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is in and going up； it provides helpful PR； if it is out； or going down； it
will have to explain why to prospective students and to its alumni who are
naturally anxious not to see their investment devalued。 The Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business （see above） is trying to encourage
the media to ‘rate’ rather than ‘rank’ programmes and to revise measures
to include research productivity while educating the public about the
limitations of rankings。 With newspaper circulations in terminal decline；
this seems a pious hope。
What’s being ranked
When you read the rankings you will see exactly what measures business
schools are being ranked on and how they are weighted to make up the
final result。 You need to consider if the measures are important to you。 For
example； ‘international mix of students’ features in many rankings； if you
Appendix 303
are an American student ing to a British business school you might
not see it as much of a benefit to find that less than 15 per cent of your
fellow students actually are British； as are an even smaller proportion of
your professors。 Increased earnings post MBA can make up around 40 per
cent of any ranking。 But that presupposes that money is a major motivator
for business graduates； a fact for which there is li。。le empirical evidence。
A study on what MBAs feel most important a year a。。er peting their
studies； conducted by the Aspen Institute （aspencbe/about/
library。html 》 Reports 》 The 2008 Student A。。itudes Survey）； put ‘Earning
a high ine’ as joint fourth in factors of importance； alongside ‘Having
a positive impact on society’； and well behind ‘Developing my career’
and ‘Enhancing my skills’。 Also； earnings growth is the easiest measure
for business schools to manipulate to their advantage。 Business schools
that take younger； less experienced students – whose salaries tend to be
lower when they enrol – are likely to do well。 Those with experienced
older students； whose shared learning experience on the MBA could be
a valuable asset； will do relatively badly。 Not surprisingly； much effort at
business schools goes into manipulating the factors； which could otherwise
have been invested in improving the programme。
Who does the ranking
These are the most visible MBA rankings that schools and students pay
most a。。ention to。 While they all overlap in some areas； they give quite
different weightings to the same areas； while omi。。ing or including quite
different factors。 One is predominantly American while two are more
international but measure different things in different ways。 You definitely
should not rely on the rankings to put the best schools in any meaningful
order； though they will almost certainly provide a sound starting point to
make an independent evaluation。
Business Week
This McGraw…Hill magazine （businessweek/bschools） runs a
regular section on business schools； with all the latest news and gossip。
Its rankings cover part…time and full…time MBAs as well as executive education。
It surveys some 10；000 students； 500 recruiters and； using a third
survey； conducted online； asks schools for statistical information about their
programmes。 Current surveys count for half the score and the previous
two the balance。 Intellectual capital； one of the measures； is arrived at by
calculating how many publications a school gets in 20 key journals and
how many of their books are reviewed in the New York Times； or similar
papers。 It ranks the top 30 US schools followed by a ‘second tier’ of 10 US
schools and finally a further 30 US schools ‘also considered’。 Then e
304 Appendix
10 non…US schools followed by a ‘second tier’ of 5 non…US schools and 5
non…US schools ‘also considered’。 The ranking bines students’ and
recruiters’ views； with an academic rating； job placement； teaching quality；
starting salary； campus facilities and a number of other measures to arrive
at a final place in the league tables。 You can re…cast the rankings yourself；
emphasizing the criteria that ma。。er most to you。 If you want to study
outside the United States or that country’s immediate sphere of influence
（the readership range of Business Week would be a good approximation）；
then this ranking will be of only limited use。
Economist Intelligence Unit
This magazine in the Economist stable produces the annual Which MBA
Guide （h。。p：//mba。eiu）。 Its top 100 schools are about 45 per cent
American； 45 per cent European and 10 per cent from the rest of the world。
Student and alumni ratings make up 20 per cent of the total ranking； and
80 per cent is based on data provided by schools。 History has been built
into the rankings by taking a weighted average； with the current year
accounting for 50 per cent； the previous year 30 per cent and the year before
that 20 per cent； in an effort to produce a more rounded evaluation。 Opening
new career opportunities； personal development/educational experience；
increase in salary and potential to network are the five categories used to
rank schools。 Sub…headings within each area drill down to examine quality
of staff； of fellow students and of the diversity of students and the overall
education experience。
Financial Times
The FT （。。 》 Business education 》 Business school rankings）
produces a top 100 global business school ranking as well as a top 60 European
Business Schools。 It produces separate and bined rankings for
schools with full… and part…time MBA programmes； Masters in Management
and Executive Development Programmes。 The FT ranking is a highly
plex mixture prising earnings increase； satisfaction； percent of staff
with doctorates； percent employed at three months； number of women
as students and on the faculty； proportion of international students and
faculty； foreign language provision and research ranking。 To make any
sense of the ranking takes time； but fortunately you can revise the ranking
by eliminating some criteria。 However； all that doing that will achieve is
a reordering of the existing schools； it won’t bring any more deserving
candidates to your a。。ention。 Rankings are available back to 2002 so you
can see who’s in and who’s out。
Appendix 305
THE STANDARDS FOR BUSINESS SCHOOL
APPLICANTS
While you may not want to go to a top business school – hopefully a。。er
spending 30 days working through this book you won’t need to either – you
may find it forting to know that you could have got in had you wished。
To get into Wharton； Harvard or Chicago in the United States； INSEAD；
London Business School or Cranfield in Europe； or Nanyang Business
School （Singapore） and Ipade （Mexico） you need to make the grade。 But
what grade； exactly？
Top business schools are looking for students with money； talent and
ideally hard practical experience。 The precise standards vary； but a good
first degree and at least three to five years working a。。er university； ideally
with some managerial experience or exposure； are mandatory。 But as the
top schools consider themselves to be in a world market for students； the
challenge has been to find a world s