A new positioning
Is the 'IIM' brand name invincible?
Yes, if you play by the rules they have set for the game. The new institution builders have to find new positioning, like the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, did. It attacked the one 'Achilles heel' of the IIM model -- its major intake of fresh graduates.
ISB's one-year, work-experience only MBA was a clearly differentiated product. By aligning itself with GMAT, ISB at once established admissions credibility that was delinked from CAT.
But comparing ISB and IIM-A is comparing Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen. Each has its own charm.
The future belongs to institutions which ride on a vision and serve a clear, definable customer need. The Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, for example, fulfills the demand for high quality advertising professionals.
The problem is finding an enduring customer need -- an 'e-business MBA' has no takers today. Besides, most companies still prefer to recruit a good marketing brain from a credible institution over a super-specialised MBA in insurance or telecommunications.
Institution building is extremely hard work. It is a lot easier to view education as a business and maximise return on investment. All you really need to set up an MBA institute is a few classrooms and a bunch of 'visiting faculty.' If the IIMs are the Brahmins of the MBA hierarchy, the vast majority of B-schools are essentially merchants or 'baniyas.'
To the few attempting the brave and difficult path of institution building, my salutations.
You are the Kshatriyas, or warrior MBAs. Keep up the good fight!
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