Over the past couple of days, my friends and I had a rather intense discussion on the effectiveness of an Indian MBA and comparing it with a foreign MBA- an American one, mostly. Though none of us held an Indian MBA, one was doing his MBA in Canada. Rest of us are either in the pipeline or know a thing or two about the ground reality. Throughout our 22 mails that we exchanged on this topic, a few things were quite apparent. Although we were all saying different things, it was clear that in reality, we were saying the same things differently. An MBA from India can never equal an American MBA unless its from ISB, Hyderabad. Or PERHAPS, the IIMs (these aren’t highly rated on a global scale). Since the discussion was heavily inclined to one side, it is reasonable to assume that some aspects of the Indian MBA have been completely left out. Feel free to debate those!
Let us look at the main differences:
1. The importance of work experience
Indian MBAs give work experience, the least weightage while the foreign ones rank it at the highest. But there’s a not so obvious factor to this. If you do have work experience and choose to attend an Indian MBA, to your dismay, you’ll end up in a class with little or no work experience. And how does this hamper your experience? You’ll just find yourself between a very immature peer group. The admissions process for foreign universities ensure that the class is very diverse in every possible way. One way of ensuring that is by selecting people with different work experiences and the quality of so. Most of the MBA courses, here in India, choose students primarily on the basis of a written test. This is certainly a good indicator of what kind of academic promise you hold but should that really be a deciding factor in deciding if you succeed in a senior management role, later on? I think the selection process should give more leeway for assessment of a person as a complete package. Further, if you want to join Goldman Sachs as an Associate, what makes you think that you have whatever it takes to lead a team? Let us not discard the importance of work experience.
2. Maturity of the peer group
They say for one to get selected for the training program for Airbus A380, you need to be between 42 and 58 years old, among other qualifications. People, most of them, mature like wine. By 42, you’re certainly experienced in the art of flying, you would have encountered several instances where your skill, ability and aptitude have been thoroughly tested and above all, the very fact that you’re still in the business and are a commander of an aircraft is testimony enough to your abilities as a pilot. This also means that when you attend the training program, you’ll have a lot to bring to the table. Similarly, the other pilots who you’re gonna train with, are going to be equally experienced. The end result? Everyone gets to learn a lot from everyone else. The courseware for the training can be modified in accordance to these and with every batch, the course just gets better and better. Makes sense? This is how a typical foreign MBA works. People learn from their peer groups more than they learn from the theory.
3. The Attitude and Interest of your classmates
From my interactions with alumni of various colleges in the US, I can conclude that there are plenty of career changers much like what we have in India. But the quality of work experience and most importantly, their motives, differ widely. A lot of Indians claim that post MBA, they would want to work in consulting or investment banking though they may not have the slightest idea about the job functions. Why? Because they pay well. It is like saying that you became an entrepreneur because you wanted to make money. Sadly, you’re in the wrong club. You don’t make money or get rich until a lot later, if you’re an entrepreneur running your own firm. I’m not sure how widespread this attitude is, but one doesn’t necessarily need to go to a B-School to get rich. One sure shot way of getting rich is to find something that you love doing and get someone to pay you through their nose for that. If not, you’ll end up burning out.
4. The Opportunities
Engineering graduates take to IT after their graduation because apparently, they seem to pay well in the begining. But after 2 or 3 years, they find out that they’re bored with the jobs and need something else. Most of such cases include not getting a promotion or having problems with superiors and the like. They then choose to attend a B-School! Much to their dismay, they find that bulk of the recruiters who come to the B-school are still from IT and they get picked up as Business Analysts and perhaps other managerial roles in IT. So what exactly is happening here? Firstly, no matter what your specialization is, you end up getting recycled back into IT- this is not a bad thing if you’re deeply interested in it but then going back, we see that most people were bored to start with. Secondly, bad talent or immature managerial talent is just pumped back into the same pool. The result? The same problem of immature managers, bad bosses and other people problems, all contributing to the attrition. Of course, another problem worth pointing out is the lack of opportunities post an Indian MBA as opposed to the plethora of opportunities post a foreign MBA.
5. The exclusive club
Foreign MBAs have a variety of barriers that deter casual candidates from applying. Though they want exceptional candidates, they see to it that only the serious even apply. High application fee ($250), a very long drawn application ensure that only the motivated even apply. This is n stark contrast to what I have noticed about colleges in India. Also, an MBA is an exorbitantly expensive affair abroad. It can set you back by a good $150,000. Of course, its an incredible ROI considering the fact that you’ll make at least as much in the first year itself.
6. Entrepreneurship
…is THE FUTURE in India. Of course, you don’t really need an MBA to be one either. You just need an idea, drive and the vision to go on and create one. MBAs abroad focus so much on entrepreneurship and the resources available to their students that I’m forced to believe that there’s something that there’s something at offer there. And I’m certain that unless you’re from the IIMs or ISB- which have a dedicated entrepreneurship or an incubation cell, you’re probably better off putting that money you saved up for an Indian MBA, into your business.
In conclusion, I believe that though a foreign management education is not for everyone in terms of their requirements and financial burden they inflict, they’re often the best out there. But again, going by the process of elimination, does it make sense to get an Indian MBA? From what I’ve seen and heard so far, Indian MBA simply does NOT work and I think a few minutes back, I just saw how PATHETIC it can get. So would you still settle for an ineffective means just because what works, is out of your reach? I say if you’re really interested in an MBA, wait, work towards it and then get it from some place worth getting it from. Bottomline is that Indian MBAs are often not even worth the very paper that they’re printed on. Have counterpoint to these? I’m sure I would have missed out quite a few useful parts of an Indian MBA. Care to share those? Use the comments section.
Here’s an interesting post I came across:
From http://www.vinni.in/2010/06/the-11-point-mba-check-list/
Every year, I see an army of young hopefuls who want to become an MBA and ‘lead the business world’. Every year, I see the same ads in the paper with colleges luring students with false promises, claims and just leaving tonnes of broken hearts and battered egos at the end of two years.
I was at the induction ceremony for the batch of 2012, and even caught up with a few. Some wanted to become Investment Bankers, some wanted to become Brand Managers and I couldn’t help but snicker way to glory.
Welcome to the real world, bakra of the highest order. Be prepared for the following:
1.MBA won’t get you the job you thought would be cool since you read it in some business magazine you were told you read while at IMS
2.Jobs after an MBA are not glamorous, they will make you sweat, bleed and trample you the moment they find you weak and restless.
3.The college would claim that the faculty is from IIMs, foreign universities. IIMs should be read as Indrani Institute of Management, International Institute of Management etc. and foreign universities assumed to be Kathmandu University, Karachi School of Business etc.
4.The world class infrastructure would be shared with other schools in the vicinity and maybe even let out to other parties when you need it the most.
5.You will learn nothing new in MBA.
6.The only reason IT companies will hire you is because they can bill their clients at a higher rate.
7.The only reason why companies will pay you ridiculous large amounts of money is because they will leech the life out of you, leaving you maimed to never start your own venture to compete with them in the future.
8.You will realize that though you blame and poke at the teachers for being so full of gas, you are not any different. People won’t listen to you, since you cannot phaff with experience.
9.MBA is a lot about travel, but not to exotic locations or that you will become a jet setter. You will travel by non AC buses to Dhampur, Hospet, Salem, Mohol and other places where village girls will seem like super models.
10.If you want to do an MBA to earn more money, it’s the worst reason you can give yourself and to people around you. You stand better chances working your ass off doing what you are doing, or just job hopping.
11.If you have a chance, DON’T do an MBA. Utilize the two years starting something of your own, before someone else does it. Two years is a lot of time and time is precious.
Still think MBA is right for you or MBA is the right thing to do?
Very good article. Well said. First thing I leaned from engg college was that only less thann 10% come there because they had a real interest towards it.
Comment by Sachin — November 3, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
I love your Indian MBA and a Foreign MBA post.
It is awesome and being in India and abroad.. I agree to most of the points.
Yasim
Comment by Yasim — November 5, 2010 @ 10:31 pm
good article..i have heard a story about isb..when they started it they tried hard to get aicte approval and later they found it requires bribing..also dey observed that adhering to aicte means dey r not abl 2 run the organisation in d way dey wud have dreamt it 2 b….so dey decided not to side with aicte………ISB do not offer mba…..it offers a post graduate program in management…….
we need good bschools (with quality) for our future managers……..i have written shortly in my blog abt what i think about an mba course….
http://www.digitaltyke.com/2010/10/elusive-idea-called-mba.html
Comment by Maneesh J — November 8, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
Interesting article Ashwin. Let’s put it this way.
An Indian MBA will certainly allow you to get your foot in the door in a lot of places where you wouldn’t even be considered with your graduation degree alone.
Once you get your foot in, it’s up to you.
The US MBA as you and many of my friends have pointed out is certainly a better option quality-wise however it is a deterrent to most Indian students maybe due to cost issues. Also, keep in mind that we Indians albeit a little later than our western counterparts realize that boss, we need a life! Most of us spend too much time focusing on academics till we are about 20-22. Skinning our arses in offices and then preparing for GMATs TOEFLS essays and the American dream costs us- in terms of time. We all want to have fun at least between the age of 23 to 28-29 now don’t we? This is also because in India, slogging is a culture cultivated in offices. So you have to stretch yourself a tad too much to do everything.
It’s kind of easier to do an MS, effort wise and money wise which is why you’ll find many such Indian students there. But what if you want to switch your job, while time ticks at an alarming rate( you often don’t realize how Mon-Fri just passed you by!)
Plus. Not really many have the balls to become entrepreneurs. The ones who have the balls do it. Others knowing their limitations work in well paying jobs. Yes, you must love your job. But well, show me the money cos you know I want to ‘chill’ with my friends at this really cool place and I want to travel around and be able to perform well at a workplace which allows me to live this lifestyle you see. So what if I cant go to the US. I will do a course in India which allows me to go a level above my current state of affairs. You want a piece of paper which certifies that I am an MBA in order to offer me the role? All right, I’ll ‘do’ the MBA then. Karna padta hai. System hi kuch aisa hai boss. Having said that, there are a lot of smart people you find in B schools across India. Keep an open eye, mind and heart. Ummeed pe hi duniya kayam hai.
Hope this comment was useful.
Cheers,
Keats.
Comment by Keats — November 10, 2010 @ 4:49 pm
My thoughts exactly!
Comment by brains_galore — November 10, 2010 @ 6:08 pm
MBA, foreign or Indian, is all about building connections – It’s not about prescriptive (classroom lecture based) education at all. When people head to B-Schools straight from an undergraduate program, all they are ready for is another couple years in the classroom listening to boring lectures and making .ppt presentations. This is where they start getting deluded – paying the fee and completing this course is an automatic passport to real life success.
The trick is in managing expectations. Go to a top notch B-School with a view to befriend scions of established business houses, the connection that could come in handy at some point in your lives if you truly make a mark. It always helps to know the son of an Azim Premji or a Vijay Mallya from up close because at some point in time soon these folks will head their respective businesses and will be looking out for brilliant HR material to head their divisions. No, they won’t remember your straight A’s , but they will lay their bets on how logical you were while you were working on a case study or a project and what you did right after you left the B-School. Your degree may not wind up as yet another piece of paper, but it’ll just signal to the world that you got your hands wet and don’t mind rolling up your sleeves and sullying it now.
Comment by Krishna — November 11, 2010 @ 10:06 am
Want to add up few of my thoughts to your discussions
I wanted to an MBA not for the too good faculty one b-school boosts to have instead I wanted to do an MBA for the network. Recently I visited an International B-School which threw a challenge to its audience that no other school has such diversified faculty, but who the hell needs it, I dont even care a damn for it because I may spend 4 hrs in class with a bit of learning but the learning which I gain when I have an hour chat with my peers from different backgrounds I gain much more than that and that changes my way of thinking which helps me towards my future establishment…
People realize what you want truly before you go for a B-School , do not bluff to your self..
Comment by sindhu naidu — November 12, 2010 @ 2:01 pm
Whoa! Guys, I’m overwhelmed by the variety and different points of view and above all, the value you added to the discussion. Now lets start with what I think of what you have to say!
@Sachin: Yes, in India, somehow, what you study seems to have no relevence to what you’re gonna do. Not sure if that is a good trend especially given that the trend is skewed towards IT and not many other sectors.
@Yasim: Thanks! Honored!
@Maneesh: Yes, that happened to ISB. But then, its ISB- they have made a name for themselves and it really doesn’t matter if its just a degree certificate or a diploma. Its ISB! What differentiates the piece of paper from some MBA from some village is what happened inside the classroom. INVALUABLE!
@Keats: BRILLIANT! I think I can make a post outta what you said. Enjoyed that one! You’re bang on when you brought up the MS as a shortcut. I know plenty of my own friends who took that, paid little or no attention to how reputed the college is etc and are now finding the going tough because they were a bit shortsighted.
I agree 200% to what you said about the Indian MBA- even though it has absolutely no value add to the candidate other than the conferral of that piece of paper, corporates still value it above hard experience. I find this to be a very disturbing trend. This is one reason America, as a nation, still reigns supreme when it comes to creativity and innovation. It gives those who are interested, what they need- a chance. If you have a look at a lot of successful firms, you often find that top performers or managers maynot be highly educated. They would have often started off with sheer interest. A brilliant example is Chris Gardner of the ‘The pursuit of happyness’ fame. I still understand that the single most important thing to look for in a new recruit is his love and passion to learn. That will take him a long way than will his love for money.
The culture to slog is glorified by corporates as well as the society. It doesn’t really matter how much work you get done but the longer you stay in the office, the harder you work- is the perception. I know people who take up jobs that pay extremely well but require you to stay in the office for 18 LONG hours. I mean, to me, that really doesn’t make a lot of sense. What the HELL would you do with the money? Anyway, I guess thats the Indian culture.
A brilliant comment indeed!
Comment by The Nomad — November 12, 2010 @ 3:41 pm
@brains_galore: Thanks! Great minds think alike?
@Krishna Yes..networking and alumni. But again, your connections are only as good as your peer group, right? You don’t expect Azim Premji to study in some college in a village. The better the college, the better connections and alumni network. Forgot to mention this in the main post. Thanks for bringing this up!
@sindhu naidu: Networking is one of the most popular reasons people to b-school. But then again, your network is only as good as the alumni and the exposure you get, don’t you think? Thanks for the comment!
Comment by The Nomad — November 12, 2010 @ 4:04 pm
Although all MBA graduates tend to be weighed equal, thre are certain important differences
between an Indian MBA degree and a foreign one. The learnin environment and the *MBA
experience* varies by a great extent with the school. Indian education system helps prepare
conceptually strong managers with solid *fundas*, the schools abroad focus on practical
aspects and offer much broader exposure and perspective.
Here are the main benefits of having a foreign MBA degree:
Broader scope: You instantly become a *global citizen* the moment you enroll, and ur career
opportunities become wider as you have an option to work in the foreign country, as well as
come back home.
Practical learning: Mostly, the foreign MBA courses are case study based, which makes them
less *bookish*, interesting and fun to learn. Even the statistics course would make you
think from a logical viewpoint, wit little calculations involved.
Strong peer group: The class would typically have people from 10 to 20 different countries,
with over 3-7 years of work experience on an average. The cultural exposure would certainly
broaden ur outlook.
Better self-assessment: Many colleges offer informational interviews with psychometric
tests, which allow you to discover urself and help you make the best career choice for
urself.
Enjoyable experience: While there always be a few sad folks in every schools, from my own
experience, I can say that ur experience will be immensely enjoyable. You only need to be
clear about what you want out of the MBA, and possess a big heart.
And,
Global network- Several top ranked schools are over 100 year old that offers you a strong
and large alumni network. You’ll be able to connect with the who’s who of the business
world, in every part of the world
Comment by Saif Diwan — November 13, 2010 @ 9:24 am
You have generalised the foreign MBA education as if that is the holy grail and that aspect is not right.Even in India foreign MBA is only valuable in job market if you take it from premier B Schools liek Wharton, Stanford, INSEAD or IMD, Lusanne. Most of the other foreign MBAs are a waster of time and a lot of money. Check out the profile of people in LinkedIn who have done “a foreign MBA” and any of the other foreign B Schools and you can find out that the profiles offered to them is not as good as profiles offered to them from premeier Indian B Schools like IIM A, B , C , XLRI, FMS, Delhi and ISB – the creme de lacreme of MBA institutes in India.
What has been mentioned about the immaturity of peer group is also not right as most of the people make it to these premeier B Schools in India after rigorous selection process and the quality is surprisingly manintained based on my own experience of doing an MBA from one of the B Schools mentioned above and interacting with students from other B Schools.
Please note that the cost of the foreign MBA education is extremely high and in most cases it is not worth pursuing as the salary that you may get will only be enough in serving your loan and travelling in a bike based on the personal experiece of some of my friends who did foreign MBA education and came back to India because so many of these so called foreign MBA courses could not offer any jobs.
In teh Indian MBA scene please make sure that you filter out bad apples like IIPM , ICFAI and all and get into a good bschool. It is surely worth it
Comment by Kiran K — December 19, 2010 @ 6:18 pm
Want to add up few of my thoughts to your discussions I wanted to an MBA not for the too good faculty one b-school boosts to have instead I wanted to do an MBA for the network. Recently I visited an International B-School which threw a challenge to its audience that no other school has such diversified faculty, but who the hell needs it, I dont even care a damn for it because I may spend 4 hrs in class with a bit of learning but the learning which I gain when I have an hour chat with my peers from different backgrounds I gain much more than that and that changes my way of thinking which helps me towards my future establishment… People realize what you want truly before you go for a B-School , do not bluff to your self..
Comment by Sophie Ortega — December 24, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
@Kiran,
Correction: In India, a foreign degree has little or no value at all. I know a lot of people who want to get a foreign MBA and then come back and I keep telling them that their selection of the bschool should be based on teh region they wish to work in, for a while. I wouldn’t go so far as saying ALL FOREIGN MBAs are superior. Nope. My interactions and research shows me that your experience is far superior with a US MBA. This post was, therefore, exclusively written keeping that in mind. A US MBA (a good one, maybe from the top 20-25) has a terrific ROI. You spend a 100 grand studying, you make it in the very first year!
Ok about immaturity of the peer group- consider yourself to be going to bschool after 3-4 years of workexperience. How would you like it if your classmates are recent college graduates? Do you think they think at the same wavelength as you do? I think you mistook maturity for academic promise and intellectual capability. As a recent college graduate enetering an MBA class filled with other RCGs, you may find yourself aptly challeneged as most of you may belong to the same IQ range. But what about diversity of the class? How much do you learn from the peers? Give that a thought too.
Agreed that IIMs and XLRI have a great student community but think, does it offer a great experience to someone with NO work experience and to someone with 10 years of work exeprience? I guess not.
Thanks for the comment
Comment by The Nomad — January 1, 2011 @ 9:49 am
[...] looks at the main differences between an Indian MBA and a Foreign MBA [...]
Pingback by India: Differences Between An Indian MBA And A Foreign MBA Education · Global Voices — January 3, 2011 @ 11:01 pm
One thing about US MBA, if you are planning to look for a job in the US after you finish the MBA then MBA here is not the best option. Most of the students from India even after MBA end up at tech jobs coz at the end of the day that is the better paying job.
As far as an Indian MBA goes I wont suggest an MBA unless its a very good one. MBA quality(same for tech) to a large extend is guided by your peer group.
Comment by Anoop — January 16, 2011 @ 2:23 pm
Hi! I somehow missed this post in the midst of all the work that came up! Thanks for sharing the post excerpt here!
Really appreciate it!
I really agree with you on the last point about entrepreneurship. that is the single biggest reason why I think Indian B-Schools can never make it to the super league. Having been from one of the so called premier schools, one thing that came very strikingly was how the faculty even said many time : “If you do blah blah blah you will get good placement” . It was literally shoved down our throats that jobs is what we need to be doing! Not a single faculty member ever took the effort to actually tell us what it would mean to be on our own, or even excite or motivate us. I am not saying that its the responsibilty of the faculty, but end of the day they are the ones who pretty much set the tone of the two year stint you have at the school!
Nice post man! I am planning to write one about how to start a B-school soon because I am also part of the advisory board for a new school starting operations this year!
!
Kudos to the Great Indian Tamasha
Comment by Vineet — February 11, 2011 @ 12:22 pm
@The Nomad : Excellent post; good insight!
I’m a techie with 5 yrs. of experience. As expected, I’ve gotten bored of this job…..
I was interested in a job which allows me work on small projects(ranging from 1 year to 4 years’ duration) across the globe, which would allow me to interact with people of different cultures and travel the world (and yes, it needs to be well-paying also
).
This is because my STRENGTH is in my ability to communicate and interact with different people well. I’m also good at analysis,assessment and planning.This is also what I aspire to do in my life.
My confusion is, WHICH STREAM of M.B.A. do I need to specialize in, to achieve the skill-sets required for the above mentioned work profile ?
Of course, I HATE compromising on quality, so it will be either the IIMs,XLRI,ISB,etc or an A++ University in the U.S. or Europe for me- I have the courage to fight for what I want.
Requesting you to provide some insight.
Cheers!
Comment by Fickle-Mind — February 23, 2011 @ 11:33 pm