Should MBA Placement be the sole criterion to choose the B-school? Definitely not, expert view

Low Placement at a B-school sure is one of the important key parameters to decide on the MBA programme of the B-school, it cannot be termed as the only criterion that guides to take correct decision. How to choose a good MBA programme depends more on how much you can rise in your career if you get good innovative learning, frequent industry interface, get involved in leadership activities and quality of faculty at the B-school.

In fact many top IIMs even do not disclose their placement statistics and salary data even after a lapse of 6-7 months from the date of achieving 100% placement, but it does not deter the admission seekers from seeking admission in them.

Again, inflating the placement data by including number of other factors has been a common practice by many B-schools. If you focus only on placement statistics, it may deprive you from arriving at the correct decision and it is very much possible that later on you may repent on your decision says Prof S K Agarwal mentor on MBA education and expert on Verbal Ability.

Many B schools conveniently inflate their placement statistics like highest, average and median salary and create hype on recruiters, misrepresent sectoral and functional placement data and hide the period of placement.

To avoid the situation, Prof S K Agarwal suggests other balancing parameters to decide on your right MBA programme in right B-school. Instead of throwing yourself open to be grabbed by any B-school with all the fictitious data, the expert suggests you to take a prudent and right decision while considering your higher education and the future career prospects attached to it.

Talk to Alumni The alumni of the B-school can share the true picture how the B-school is and what you can achieve by spending 2 years in pursuing MBA in the institute. Accordingly older B-school will have greater Alumni base that will help you take the right decision.

Frequency of Industry Interaction There are good B-schools who conduct various corporate and industry interactive programmes for their MBA students. Such programmes are true source of practical learning leading to market expertise where you would land after 2 years. The CEOs, HR Heads, top academicians, Bureaucrats when interact with students, they share their rich experience and journey with innovative ideas originated while they were students and matured when they passed out. These practical experiences not only guide you to arrive at the right decision but also motivate you to improve your skills.

The innovation in B-school; an important criterion There are many B-school not following only customary or traditional class room learning. The innovating ideas included in their curriculum are social immersion; how to do business in one day and earn a fortune; rural immersion; international immersion among others. The pedagogy with innovation can truly make you compatible to national and international standards.

Probably with all this, you will not need any placement after 2 years and may start offering placement to others. This can happen in any B-school and you do not need an IIM to achieve this.

Leadership activities; key to success The lacking in learning comes when you are confined to stereo-typed teaching. If the B-school offers a consistently innovative and visionary MBA programme, it allows more leadership activities through role play, taking clues from Corporate leaders and putting them into practice. There are B-schools who enroll business leaders as their guest faculty just to impart leadership learning for the students.

Another angle to this phenomenon is that whether the faculty members are actively associated to develop their business skills by practically engaging in business research and industry interface to facilitate a well equipped learning environment.

Teacher student ratio If the B-school has optimum faculty-student ratio of say 1:8 or 1:10, it could be a good choice as you will have good mentor guidance from the faculty. So look at it before taking a decision on the B-school.

Infrastructure Do you have good hostel accommodation on campus which does not require you to run for mending electricity or water problems? Do you have a good mess offering healthy food? The building has no seepage or suffocating issues giving you a nausea feeling. Class rooms are good. Library is well equipped and has sufficient number of books and other digital aids. Is there well equipped sports ground and sports facilities to keep you high on moral?

All these parameters are relevant to guide you arriving at the right decision how to choose the right B-school, instead of running after only on placement statistics which may or may not be correct as well. The goal of MBA education is to become a placement creator and not a placement seeker. Once we know it, we can do wonders even after studying at an above average B-school.