MBA

[|The Naked MBA]
This is a link to an interesting blog that takes an alternative look at business schools from the perspective of the student.

[|MBA - GYM] This is a free subscription website designed to give you insights into what is taught at business schools on MBA programmes. There are eight "workouts" on areas ranging from Leadership to financial accounting designed to help you decide how an MBA could help you develop your business know how and skills.

[|FT - Global MBA Rankings] A list of rankings giving details on the world's leading MBA programmes.

GMAT
The [|Graduate Management Admission Test] (GMAT) is a qualification required for admission to most U.S., Canadian, and many UK graduate business schools. Most students attend graduate business school to pursue an MBA degree. However, the GMAT can also be used for admission to PhD programs in a business major, such as Finance, Accounting, and Economics. Click on the link on the GMAT link for more information concerning the test and some sample questions.

Which MBA?
From [|Economist.com], Sep 28th 2007

The University of Chicago's business school tops this year's ranking


The University of [|Chicago's Graduate School of Business] has claimed top spot in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2007 ranking of full-time MBA programmes (full report and methodology). It is the first time the school has led the annual ranking, which is now in its sixth year. Chicago toppled the Spanish school [|IESE], which had ranked in first place for the previous two years, and IESE dropped to third position.

With three European schools breaking into the top ten this year - [|Cambridge], [|Instituto Empresa] and [|Henley] - the top of the ranking is now split equally between America and Europe. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, ranked 20th, is Asia's highest placed school.

Much of Chicago's success can be put down to the record of its careers service (see table below). This is now one of the key competitive battlegrounds between schools. Indeed, when the Economist Intelligence Unit asked prospective MBA students why they were considering the degree, opening new career opportunities was the most popular reason given. Chicago's careers office is rated as the world's best by its students. Within three months of graduation 97% of Chicago students are in jobs, the vast majority of them facilitated by the careers office.



“THEY are horrible, and the worst at trying to find you a job. If you want one, you've got to find one yourself.” So says a student at a middle-ranked British business school when asked to rate his careers service for the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2007 full-time MBA ranking. It is perhaps the most common complaint among MBA students.

When we asked potential MBA students why they had decided to study the degree, the most popular reason given was “to open new career opportunities”. This shouldn't be surprising: the MBA is still at heart a degree designed for those looking to change from functional specialists to general managers. But with students now putting as much emphasis on this aspect of an MBA as they do on the academic experience, it has become a key battleground for business schools.

Take Chicago, for example. Top of our new ranking, it is also rated first by students for its careers services. Within three months of graduation 97% of its students are in jobs, the vast majority of them facilitated by the careers office. Students wax lyrical about the support that they receive. “It goes way beyond anything I expected in preparing us for recruiting,” says one. “I had no idea how big this was here.” It is a similar story at the other schools at the top of our rankings. Stanford, IESE and Dartmouth, for example, are similarly lauded for their careers services. It is partly a matter of resources. The top schools have a careers office staff of as many as 20—not a cheap undertaking by any means. But it is not just a numbers game. According to Stacey Kole, deputy dean of Chicago's full-time MBA programme, what sets the top schools apart is that they treat recruiters as strategic partners. They work together with firms to work out the most effective way of helping them to find talent. Obvious as this may sound, it is not always the way that things are done in business education. According to Ms Kole, many schools even take an adversarial approach to potential recruiters. “They have rules they can't break,” she says. “For example, firms aren't allowed more than two campus events a year. We don't have these arbitrary control mechanisms; we have more bend.” A professional relationship with recruiters is only one side of the coin, though. To be fully effective, careers officers need a genuine concern for students' ambitions. The careers process needs to be customised, with staff in effect acting as consultants. This is particularly important as students become both more picky about their career paths and more vociferous when schools fail to match their high standards.

For more information on MBAs go to [|Which MBA] which provides background information on the world's top 100 MBA programmes. To research the programme of your choice, select a school there.

Two more helpful links suggested by Marc:

[|MBA.com] This is the "starting point" for anyone considering an MBA programme.

[|MBA Channel] (German version) Click on "Die besten MBA Videos im Web" to see a very extensive selection of videos showcasing the world's top business schools and MBA programmes.

A cultural introduction to US higher education
The text provides guidelines on acceptable behaviour, how to address academic staff and others, and maintaining lines of communication and offers advice on things to avoid. Read the text and make notes on the following:


 * As you read**
 * 1) make a note of any new or interesting vocabulary (e.g. words, fixed expressions, collocations, idioms)
 * 2) make a note of any advice or ideas you find useful, surprising, or don't quite understand
 * 3) make a note of one piece of advice that you think is essential, and one piece of advice you feel is unnecessary
 * 4) make a note of anything the text suggests that you would find difficult to do


 * After reading**
 * 1) discuss with your group the points you noted in steps 2, 3 & 4 above
 * 2) discuss whether you found this text useful (why/why not?)
 * 3) working together, prepare PLD cards for the vocabulary you identified in step 1 above
 * 4) be prepared to express your views to the class as a whole in doing so try using some of the vocabulary from the text

[|MBA Podcast]
This lecture on Managing Innovation given by [|Shekhar Chaudhuri], Director, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, is an example of the material now available on the [|MBA Podcast] made available by the [|Times Online], which you can subscribe to with [|iTunes].

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The tape script for this lecture is available here:

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