by | February 5, 2012

The University of California- Berkeley (Haas)

The University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business provides a combination of appealing qualities that is unmatched amongst top business schools. The school’s impressively small class sizes make for a collegiate atmosphere in which students enjoy close access to Berkeley’s topnotch faculty. This apart, it’s the school’s location in the Bay Area allows students to take advantage of tremendous job prospects in nearby Silicon Valley which has its beautiful year-round weather makes the two years of experience memorable for its students. For these and numerous other reasons, Berkeley is considered by most to be one of the ten best business schools in the world, and is a great choice for highly-qualified applicants who want to make a better living for themselves.

Admissions and Tuition:

Just like its’ peers, The University of California- Berkeley (Haas) selects its students carefully. This can be deduced from the statistical history itself.

In 2007, Berkeley Business School’s rate of admission was the second lowest in the nation at the less than 14%. This extremely high level of selectivity at Berkeley is inevitable considering the school’s large applicant pools. The business school typically gets over 3,000 candidates while its’ small entering classes, usually consist of less than 250 seats, clearly depicting the cautiousness and quality of the student intake the business school keeps in mind.

While making decisions in this ultra-competitive admissions process, Berkeley focuses much of its attention on the professional experience and academic aptitude of its applicants. Work experience is predictably a must for successful applicants, as every member of the 2007 entering class had some such experience, and the class on the whole averaged 65 months of work experience. Work experience brings with itself creditability and practical learning experience which indirectly helps the students to empathize and understand the business scenarios in a better way.

That said, Berkeley looks beyond the length and quantity of an applicant’s professional experience, and seeks candidates who have demonstrated an aptitude for progress and leadership in the workplace. Similarly, although Berkeley doubtlessly looks for impressive scores and grades when evaluating candidates, evidenced by the entering class of 2007’s average GMAT score of 710 and average undergraduate GPA of 3.57.Alongside, the school also takes into account the difficulty of the coursework that a candidate has chosen to take on, as well as the competitiveness of the candidate’s undergraduate institution. As such, applicants who display both quantity and quality in their academic and professional experiences are most likely to be called upon for interviews, although, as previously stated, many qualified applicants will unfortunately become casualties of Berkeley’s admissions cycle due to the school’s very small class sizes. Thus, if you consider yourself to be a truly aspiring candidate of The University of California- Berkeley be sure to imbibe within yourself all the qualities desired to be a cutting edge applicant.

Applicant’s fortunate enough to gain admission to Berkeley Business School will be glad to find that the school’s yearly tuition is usually the lowest among the top 10 business schools in the nation, even if by only a few thousand dollars. Additionally, it is a double bargain for the students residing in the state of California who can chance upon the double discount offered to the residents.

California residents, on the other hand, will save a much more sizable amount of money by attending Berkeley instead of other top 10 schools, as Berkeley’s public standing allows it to offer residents of California a lower rate of tuition. For the 2008-2009 academic year, tuition for non-residents at Berkeley is $40,737, while in-state tuition is $31,057.

Academics and Curriculum:

The first-year curriculum of Berkeley Business School is comprised mostly of required core courses, and is built to provide students with a solid academic foundation in preparation for advanced coursework in their second year. Team-based learning methods are heavily involved in these core courses, providing students ample opportunity to meet and collaborate with their fellow classmates as they embark on their business educations.

After passing required core courses, students are free to choose from among almost 100 elective courses in their second year and part of the second semester of their first year as they tailor their MBAs to their specific interests and desires. These elective courses are frequently updated and renovated, thanks to Berkeley’s elective surveys, which allow students to have a say in deciding which electives are outdated, which should be expanded, and which should be introduced. This is one of many ways in which Berkeley students are involved in the decision-making processes of their MBA program, an involvement that allows them to hone their skills in successful collaboration as they prepare to enter a business world in which such skills are essential.

Quality of Life:

Several aspects of Berkeley’s MBA program contribute to the high quality of life enjoyed by the school’s students. The collaboration that is ever-present between students and faculty in Berkeley’s classrooms helps to bring about a friendly atmosphere that spills over into students’ social lives. Also, the school’s policy against grade disclosure effectively rids of cutthroat levels of competition that plague some top business schools.

Berkeley students can partake in numerous social activities with their fellow classmates throughout the academic year, including popular weekly outings at the many bars in and around Berkeley. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is doubtlessly a huge boost to the quality of life of Berkeley students as well, as they can enjoy beautiful year-round weather in an area that is considered by many to be the best place to live in the country. Furthermore, the many attractions of downtown San Francisco are easily accessible to Berkeley students by way of a short ride on the BART train, ensuring that they never run out of ways to pass their free time during business school. Taking all of this into consideration, it’s safe to say that students of Berkeley business school will enjoy themselves as they pursue their MBA degrees in the Bay Area.

Employment Prospects:

In California and throughout the West, Berkeley MBAs enjoy tremendous employment prospects. Most of the top-tier firms and corporations from this region, namely those in Silicon Valley, actively recruit Berkeley students. Apart from this, a relentless effort is put in place by the business school’s many alumni in the region help students gain access to those firms and corporations who may not recruit as actively. As a result, up to 80% of Berkeley MBAs typically begin their post-business school careers in the West.

While this great concentration of the school’s graduates in and around California continues to boost prospects for future students of the school who wish to work in the area, it may have the opposite effect for the prospects of students who may wish to take their business careers elsewhere. However, even if the student community is unable to explore excellent work opportunity elsewhere, they can be rest assured that their investment in The University of California- Berkeley (Haas) would surely go waste.

In all likelihood, such students will face a tougher job search and less access to firms outside of the West, although of course, the Berkeley MBA will open many doors throughout the country and in many corners of the world. Overall, more than 90% of Berkeley grads are typically employed within three months of graduation, with an average starting salary and bonus that stood at $116,263 for the Class of 2007. Thus, a fruitful MBA course at the Haas University is more likely to bring money making opportunities and surely a better future for the candidate.

In Sum:

With its tremendous location, small class sizes, and great employment prospects on the West Coast, the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is a great place to invest in an MBA course for a living. . This is especially true for the residents of California who want to pay lower tuition rate and are unable to earn a business education can attend the school at a lower rate of tuition, there may be no better place to earn a business education than The University of California- Berkeley (Haas)

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by | February 4, 2012

114th 1M/1M Strategy Roundtable For Entrepreneurs: YCombinator vs. 1M/1M

Today’s roundtable, as usual, was an international affair, with entrepreneurs presenting from different parts of the US, India, Israel, and many other geographies. Before I share what we heard from them today, I want to highlight an important aspect of 1M/1M that is repeatedly underscored in these roundtables: the international, inclusive, democratic nature of the initiative.

In fact, one of the best ways we can delineate this phenomenon is by contrasting 1M/1M with YCombinator. This short video explains how the two programs differ: Click here.

Bottomline: YC, superb incubator, is a program that applies to less than .01% of entrepreneurs, whereas 1M/1M is an inclusive, global program. The businesses we will discuss today will put this distinction in perspective.

Hooduku
First, Sudhendra Seshachala from Houston, Texas pitched Hooduku, a professional services business that already has significant revenue from cloud integration work. Hooduku is a 1M/1M premium member and is interested in moving away from pure services toward a product+services model.

Sudhi presented the idea of a platform that bridges between Microsoft Azure customers who are also using RackSpace and other Infrastructure-as-a-Service providers for their content management and delivery. He uses a classic and highly successful mode of building products, that of being deeply immersed in customer situations through services projects and using that domain knowledge and relationship to identify opportunities for building products. A major example of such a company is Appirio, which went on to get funded by Sequoia Capital and has since built a strong product-services company in the cloud integration domain.

My advice to Sudhi is to not position his company as a ‘platform’ but rather pitch the value proposition as an ‘integration framework’. These subtle wordings make a huge difference in how a company is viewed.

Buy Or Boycott

Next Doug Lowenthal from Jacksonville, Florida presented Buy Or Boycott, which he came up with at the recent Startup Weekend program. Buy Or Boycott wants to offer consumers an easy way to avoid buying products that have major issues, be it political or environmental. However, the user experience that Doug described to deliver this was not convincing. He proposes to offer a mobile app with which to scan every product in your grocery store shopping cart. I don’t believe consumers would do this. When we stand on grocery store lines after a long day or week, the last thing we want to do is scan a bunch of products with our mobile phones.

NXI Group
Then Kaushik Mitra from New Delhi, India, pitched the NXI Group of Companies, a custom hardware vendor that presented itself as a laptop and tablet company. It took me a bit of time to parse through the details and figure out that NXI is NOT a laptop or tablet vendor competing with HP, Dell and Acer. Rather, it is developing custom hardware for consumers with specific needs. For example, they are in the midst of developing RFID-enabled tablets for the universal ID effort by the Indian government.

Kaushik’s company already has $400,000 in revenue, and while the business is not a typical venture-fundable one, I see no reason why the company cannot continue to grow in its niche.

Koolaring

Last, Edoe Cohen from Tel Aviv, Israel pitched Koolaring, a SaaS solution for building private alumni networks a la LinkedIn. I have seen numerous startups with this general idea. It makes perfect sense for universities to have their own private alumni networks, and it is only a matter of time before they do. Whether Koolaring will be the winner in that space or not will depend on execution.

So you see, I just shared with you four businesses, none of which would suit YCombinator for a variety of reasons outlined in the video. However, 1M/1M is delighted to help any and all of them.

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by | February 4, 2012

The Other 99% Of Entrepreneurs by Sramana Mitra

The Other 99% Of Entrepreneurs

In my recent piece Reengineering Capitalism I highlighted a phenomenon that the global entrepreneurship ecosystem is paying very little attention to: Over 99% of entrepreneurs who seek funding get rejected. Yet, the entire world is focused on the 1% that is “fundable.”

The media, when pitched a startup story, is interested in who funded the venture. They seldom ask how much revenue the company has or if it  is profitable.

Incubators take pride in how exclusive they are and how many “deals” they “reject.”

Angels and VCs, of course, discard most of their “deal flow.”

And entrepreneurs? They seem to have confused the definition of entrepreneurship altogether. Entrepreneurship, they mistakenly believe, equals financing!

This is wrong.

There are numerous stories of successful businesses that have been built without a penny of outside financing. I want to share with you some wisdom from the heroes of the other 99%. They live in a world of entrepreneurs who enjoy their freedom and are not looking to sell their businesses or take them public. You could say these businesses are built-to-enjoy, as opposed to built-to-flip. Needless to say, outside financing, by definition, requires an “exit,” and for most businesses, that means a sale to a larger company.

But the entrepreneurs I will introduce you to today are not interested in selling their companies. They just want to continue doing what they are doing: building value.

Meet Girish Navani, CEO of eClinicalWorks, a super-successful healthcare IT company based in Boston. He has never taken any funding but has built a $100 million-plus business by delivering value to customers.

Girish says, “I don’t foresee leaving the company for at least 10 years. I would like to leave it a private company with no external investors and absolutely no thoughts whatsoever about Wall Street. I am having fun and take great pride in my freedom. There is no reason I would give that up. We are a cash flow positive company. We have recurring revenues and no debt. We have a large customer base that is growing exponentially.” [You can read Girish’s full story here.]

Meet Andrew Fox, CEO of ClubPlanet, a $30 million-plus nightclub ticketing services company that is also 100% founder-owned. Andrew loves nightlife and says, “The business is very successful and has a lot of room for growth. I think that we have a lot of suitors out there who mention really ridiculous numbers at times. This is such a great lifestyle business that I don’t know if I could ever sell it. All of my previous businesses I built to sell, but this time around you might find me right here in thirty years. I hope by then it is $300 million a year. Based on our growth trajectory, we are seeing really good signs of improvement. [You can read more of Andrew’s story here.]

Then there is the oft-cited Sridhar Vembu, who has turned all tables with Zoho, a $100 million-plus SaaS company that competes with Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com without a penny in outside capital.

I have had numerous conversations with Sridhar over the years, and each time he reinforces the same basic philosophy: “I want to build this without outside capital. I don’t want to sell the company.” [You can learn more about Sridhar’s methods here.]

Each of these entrepreneurs could raise money in a nanosecond given how much success they’ve had. The fact that they don’t gives you an idea about the advantages of the self-financed, organic growth model. No matter how much Wall Street gyrates, these entrepreneurs experience and demonstrate a level of stability and steadiness that is exemplary.

Imagine if the American economy had many more such steady private companies that are far removed from the movements of the speculative markets, how much more robust things would be? It really is time that the media starts celebrating more of these kinds of heroes: the other 99%.

And for young entrepreneurs, as you evaluate role models to emulate, perhaps it is not a bad idea to also consider some of these lesser-known heroes. They can give you a picture of the  realities of an alternate, deeply satisfying universe.

In conclusion, I want to leave you with a 1:49 minute video message.  Please listen to it, and stop for a moment to think about your path forward. Is a single-minded focus on fund-raising your only option?

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by | January 31, 2012

B-School ranking trends globally

So long we are discussing the b-school ranking trends globally; it is apt to focus our neurotic cells on what is appositely called as the birthplace of MBA or management schools. The year 1881 saw the foundation of Wharton school of business in the USA followed by Harvard business school, the endeavour dates back more than a century.

For the better part of the initial 50 years, this new collegiate form was confined to the lands saddled between the Atlantic and the pacific oceans. This allowed a multi-fold growth in the influence both with students and employers alike. Hence it will not come as a surprise that the North American regional rating is dominated by business schools from United States.

A close look at the rankings year-on-year will shed light on the fact that the top 10 institutes remain more or less the same for close to a decade. For instance, apart from a new entry of UCLA Anderson School Of management in the top 10, the rest of the list remained intact. The top of the list comprises of Harvard Business School; Stanford University Graduate School of Business; The Kellogg School of Management and The Wharton School, not necessary in the same order, but nevertheless.

In 2011, there have been upwardly trend among relatively new business schools, some of them have ascended to their present status in relatively less time courtesy to the focused approach on research and industry-partnerships. A list of business school that have made it into the top cluster in rankings is given below; notable amongst the new juggernauts is Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto which has made great strides in management education.

  • Rotman School of Management;
  • Schulich School of Business;
  • Sauder School of Business;
  • Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management;
  • Queen’s School of Business;
  • Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

Shifting focus across the Atlantic, towards the European continent- a traditional bastion of education. The continent has been a late-adopter to this form of education but the up and coming business schools have evolved at a rapid speed. A cluster of top-ranked Europe has developed which in a way has effectively challenged the hitherto unchallenged hegemony of the United States. Leading the business school ranking in Europe is the old guard- United Kingdom. 33% of top-ranked business schools have their domicile in the UK followed closely by France and Spain. In recent years Switzerland and Italy has contributed to the list of top business schools from Europe. The below mentioned trio has made it to the top cluster thus making Europe a formidable educational citadel.

  • European Business School in Germany;
  • Imperial College Business School;
  • Copenhagen Business School.

When the center of world’s economic activity have shifted from its traditional bastion of west to the east, it will not come as a surprise that educational institutions have a part to play in this change of dynamics. If 19th and 20th century belong to the west, certainly the 21st century belongs to Asia with China and India leading the way towards unprecedented economic growth.

In Asia, the Chinese and the Indians have displayed a mercurial rise in terms of quality of education which is rightly acknowledged in rankings. This rapid rise in the rankings from the year 2004 to 2011* is the testimony of improving standard of education in Asian institutions. The benchmarks of these rising institutions are set against well-known institutions of Europe and US. This helps them in comparisons as well as provides deep insights in the area of improvement. The ever-growing economic activity in this part of the world rightly fully demand more and more accredited business schools that will help in churning out a new generation of business savvy management leaders.

Hong Kong- a former British colony- has much upped the ante and the joined major players including China and India since the year 2009*. This can be underscored by the fact that this year’s rating consist of 8 business school from Hong Kong and China.  China Europe International Business School have found a place in the recent rankings. Below are the ones who made it to the Asia-Pacific rating:

  • School of Management at Fudan University;
  • Guanghua School of Management, Peking University;
  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong;
  • School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University;
  • Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Hong Kong;
  • The HKUST Business School;
  • Peking University, Beijing International MBA Programs (BiMBA);
  • China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

Indian Institute of management, Ahmadabad leads the way for business schools in India. Followed closely by Indian Institute of management, Bangalore which has jumped one place to position itself at number fifth (2010)*. Indian business schools have found a significant increase in the employer perception in the last few years and that is well reflected in their improved ratings. Notable among them is Indian Institute of management, Kolkata which has leapfrog in to top 10* in 2011 from its previous 12th position. Apart from Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata the composition of the top-10* institutes from the Asia-Pacific region remained same over the last year.

The INSEAD-Singapore defies all law of geography and demography to be amongst the top-ranked business school from the region for three consecutive years it’s a marvelous feat to achieve for a diminutive country with a small population.

Latin America- dismissively known as the backyard of United states of America- has very little to boast of in terms of quality management institutions. For students and employers alike, the preferred destination is North America, Europe or Asia. However, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, a business school from Chile (8th in 2010 to No. 1 in 2011)* has re-affirmed an oft-repeated consensus that free-market economies induce demand for locally trained leaders and managers.

When it comes to Africa and the Middle-East the composition of the list remained almost the same as in the year 2010, just some shuffling in the ranks with American University in Cairo losing the top spot to Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. Whereas, the Suliman S. Oliyan School of business, the American Institute of Beirut jumped three places to 4th position in 2011 from 7th in the year 2010*.

 

 

(*)Regional ratings: QS Global 200 Business Schools Report

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by | January 30, 2012

Is a great Business School a good Entrepreneurship School ?

I am an entrepreneur, one who started up as a teen and at many events, conferences and startup journey sessions, the audience (mostly at B-Schools) inevitably asks – Did having an MBA degree benefit you as an entrepreneur ?

The blogosphere is full of successful entrepreneurs who have strong opinions on this topic. I thought I would put up a few and then let you be the judge.

Jason Freedman Co-Founder of Flighcaster wrote an interesting blog post - Beware of MBAs! The business school curriculum teaches how to suck at startups where he justifies perhaps why MBAs  suit  large businesses and not for startups where the focus is on agility, innovation and changing business models as an opportunist. I also recommend reading his other blog post - Not all MBAs suck at startups. Learn how to spot Durant MBAs

Sramana Mitra, a Silicon valley serial entrepreneur shared very strong views on why business schools are not option for aspiring entrepreneurs in her Forbes column Why B-Schools Set Up Entrepreneurs To Fail . She is so convinced about it that she setup an entrepreneur coaching program to sound board entrepreneurs.

Other Interesting articles Covering this topic are :

Is a great Business School a good Entrepreneurship School ?

Is a great Business School a good Entrepreneurship School ?

Now that you’ve read all this, you  may wonder why do aspiring entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs go to a reputable B-School ?

The answer, if you are already an aspiring entrepreneur is quite simple. If you get into a reputable B-School, it gives you open access to interact with the best in business. It gains you a tremendous network that gives you leverage to pull the right strings at the right places in your business. Apart from network, it also gives you access to one on one sessions with your favorite profs who would charge an exorbitant amount for consultation outside of the classroom. And having genius peers to trash your ideas day in and day out for 2 years wouldn’t hurt either. If at all they will rub off some of that flamboyance and shrewd skills on you.

Generally, for an entrepreneur, a b-school is a place to trade subsidized individual consultancy and creating a strong network around. And once out of the college, leveraging highly influential alumni network to gain traction.

If the article has not put you off from joining a B-School, join us as we explore the Best B-Schools for aspiring entrepreneurs in a blog post soon !

 

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by | January 30, 2012

Spotlight On Jacksonville, Florida

113th 1M/1M Strategy Roundtable For Entrepreneurs: Spotlight on Jacksonville, Florida

Today’s roundtable was co-hosted with the Jacksonville Startup Weekend. For the uninitiated, Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where entrepreneurs come together to pitch ideas, form teams, and learn best practices. This past weekend, the Jacksonville entrepreneurship community hosted their own version of this exciting program. 150 people came together, and 17 businesses were formed. An additional 50 were on the wait-list, an evidence of the energy and enthusiasm that is bubbling in Florida right now. MJ Charmani, founder of iStart Jax, a business accelerator, and one of the key organizers of the event introduced today’s session with additional reports on last weekend’s event.

Armex Zero Suit
First, Eric Keeler with Armex Industries, Inc. pitched the Armex Zero Suit, a new kind of durable, special-purpose suit with significantly higher heat and cold resistance targeted towards racecar drivers, firefighters, and military personnel. Eric has done some technology scouting, and believes he can deliver on the specs of the product.

The problem, however, is that he is assuming that an investor would fund the product development. Investors rarely fund concepts. Even seed investors generally fund businesses that are already rolling. So, Eric will need to create a method with which to get to paying customers before any investor would invest. In addition, there is significant work to do on market sizing and go-to-market strategy. Direct selling simply is not the right solution for bringing this product to market. The price-point is too low for that to be sustainable.

pay2pitch.com

Next Perry Kaye presented pay2pitch.com, a network where entrepreneurs will come and pitch investors and mentors and pay, say, $1,000 for a twenty-minute interaction. The money, however, will be donated to the investor or mentor’s favorite charity.

Perry rightly points out that a miniscule percentage of entrepreneurs get funded. We agree on the observation, and many of you have already seen our The Other 99% video. However, Perry’s observation that entrepreneurs don’t get funded because they can’t get meetings is not entirely accurate. Most entrepreneurs don’t get funded because they are simply not fundable. For a variety of different reasons that have to do with the fundamentals of their businesses, entrepreneurs, even if they CAN get meetings, don’t get funded. So paying $1,000 to get a 20-minute meeting, in my opinion, is a total wastage of money. Of course, if the assumption is that this is for charity, that is different.

The second problem with the assumption here is that mentoring networks typically do not scale. You can see my video on the subject to get more color on why.

Bottomline, we get this question very often: Can 1M/1M help me get funded? So yes, tons of entrepreneurs are looking for funding, whether or not they should. Most of them are not fundable. So getting them to pay $1,000 for a 20-minute meeting that will most likely result in a rejection seems deceptive to me.

Ziffor
Then Tim LeMaster pitched Ziffor, a service for table restaurants that would like to offer promotions for non-peak times. This is a compelling idea, because many restaurants that have experimented with Groupon-like services have often been overwhelmed with unprofitable customers showing up during peak hours. Tim’s idea offers a good solution to this problem.

However, there are some serious operational complexities involved to make a solution like this work at scale. Getting access to restaurant booking data won’t be easy. Also, selling to restaurants is expensive, as we have seen in the massive operational expenditure and lack of profitability in the Groupon model.

I reviewed Tim’s financial assumptions, and advised him to redo them with the assumption that the team would have to bootstrap the business locally, get enough validation, etc., before any investor would even consider investing.

SustanAbin

Next Rushabh Shah pitched SustainAbin, a concept that anchors on the assumption that 83 million people are searching for how to practice a green lifestyle. Rushabh wants to create a portal that harnesses this traffic, and give them meaningful content, based on which he would be able to generate high value leads for local businesses in the sustainability area such as solar, organic farming, etc.

Rushabh needs to do a lot of studying of how lead-arbitrage businesses work. To make a case of the business he proposes, he would have to, somehow, channel the search traffic from Google to his site. This is the domain of PPC and SEO, and the market is very competitive, buying extremely expensive.

On the business model side, also, some of the assumptions of monetizing with advertising are misplaced. I keep repeating this: there is way too much unmonetized ad inventory out there, driving CPMs down. Dramatically. Rushabh’s analysis of the business needs to be significantly more thorough and comprehensive to even assess viability.

Bthere
Vincent Laganella then pitched Bthere, an excellent concept of analyzing 911 data feeds to extract leads for glass repair, door and window repair, and other crime-related contexts that immediately trigger needs in consumers. For example, a consumer has just had a burglar break in to the house through a glass window. The 911 call would generate a lead for a local glass repair shop instantly. And small businesses would be more than happy to pay good money for such immediately actionable leads. Very strong idea, and excellent analysis of the business fundamentals.

Overall, today’s roundtable was a window into Jacksonville’s efforts at drumming up additional entrepreneurship for regional economic development. The Startup Weekend programs around the world are doing this in different cities, and the organization is supported by the Kauffman Foundation. We look forward to supporting more such efforts through the 1M/1M initiative.

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by | January 30, 2012

Is Your B-School Accredited?

Choosing the right business school is no less important than say, having a good GMAT score to be admitted into one. When I say “right,” I mean “accredited” right.

So what is this b-school accreditation and how important is it?

Accreditation is the process that a business school voluntary undergoes in order to get public recognition that they have achieved a certain standard of quality education.

It is important because of three reasons:

-  First, it assures that the quality of education from a business school has passed the criteria set by accreditation bodies;

-  Scholarship grants are available only for accredited schools;

-  Employers are more inclined to hire MBA graduates from accredited schools.

To become accredited, schools must meet the criteria established by the accrediting body.

Is it easy to find an accredited business school?

There are probably more than 8,000 business schools, world-wide. But it is not a matter of finding an accredited business school but one that suits your personal interests and limitations – the perfect fit. There is not one business school that fits every MBA candidate.

A candidate must understand what accreditation a school or program has received, and why before making the decision to apply.

Who accredits business schools?

There are various accreditation bodies to do this. They can either be local or international.

In the U.S., majority of MBA programs are accredited by regional accrediting organizations. Some of these are the:

-  Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA);

-  New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE);

-  North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA-HLC);

-  Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS);

-  Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

You can find an accredited school in the U.S. through the website of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education.

Internationally, there are three major accreditation bodies. These are:

-  The Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB):

ASCSB started out accrediting U.S.and Canadian business schools but is now accrediting schools outside of North America, as well;

-  The EQUIS, the accreditation body of the European Fund for Management Development (EFMD):

This accredits schools outside the European Union.

- Association of MBAs (AMBA) based in theU.K.

 

It is worth your while to take note of the following:

-  Both AACSB and EQUIS accredit the school, considering its resources, quality of faculty and programs offered;

-  EQUIS focuses on diversity, largely from its pan-European background. It offers Executive MBA, as well as part-time programs;

-   AACSB accredits full-time MBA programs only and focuses on how the school uses its resources to bring it to top levels;

-   AMBA, on the other hand, accredits the MBA programs rather than the school as a whole.

To give you comfort, send applications to business schools which are both locally and internationally accredited.

Can schools be multi-accredited?

With the current number of business schools and dwindling enrolees, the trend for multiple accreditations is increasing.

According to statistics (AACSB.com), there are now 173 schools worldwide, with multiple accreditations, up from 129 three years ago. Of these, 57 are classified “Triple Crown,” – those with accreditations from the three top international accreditation bodies, AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.

The reason for getting multiple accreditations is pretty obvious. That’s competition in action. But how far must schools go, accreditation-wise, to reach its point of diminishing returns has been the subject of much debate. .

 

Pros and cons of accreditation:

Accreditation is not without its critics and defenders

Some senior members of some business schools have questioned its long-term results, while others are concerned that business schools which thrive by differentiating themselves from others, may become too similar owing to the system of benchmarking they are subjected to.

Not so, counters accreditation defenders. They say that accreditation is:

-  A system of governance by the education industry to raise the standards of MBA programs;

-  It forces business schools to compete on quality, not just on program cost;

-  Multiple accreditations create top-quality second and third tier schools for students who don’t make it to the higher level of business schools.

On the whole, though majority finds accreditation important in harmonizing education, it must not be taken as the only criteria MBA candidates should look for. For example, “culture” is impossible to accredit.

Others suggest that MBA applicants should consider a school’s programs on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental Sustainability.

 

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by | January 30, 2012

What to Expect in an MBA Class

 

When I enrolled into my executive MBA class, I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic. I was already, what you may call a “wizened old owl,” having “done this and seen that,” that nothing seemed to surprise me anymore. And it didn’t

Aside from Accounting, which really baffles me, all the other subjects seemed a rehash of the things I was too familiar with through years of reading and working.

My work schedule forced on me the part-time program which was kind of easy to deal with. My curriculum may differ from yours but a student of a general MBA can expect a typical first year class to be similar to that of mine. And this could take the form outlined below:

 

General business education:

The first year will most likely deal with the core courses usually covering the following:

-   Accounting;

-   Economics;

-   Finance;

-   Management;

-   Marketing;

-   Organizational behavior;

-   Strategic planning.

If you are having a specialization, it may include some subjects related to your specialized field. For example, a specialization on Finance may have subjects on Fund Management or Mergers and Takeovers.

Participate in class discussions:

Your MBA is a preparation for the realities of the world where you may have to fight and claw your way every step of the promotion ladder. It would then be best, at this early, to be in the middle of class discussions; you must participate to learn.

In some cases you may be singled out by your professor to share your opinions and assessments of an issue, while in others, you may be asked to participate in classroom discussions.

Some schools require you to join study groups, form your own study group and work with a group on projects. All these require active participation.

Note: Study groups supplement your individual study and allow you to gain a greater understanding of your subjects, share notes, study tips and ideas.

Expect a lot of homework

This is the worst part of my MBA experience. There were things to research each day, make a report for class presentation the following day.

The amount of work you are required to do at home is sometimes unreasonable.

There will be a lot of reference books to read, case studies to go over, and other assigned reading materials which you need to have good comprehension to be able to hold you’re your own during the class discussions.

Written assignments will be plenty, as well. These could be in the form of essays, case studies or case study analysis.

If you feel handicapped in these areas, you learn how to speed read and to write case study analysis.

 

A taste of the real world:

MBA classes provide the opportunity for a real hands-on experience through analysis of case studies of real or hypothetical business scenarios

You will be encouraged to apply the knowledge you have acquired in your own work experiences and share them with your classmates.

Some programs require internship where you are assigned companies to work with. Some business schools, the big ones, have career centers that can help you find an internship related to your field of study. If there is none, you may have to fend for yourself.

Even if there is, this should not stop you from looking for internship opportunities outside of the program so you can make comparisons. There are websites that can help you find one that suits you best.

Learn how to cope:

An MBA class requires s lot of reading. If you don’t have the habit of reading, develop one now. You can start by following this simple routine:

-       Find a good place to read:

Though you can read anywhere, it might be better to find a good place for better comprehension and retention.

Find a place that is quiet, well-lit, and comfortable for you to read.

-       Learn how to speed read:

Speed reading is the act of quickly absorbing written information. The goal is to read quickly but still retain comprehension of the material read.

-       Focus on recall, not reading:

Just like seeing a movie, you don’t get to memorize the dialogue but you get the whole story by recall.

It is often impossible to digest everything that you are reading, especially academic books. Reading every word is not necessary, you will be overwhelmed. But do remember the key points and details of the materials you are reading.

Don’t let the above scenario of a typical MBA class drive scare you. More is still to come. Take consolation that the second year may be a lot less reading, but a lot more doing.

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by | January 30, 2012

How to Cope with Your MBA Class

Taking an MBA class is not to be taken lightly. Not only is it expensive, you are also putting your career, your future, on the line.

Nor should you take it with utter seriousness that it will stress you out. Learning, to be effective and lasting, must be taken in a spirit of fun, enjoyment and participation.

To achieve both ends is a mater of strategy. Hey, one of the key learning points in an MBA program is strategic planning. You can start learning now by mapping out some strategies to take you to graduation day with flying colors.

Here are some of them:

Develop good study habits:

There are very few gifted individuals who hardly touch their reference materials, yet manage to stay on top academically. Majority of us have to work real hard to make it. Most of us have to develop good study habits to get by.

Here’s how:

- Study regularly:

You know how habits are formed? It is doing something repeatedly and regularly for a number of days. The going might be difficult at first. But soon as you get your groove, it will become easy; becomes a part of you.

Don’t wait until the last minute to open your reference materials. That’s cramming and cramming don’t make good grades.

-  Always complete your assignments:

Doing your assignments on the last minute will surely overwhelm you when the next comes along.

An MBA class can seem like an endless performance of assignments. If you fail to do one on time, you will have difficulty in performing other assignments on the pipeline.

-  Eat and sleep well:

Your body can only do what is expected of it if it is well fed and well rested. Studies upon studies can support the medical and physical benefits of a good sleep and a good diet.

Consult credible nutritional guides to see what foods are best suited to keep you running through your post graduate studies.

-  Relax:

Don’t push it when your body cries out for rest and relief. Stop, go out for a walk, jog, exercise, see a friend or a movie.

Anything that will take you away for a while to de-stress will do you much good. Sometimes it is better to stop so we can cover more mileage. 

Join study groups:

Professors and behavioral psychologists all agree that study groups can help improve your performance, both in class discussions as well as on tests.

Study groups force students to change their old ways and their less effective patterns of behavior. It is peer pressure in a positive and constructive way.

In a study group, you will be less likely to procrastinate, unless you don’t mind ugly stares from other group members for having failed to deliver your part of the deal.

It will encourage you to explain things aloud for the benefit of other members; for critiquing. This is not a one-way street. You can do likewise to other members making the learning process participative and dynamic.

It will also force you to become more organized; learn to put dates and labels on your notes. All these will make your notes make more sense and the end of the week.

We can go on with a litany of reasons outlining the benefits of a study group.

My daughter became a doctor by studying with a friend. There’s always synergy in numbers.

Learn to read the SQ3R way:

An MBA class requires reading dozens of textbooks and maybe countless case studies. To stand a good chance of comprehending and absorbing all these, you need to learn how to read quickly and efficiently. These tips will help you do just that:

-  Scan:

Scan the reading material before actually reading it. Focus on titles, heading, bold or italicized words, chapter summaries, diagrams, pictures and their captions;

-  Question:

As you read, constantly ask yourself what the key points are.

-  Read:

Read what you need to read. Focus on comprehension rather than memorization. Seek the facts and important points and write them down.

-  Review:

Review what you have learned after reading. Look at your notes, chapter summaries or things you have written on the margins and then reflect on the key concepts.

-  Recite:

Recite aloud, in your own words, what you have learned until you are confident that you understand the material and could explain it to someone else.

There’s a learning factor in hearing what you are studying. It registers more clearly in the brain.

These tools, if I may call them that, can help you manage the heavy work and study load of your MBA class. Of course, if you have more effective ways to do that, by all means, use it to the fullest.

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by | January 30, 2012

Make Your Case Study Analysis Stand Out

Case study analysis forms the core of any MBA class. This is where students are exposed to real business problems, analyze them and provide solutions – either hypothetically or otherwise.

In my Strategic Planning subject, I had the case of ebay.com as it struggles to compete with Amazon.com and other conventional publishing houses which were going online as well.

It was a group case study and ours was plainly a hypothetical plan on how the company should compete successfully in an ever increasing competitive environment.

I can’t even remember the part of the total report that I had to write.

Anyway, for those who are yet to write a case study analysis (and those who had but found it a real struggle), here are some tips to be able to do a better job:

1.  Investigate and analyze the Company’s history and growth:

The present and future can only be charted based on the past historical data of the Company. Without that, you will be running on baseless assumptions.

Get to know the company’s origins, its critical incidents, structure and growth.

2.  Identify the Company’s strengths and weaknesses:

From the information gathered in Step 1, examine and make a list of its strengths and weaknesses, its value-creation functions.

Is it strong in research but weak in marketing? Is the equipment old and aging or are they top of the line? Is their human resource department proactive or reactive? Do they benchmark with competing industries? What is its product line? Are they new or approaching their product life cycles? Is its pricing competitive, etc.?

Without these things, and many others, your assessment of the Company will be less than  comprehensive to come up with a viable strategic plan.

3.  Gather information on the Company’s external environment:

What are the threats and opportunities within the Company’s external environment?

This is going to take a wider data-gathering. Things like: Who are its competitors? What pricing do they have? Their marketing strategy? Who are their customers? Are they intruding into your? How much and how fast? Why? What are the latest trends in the market you are operating? What are the buying preferences of your target market and their income levels are some of the things you need to know.

4.  Analyze the data gathered in Steps 2 and 3:

Go over your data and see how the Company’s strengths and weaknesses stack up against its outside threats and opportunities.

This is where you can glean what the course of action the Company must take. Shall it continue with its present course or come up with some changes to stay competitive and thrive in the business it is in?

5.  Look into its corporate level strategy:

Go over and analyze its mission, goals and corporate strategy.

Are they in harmony with each other or are they dysfunctional? Are they sufficient to the current realities or do they need to be changed? Are they doable or something very ethereal?

Carefully analyze the Company’s line of business, its subsidiaries and acquisitions. Look for ways to “trim the fat,” where necessary or beef up some areas where reinforcement is needed.

6. Look at its business level strategy:

This presupposes that the “Company” is a multiple business affair. Otherwise, this is going to be the same as in Step 5.

For a Company with multiple businesses, carefully analyze each business level strategy to see if they complement that of the corporate strategy.

A business level strategy that differs greatly with the corporate strategy will definitely lead to chaos, to say the least.

7.  Formulate recommendations:

Based on the data gathered in the previous steps, you can now formulate some recommendations for the company to take.

Your recommendations should include identifying the structure and control systems to track effectiveness of action steps, organizational changes to effect recommendations, levels of hierarchy, employee rewards, resolution of conflicts, and other important points necessary for the smooth implementation of recommendations.

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