The B-School Dream

Why are an increasing number of graduates queuing up to be associated with a B-School- is a question haunting me these days. Even the global economic meltdown failed to dwindle the delusions of the aspiring manager. There is an exponential increase in the number of B-Schools, mushrooming in every by-lane of cities and small towns. The most prudent response or an unanimous perception being that enrolment in a B-School is passport to a ‘job’ minus a struggle in the corporate jungle. And it is this myth that is driving the average young student, to put their parental savings in jeopardy, to pick up huge bank loans and enroll themselves in any sundry B-School.

B-Schools of course, are making hay while the sun shines. All of them boast of a 100% placement, but how many would really be ready to share statistical data on the quality of placement, the average salary, and the level the student is hired in. Does the quality of placement ensure a good return on the investment that the student makes on his education? If a student is absorbed as an Insurance/ Sales Agent in an organization and not a Management Trainee, is that a justifiable placement on the part of the institute? Do students evaluate the curriculum, the faculty, the facilities and infrastructure, the quality of placement etc prior to making this move, in prospect of a so called ‘good job’? Are the B-Schools only inward focused, striving to place every student, or do they uphold a broader vision of nurturing ‘employability’. Are business schools reacting to the competitive markets for the students and pressure from the corporate world, to create an educational niche?

Organizations on the other hand are at the receiving end. They are facing a stupendous challenge in hiring the ‘right fit’ students for their various talent requirements. Majority of the students do not conform to the yardsticks of qualifiers, pre decided by the interview panel. There are a plethora of disqualifiers, the most potent of them being:
There is a potent issue with the Communication, especially in English, which is the official language across businesses globally
Students demonstrate a startling lack of etiquette and dress sense
An obvious fallout of this was a lack of confidence in their approach, during the interview process
As a result of this failing standard of their products each successive year, organizations are unable to fill their capacity of requirement from the B-Schools.

Future generations of business leaders will have to be equipped to address the issues of entrepreneurship and globalization. So in designing programs in future, schools have to provide increasing attention to the skills and the tools to bestow the relevant expertise, in the various disciplines to face the multitude of challenges. It is time to wake up to the dawn of a new beginning, to ensure that the Big B-School Dream, doesn’t remain confined to a fanciful dream only, but metamorphoses to an alluring and pristine Reality.