How to Find the Best Business Schools

You are in the workplace and you find that you are working hard for average pay, but you don’t feel that you’re advancing or learning new things; you feel that you are stagnating and are losing your touch on things, or that you are not as fast and as adept, or even as up-to-date on trends as you once were. You are in your final months as an undergraduate, and you have a fairly vague idea of where you want to be in the future: running a business or being part of one, and earning more money thanks to your knowledge and education. In either case, you may want to look for a business school to help you out and make you achieve your dreams – but what are the best business schools?

Despite all the lists and compiled school summaries that you will find both online and offline, the best business schools are really those that will help you succeed in the line of business that you want to get into. There are many different business schools out there with many different specialties, so if you are looking for the best business school to go to as you want to advance your career, or get into the workplace, you will need to know what exactly it is that you want first. Are you going to be doing accounting and auditing? Will you be running a business, managing people, hiring people, handing out salaries or wages, or overseeing processes?

Once you know what it is that you want to do, then you can pick out the best business school for you. True, there are the top tier business schools such as Wharton and Harvard, but consider other smaller business schools that might not be as well known, but are experienced in teaching the business aspects that you want to know more about. In particular, if you can find information on alumni of the school, see if their interests and credentials match yours. You might also want to check if the business school to which you are applying is accredited, as this can be an important benchmark of school and curriculum integrity.

You may also want to consider either a live classroom or distance education as the mode of instruction. If you opt for the live classroom, you will have the convenience of really going back to school and not having a headache over the computer programs and computer-based texts that distance education schools will employ. On the other hand, a distance education program will allow you to go to school even while you are based at home, or while you are still on the job, so that you do not have to go through the inconvenience of having to actually return to school. Look for schools that offer the mode of instruction that you need.

Moreover, look for schools that will offer you financial and job assistance. You can have scholarships or even fellowships to go to business schools, and often, the best business schools receive a lot of funding that will be shunted into their scholarship or fellowship program. Once you graduate, some schools will also offer you job hunting assistance, and others, as they are allied with companies, will actually give you placement.

These are only a few things to watch out for as you look for the best business schools. For more information, look for these schools online, and start planning your future in detail. Once you know what you want, you can find the best business school for you.
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Criteria for Ranking Business Schools

How credible are those Business School Rankings? How do they come up with the top Business Schools in the land?

Business School Ranking is an effective tool used by many in searching for the right Business School. Most people rely on these data to determine if their chosen school is the school of their dreams. You're probably wondering what specific criteria/standards they use in ranking Business Schools and who are responsible for measuring them?

The Economist and Financial Times provide individual rankings of Business Schools. All of them use various criteria if a Business school deserves to be on the A-list or receives a failing grade. Other providers are BusinessWeek, Forbes, and Wall Street Journal.

The Economist

It conducted an Economist Intelligence Unit Survey of more than 200 senior executives. They came up with the following ten significant areas for selecting an open-programme provider

* Content and internationalism of the programme
* Faculty quality
* Provider's Amenities
* Quality of fellow participants
* Level of post-course support for partcipants
* Capable of demonstrating an impact back in the workplace
* Cost/value for money
* Wide range of courses
* Maintaining an ongoing relationship

Based on the aforementioned criteria, open programme participants were asked to rate those schools that they attended and eventually came up with top eight business schools.

Financial Times

They used twenty criteria to determine their rankings. The first eight criteria are based on alumni survey, the second nine criteria came from business schools' survey and the basis of last three criteria is on research survey.

Alumni Survey

* Weighted Salary
* Salary percentage increase
* Value for money
* Career progress
* Aims achieved
* Placement success
* Alumni recommendation
* International mobility

Business School Survey

* Employed at three months
* Women faculty
* FT doctoral rating
* International faculty
* International students
* International board
* International experience
* Languages
* Faculty with doctorates

Research survey

* FT research rating

According to Dr. N.M. Kondap, vice-chancellor of NMIMS University, "Surveys are conducted using different metrics and parameters. Some amount of discrepancy also occurs during the assessment of the survey which is reflected in the results."
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Harvard Business School: Learning the Future of Business

When it comes to business schools, Harvard Business School always emerges as one of the top choices for many aspiring businessmen and entrepreneurs. This is the school that is famous throughout the world and is also one of the most respected. It has produced many of the past and present leaders in business and government. Harvard Business School is in fact the choice of the best students in the world and continues to be a beacon in quality business education.

The early years, Harvard Business School is also known as the George F. Baker Foundation and is sometimes referred to as HBS. Although it is known as an institution on its own, Harvard Business School is actually one of Harvard University's graduate schools. It was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1908, with only 59 students. Two decades later, 500 students had enrolled.

In 1927, the business school was relocated to Allston, an area that is located on the opposite side of the Charles River from the University. Although pioneering in its curriculum offerings, it took Harvard Business School four more decades to begin admitting women to its business program. Today, women form 30-35% of the students currently enrolled in business programs at Harvard.

Harvard Business School programs

Harvard Business School offers several programs for would-be business leaders. These include:

MBA Program
The MBA program offered by HBS is a full-time, two-year program. The first year is spent completing the required curriculum consisting of mandatory courses. There are two semesters per curriculum, with each semester spent focused on specific topics. On the second year, the student can choose among the subjects offered in the elective curriculum. There are about 96 courses offered as electives and students can prioritize a course depending on their preferences and the availability of the classes. As an alternative, students can choose to finish certain field studies instead of attending class.

Doctoral Program
The doctoral program offered by HBS intends to develop people and prepare them for careers as teachers and researchers. Students entering the program who do not have a masters degree in business are required to complete a minimum of 5 courses included in the curriculum for MBAs.

The doctoral program at HBS is full-time, with a required minimum of 2 years for students to stay in residence. Students are expected to spend at least 2 years completing course work and another 2 years for dissertation. The doctoral program can be completed in about 4 or 5 years.

Executive Education
Although Harvard Business School does not offer an Executive MBA, it does offer executive programs. Although these programs are non-degrees, they do award alumni status to students who complete them. These executive programs include:

The OPM or Owner/President Management Program
This part-time program is designed for entrepreneurs who own and run their businesses.

The AMP or Advanced Management Program
This program is intended for senior-level managers in companies and organizations and may be completed in just 8 weeks.

The GMP or General Management Program
This program is designed for training middle managers and may be taken part-time. It requires some courses to be completed on campus and some courses completed as part of a distance learning program.

Admissions
Harvard Business School consists of a highly diverse student population, with students coming from many countries and background. It has some of the world's most selective admissions procedures. Their 2008 class, for example, has a 15% admission rate.

To become part of the student body at Harvard Business School, an applicant must have completed one degree program at any undergraduate school accredited in the U.S. or at least the equivalent. A student must also pass the GMAT exam and complete required tests and documents. Foreign students may also be required to pass IELTS or TOEFL tests. …Read more >>