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in turn accredit mostly US schools。 Such international schools as are on
their books are usually very small； with strong US connections； such as
the American University in Blagoevgrad； Bulgaria； for example； which
offers a part…time executive MBA。
Three associations； however； dominate the field when it es to accrediting
the top…ranking business schools。 A score of the very top； mostly non…US；
business schools take the value of accreditation so seriously that they have
signed up to all three。 You might be forgiven for thinking that to be more
a sign of insecurity than a demonstration of value； remembering of course
that it is the students who pay for accreditation in every respect！
Appendix 301
The Association of MBA
AMBA （mbaworld）； founded in 1967； has accredited 150 business
schools in 68 countries。 Its initial purpose was to help forge links
between the MBA alumni of the small but growing number of schools in the
UK； but subsequently it has branched out into the accreditation business。
Unusually for this type of activity； membership is open to any individual
who went to； or is studying or is enrolled to study； at an AMBA…accredited
business school。 It wants to be sure that schools offering an MBA： have
a clear strategy and mission； the faculty is large enough for the task； at
least 75 per cent of faculty have a masters or doctoral degree in a discipline
relevant to the subject for which they are responsible； and students must
have a minimum of 3 years’ work experience。
The Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business
AACSB （aacsb。edu）； founded in 1916 by； among others； Columbia
University； Dartmouth College； Harvard University； and Chicago；
Pennsylvania and Yale Universities； this the oldest and largest of the
three accrediting bodies。 It is； however； dominated by North American
institutions； with less than 10 per cent of its member institutions ing
from outside the United States and Canada。 But that may all be set to change。
AACSB； worried by petition from ranking provided by newspapers
and journals and concerned that these may be distorting schools’ behaviour
and misleading prospective MBA candidates； has invested in a business
school database of its own。 Since 2005； AACSB has published searchable
profiles of its 600 member business schools on its website and is the only
source of information about the whole business school and is the most
prehensive in terms of its coverage of the market。 Here you will find
details of schools such as HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management
（Germany）； Toulouse Business School – Groupe ESC Toulouse （France）
and United Arab Emirates University （UAEU） （United Arab Emirates） that
may not show up in the rankings； but have high academic standards and
creditable results。
The European Quality Improvement System
EQUIS （efmd 》 Accreditation 》 Equis）； formed in 1997； is the
newest and smallest of accrediting organizations。 It was set up by the
European Foundation of Management Development （EFMD） and accredits
113 institutions in 32 countries。 Though small in the accreditation world；
with over 15；000 management development professionals as members
302 Appendix
of the EFMD network and 650 organizations from academia； business；
public service and consultancy in more than 75 countries； its impact has
been significant。 EQUIS is not； however； primarily focused on the MBA。
Its scope covers all programmes offered by an institution； from the first
degree up to the PhD。 It has three important criteria： a business school
should show international standards of quality； have significant levels of
internationalization and integrate the needs of the business world into
its programmes。 EQUIS membership is almost the mirror image of that
of AACSB。 You won’t find Harvard； Wharton； Tuck or indeed many US
business schools of any calibre on its books。 But then you won’t find schools
such as Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile； Escuela de Administración；
Chile； the University of Auckland Business School； New Zealand； Ume。
School of Business； Ume。 University； Sweden or the Coppead Graduate
School of Business； Federal University of Rio de Janeiro； Brazil on AACSB’s
books。
RANKING THE SCHOOLS
Business school rankings have been around since the late 1980s； when a
couple of US general business publications realized that ‘best of’ lists were
a powerful tool for generating advertising copy from business schools
and upping circulation from potential students thirsty for knowledge。
Publications producing rankings have mushroomed； as have the
methodologies and data collection techniques employed。 Few business
schools believe that the ratings are of great help to students when making
their choice。 Nonetheless； most continue to participate； even to tailor their
activities towards improving their rank even at the expense of some aspects
of MBA content。 The logic is simple： rankings generate publicity。 If a school
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 standard。 That’s where the Graduate
Management Admissions Test （GMAT） es in。 For 1；800 business schools
worldwide； the GMAT has been recognized for over 50 years as a proven
and reliable measurement； to assess candidates’ skills and predict their
success on MBA programmes。
The GMAT is administered in 94 centres around the world and given
under standard conditions with the highest level of security； to ensure that
scores are parable across applicants。 It costs 250 to take； wherever the
test is taken。 The test itself takes 2。 hours and prises tests in three areas：
analytical writing （analysis of an issue and of an argument）； quantitative
section （problem solving and data sufficiency）； and verbal （reading prehension；
critical reasoning and sentence correction）。 The test is designed
to measure verbal； mathematical； and analytical writing skills developed
throughout education and work。 It does not measure business knowledge；
job skills or any specific ability or university course work。 The test doesn’t
a。。empt to assess