Business Today Rankings 2007
Dissected
Page - 2
What's more, Winning Brands uses
a 'behavioural observation' of brand equity. Analyst Jonathan Knowles
explains in layman terms: "Brand equity is measured in terms of a customer's
frequency of purchase and the price premium paid. Once favorable behavior is
observed, the methodology seeks to analyze the attitudinal characteristics of
those
customers."
'Frequency of purchase' in case
of MBA is essentially once in a lifetime. There is no explanation from either
the market research agency or the magazine on how Winning Brands was adapted to
fit the B-school category. AC Nielsen, when contacted, declined to comment.
In a nut-shell, winning
educational brands are not built along the same parameters as winning FMCG
brands and, hence, can't be measured in the same way. If you use a weighing
machine to measure height, you will obviously get strange results.
Further
Observations
The survey was conducted in two
phases. In Phase I, BT "short-listed the 30 B-schools that were to be ranked by
asking MBA aspirants and recruiters to name those they would consider applying
and hiring from, respectively".
The first boo-boo is at this
stage itself. Important schools like NITIE Mumbai and SJMSOM-IIT Bombay are
missing (although IIT Delhi makes the grade).
Goa Institute of Management, IMT
Ghaziabad and IMI Delhi (which any student should count in the Top 30) are also
missing.
Symbiosis seems to be a 'blanket'
brand - SIBM, SCMHRD, SIIB and other eight institutes are not listed separately.
Sectoral schools like IRMA Anand,
MICA Ahmedabad are not considered at all, although many students would prefer to
join them over other options included in the BT Top 30.
'BIMT' is apparently in Chennai.
It's actually BIM Tiruchirapally.
For reasons unspecified, IIPM
Delhi has not been included. The college ranked an amazing No. 11 last year,
ahead of IIM Kozhikode and SP Jain, Mumbai. The sudden disappearance of IIPM
Delhi (and the fall of IIPM Mumbai from No. 16 last year to No. 26 this year)
begs an explanation.
And at an even more basic level,
I fail to understand why they have surveyed 'MBA Aspirants' (these respondents
make up close to 25% of the sample). The perceptions of the very people who NEED
information about B-schools does not seem like a good idea at all.
Neither is using this survey to
help in making the decision of a lifetime.
