Business School Rankings: A Changing Perspective, by Gautam Bharti

Business education has played a transformative role in this contemporary global era. More so, the face of business education is also changing. For a very long time and very rightly, business schools such as Harvard, Stanford GSB and London Business School, amongst others, have been the pillars of business education, making a huge impact on the way business is done and fostered. The education they impart has been qualitative in building tomorrow's leadership and a different world. Enriching research, international scope and real world approach have helped them maintain a high level of B School experience for students and have made them virtually rule the world of business education.

However, some of the lesser known schools have started to appear in the much sought after worldwide rankings from nowhere and some of them have even made it to the top 15. Although, there is no absolute ranking which can be considered right but, they definitely give us a valuable evaluation parameter. Looking at the rankings, notable is the case of a few business schools from India such as Indian School of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad (ISB), which have been successful in creating ripples right at the top. The big question is what is surprising and what is not.

What is not surprising is how they climbed their way up? They did it first by establishing themselves as silent powerhouses of academic excellence, professional expertise and continuous innovation which provide high return of investments to students. Secondly, students receive an immutable experience of intellectual boost, deepening of business acumen and a comprehensive framework for development. Not only this, the indigenous and visionary nature of their education is proving as one stop destinations for aspirants aiming self-advancement. Their top rank is well established from various comparative factors commonly considered such as acceptance rates to these B-Schools, percentage increase in salary, weighted salary, job placements, employment rates, companies which recruit at these schools etc.

But what is really surprising is why are these schools showing up in rankings now and not before? The answer to this is very elementary and very basic. Pluto rightly said:

“Necessity, who is the mother of invention”

Previously in the Indian education system, because of government regulations and protection, these schools didn’t face much threat from other more famous business schools and therefore they didn’t find the need to promote and market their brand like other schools did. As a result, their presence on the global arena was less/not felt. But with recent bills passed in developing nations such as the one in India, “The Foreign Education Bill”, schools from all over the world are coming and opening their campuses in the country and suddenly the stage on which these Indian business schools were operating has turned global. This triggered the need for the native schools to make themselves known for what they truly are and that’s how we see these schools as major rivals in the global arena.

This metamorphic change is not only exciting but also proving instrumental in increasing the options for quality business education elsewhere in the world. However, there are still some areas where these schools need to improve upon and learn, from their “better” counterparts. They still lack R&D, extensive international exposure, and a common entrance test like GMAT. This coupled with the slow moving government policies is doing a lot of damage to them. Reckoning the potential that they sheath within and the quality of education that they have been consistently delivering, they definitely are coming to join and lead this elite league race. The question is when and how?

Gautam Bharti

Fuqua School of Business, MMS 2112