B grade, Business School

The unending woes of mushrooming business school students who get fooled by the glossy advertisements of these overnight shops. Here is some fodder for thought before you take the plunge-

Faculty crunch-
“Almost 70 per cent of the faculty has zero industry experience,” experts says. Even the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are suffering from a faculty crunch. So it is but natural that the lower-rung B-schools find it tough to retain experienced faculty members.
Many B-schools invite guest lecturers to tide over the faculty crisis, which invites criticism from students. “The human resource (HR) specialisation classes are just a waste of time,” rues a student. Her B-school does not have permanent faculty members for the subject and the guest lecturers often have no clue about the curriculum.
“My PGDM is not going to earn me a lucrative job offer,” states Preeti, who has three years’ work experience in marketing. She quit her job and took a Rs 5 lakh loan to join a B-school — an institute, she believes, that has done little to enhance her employable skills. “I will only get jobs based on my work experience,” she adds.
The placement services of most second-rung management institutes are lax owing to the lack of skills as well as the unrealistic demands of students. “Students entering the B-schools have high expectations of their first jobs,” says Pratap. “They don’t want to take up a sales job because they feel that with an MBA tag they should start in a high-paying corporate job. This is a wrong notion,” he explains.
Divorced from reality
The corporate sector follows some simple guidelines while recruiting. “Employment is not about just domain knowledge but skills,” opines a expert. Students need to touch base with industry while studying.
Industry looks for candidates who, besides having expertise in his or her area of specialisation, are equipped with soft skills. “They should be able to adapt well in a group, lead a team and communicate effectively,” says Dr. Mohit.
The need of the hour is to be realistic — for management institutions as well as students. “Not all B-school graduates are masters in business administration (MBAs). The majority of B-schools offers a diploma programme, not a degree.”
According to experts, B-schools cater to different segments of industry. “For a shy, small town guy, a B-school acts more as a finishing school,” they say. They believe that the lower ranked B-schools are meant for students who want to get their first job, something a plain vanilla graduation won’t offer. “A PGDBM gives a student skills that can land him a job in the Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per annum scale,” says Dr.Mohit.
Multitasking required
The B-schools too have realised the need to target a niche market. Take the case of a business school at Noida that was set up last year. The institution believes in building entrepreneurial skills rather than focusing on churning out managers. “We encourage our students to work in small and medium-level enterprises,” says co-founder, of the business school. They do not guarantee placements and students are encouraged to participate in rural projects.
Clearly, not all B-schools can be clubbed under one head. But a word of caution here. “I would advise aspirants not to pursue an B-school program if they do not get into the top B-schools,” says Dr.Mohit, who believes that management education should be completely overhauled. “Till then, joining a lower-rung B-school is just not worth it.”
School rules
what B-schools need to do
► Peer learning needs to be encouraged through case studies, industry interaction and contests
► Institutes should focus on the managerial skills of students. Personality development and language classes should be held
► Lower-rung B-schools should motivate students to work in medium-level enterprises and invite recruiters that match the profile of students
► Institutes should have a proper alumni network for better placements
► Second-rung B-schools should be more choosy about students they take in
Wanted: soft skills
Make your MBA more employable
■ Polish your language skills. Fluency in English along with a second language will help you make the first impression on a prospective employer
■ Corporate awareness is the key to succeed. Understand what the business is all about and how you can contribute to the growth of the organisation
■ Positive attitude and an open mind are key components. Your employer would like to know how effectively you can work in a team and manage a group

Students fight it out with the management for their placements

Students of two very prestigious colleges in Noida - near Delhi,found it appropriate to fight it out on the streets with the management of their colleges. This grave step was taken by final year students of two extremely reputed college, where the studetns claimed that, despite of paying more than 6 lakhs rupees of fess and investing two years of time, the institute is ahving a extremely casual outlook in their placements.

Students were so aggressive that the administration became apprehensive of a law & order position, and therefore police was summoned to contain the emotional outburst of students.

Quaintly, one of the institute boasts of a ex-IIM professor as their director. Students claimed that no one is looking into the real reasons for this non-performance of B-school.

But on the worse side theses IIM Professors heading theses institute believe in filling their pockets by taking a plum salary from th owners of these commercial shops providing B degrees.Aspirants are lured after they are shown glossy advertisements of IIM professors donning various administrative positions in these organizations assuring of a career imitating IIMs.

Management has remained tight-lipped on all this issue stating that things are under control.Poor students fail to understand and the institute makes money.

A really tough and serious situation which government and administrators need to take care of.