ISB Ranks 20th in FT's 2008 Global MBA Ranking

Predictably, there has been a lot of buzz in the Indian media around the 20th place global ranking the ISB MBA has received. One question that is openly being asked is where are the IIMs? Did they not participate? Can they make it? Interesting questions all.

One of the joys of working at ISB is that we get the Financial Times delivered to us (via Mumbai and two days late) in our offices and hallways. To me the FT Weekend edition is worth it's weight in gold, by far the best newspaper reading in the world. At a broader level, it signals ISB's global mindset. Barring a couple of visits to IIM-B I've never stepped foot on any other IIM. So I'll let them speak for themselves.

At the ISB, one does get the feeling of being in the new India, one that is at ease with itself, but also intricately embedded in the global economy. We shift effortlessly between chai and samosas to measuring consumer surplus in eBay auctions worldwide (see the New York Times' recent coverage of our paper forthcoming in the premier peer-reviewed journal Information Systems Research or ISR, as we call it). Incidentally ISR is one the 40 journals that the Financial Times counts in the research component of its ranking. Research has a significant 10% weight in FT's scheme of things, and yes ISB has a long way to go on that (and we sure have our set of issues, but that is fodder for another chow) given the small number of our resident faculty size, but top-tier research is something that ISB cares about. Like in many US research oriented B-Schools 'publish or perish' is the mantra that rules the lives of the tenure-track ISB resident faculty.

Speaking of the components of the ranking, the DNA newspaper today quotes IIM-A director Sameer Barua as saying "the FT has ranked ISB on the basis of statistics of salaries give by them." The comment is troubling in more ways than one. The FT ranking methodology is by far the most open of all major international rankings. Anyone can view it at http://rankings.ft.com/pdf/key/global-mba-rankings.pdf, and Prof. Barua certainly needs to be pointed to it.

Salary rated components make up about 40% of the overall weight. Significant, but not the sole criteria. What bothers me more is the use of the phrase "by them." The first thing that FT looks at is whether the numbers given have been audited by KPMG or not?

Meanwhile, I missed the celebrations on Monday collecting data for some new research in Mumbai. Neverthless, rumour has it that a few more parties are forthcoming and that there is a new out-there "lounge" on the campus, and it also has a watering hole that is open beyond Sarovar's 10pm curfew at the EH. So the journey continues.

Party hard and work harder...

RB