious thinking of how to stay relevant and survive this deepening freeze.

The ones who do not improve will fall behind and their students will be hard-pressed to get jobs. Others will just have to close down. As it is, many B-schools down the line find it difficult to fill their seats despite making lucrative offers to prospective students. That is because students have become aware of what the industry needs and what a B-school has to offer. The government and its technical education authorities may also step in to shut schools which are not providing meaningful education.

In this kind of a scenario, Outlook’s annual ranking of India’s Best Business Schools assumes special significance, as it brings to the fore the B-schools that still matter and stand out in a densely crowded B-school ecosystem. Like last year, the older IIMs have once again occupied the pole positions and figured in the Top 10. What is heartening though is that some of the non-IIMs have also clawed up from their old positions into the top 10. Down the line, the results are more or less predictable, with quite a few new names making the mark and many older B-schools improving their positions.

Women have always had a special position in Indian business, with recent decades rife with examples of new women entrepreneurs who are excelling in their fields. But are all of these success stories happy ones? Our lead feature profiles a number of resourceful ladies who have found themselves thrust into entrepreneurship because of dire circumstances and have excelled. Most of them have, through sheer fortitude, overcome extreme adverse situations.

In the age of start-ups, we present a feature on how MBAs are increasingly striking it on their own and founding successful start-ups. We also look into the growing trend of business and management degrees tailored to help run family businesses.

In the last one year, there have been instances of companies reducing their flab and removing people. We have a story that looks at how ‘outplacement’ is a catchword and how it works in a competitive environment. As our feature on MBAs in the world of arts and culture proves, the relevance of MBAs has gone beyond industry. We showcase a few from the world of music and dance who have artfully used their MBA status. Staying on the topic, can Bollywood remain far behind? Our feature on the changing contours of its commerce proves that today, Bollywood is moving with the times with fiscal prudence and professionalism.

With the competition getting severe, the industry will be more demanding of MBA graduates and B-schools. Schools will have to move first, tune in with shifting industry needs and produce employable graduates. Choosing a B-school thus becomes an important task to ensure a secure future. The Outlook ranking lends a helping hand in that direction. As always, we reiterate our final advice: choose wisely.