The seven Ps of B-school marketing mix are price, promotion, premium, programme, people,prominence and prospectus.

There is a need to bridge the gap between student needs vis-a-vis market needs (business practice). Theentire MBA curriculum must be infused with multidisciplinary, practical and ethical questions and analysesreflecting the complex challenges business leadersface. Few B-schools take an integrative approach to management education. Almost everything happens interms of functions (marketing, finance, human resources management, operations, systems, and so on),be it teaching, curriculum design, recruitment or, for that matter, research in Indian B-schools.Since B-schools are marketed as a service, the logic of considering the student as a customer needs tobe revisited. The role of faculty in delivering the service cannot be neglected; the role of corporate insetting expectations from B-schools is also important.Hence, there is a need to recognize the importance of all the three major stakeholders of B-schools;namely student, faculty and corporates. A conceptual model of brand-building for B-schools is developedwhich considers top management philosophy and stakeholders, which is comprehensive and addressesall the parameters critical to build services brands like B-schools. Discussion of the conceptual modelBased on the extant literature, a conceptual model of brand building for B-schools is developed. Theconceptual model depicts four external variables such as technological upheaval, demographic shifts,global competition, and Indian context.External environment--the changing market dynamics the market dynamics, in which B-schools operate, is changing at a fast pace. The most important factorsshaping the external environment are technological upheaval, global competition, demographic shifts and Indian context. There are other influencing factors like diversity of work force, ethical dilemmas, need for true innovation, gap between student and faculty needs, etc. Technological upheaval: The internet has significantly affected business practices. The internet- andcomputer-based technology is more likely to cause changes given advancements made in generalconnectivity through the internet, increased transaction speed, and enhanced interactivity. An amazingrange of products and auxiliaries are offered on the net, pricing decisions are favoring the consumer (online auctions), supply chain management practices are being turned

upside down (virtual storefronts)and promotion alternatives are more complex. As interactive communication software and other applications continue to develop, basic assumptions regarding education's value chain, specifically thedistribution of knowledge, will require reassessment.This impact is clearly seen in the number of online MBA programs offered by B-schools today. There arealso many Bschools offering distance education. Marketing educators need to lead this technologicalrevolution, to understand and interpret the effects of emerging technologies through research, and useemerging technologies in the classroom to increase student skills and enhance academic credibility.

Global competition: International competition in management education is very much a reality today.Harvard Business School, Stanford, and Yale University have set-up research centers in India. EvenIndia's elite institutions, the IITs and IIMs, will find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain excellentfaculty members in the face of attractive offers from foreign universities, research institutes, and multinational corporations. So, there is a substantial risk that Indian universities and their students could endup as serious losers in the global higher education "game" (Suggested by David Arnold Institute of International Education, 2000). The other side of the coin is the increasing number of students from India. About two-andhalf lakh Indian graduates write MBA tests every year, but almost two-thirds of them donot get any seats because of the paucity of seats. The number of Indian students studying in the USAgrew by more than 46 percent from 1990 to 1999 (Suggested by David Arnold Institute of International Education, 2000). During the 1990s, a large number of multinational companies entered India and sought to hire businessgraduates for their management training positions. Domestic companies also followed suit, trying tocompete. Companies found that the skills of business graduates fell considerably short of the demands of the executive positions in a competitive world.In particular, teamwork skills, critical thinking and critical reading skills, marketing, and operations skillswere found lacking. Consequently, since the 1990s, there has been a high demand for managementgraduates.Many private entrepreneurs have set up management institutes in various parts of India. Many of theseprivate B-schools have shown considerable dynamism in understanding the changing needs of the localindustry and customizing their diploma programs to those needs, thereby establishing their own niches.Illustrative

specialized niches for management education include agri-business, banking, computer andinformation technology, construction, cooperatives, defense, education, entrepreneurship, finance, humanresource development, industrial relations, international business, marketing, office, pharmaceutical,police, production, project, public enterprise, public relations, quality, rural, sports, telecom, tourism andtravel, and transport.Over the last few years, the central government and various state governments have recognized theentrepreneurial efforts of the private B-schools and have begun granting private university status toseveral private B-schools that have excellent brand names and resource infrastructure. These forceshave created a very positive climate for the growth of B-schools, albeit heightening the challenges of ensuring a consistent quality of education at the national level. In 1991, the number of approvedmanagement education institutions in India was only about 130, with an annual MBA intake of about12,000, comprising of 8,000 full-time, 3,000 parttime, and 1,000 distance education students. Thenumber of approved institutions has now grown to approximately 2400, with an annual MBA intake of about 75,000. Indian context: The Indian business environment is different from the rest of the business world's for thefollowing reasons--the developmental stage of the economy, rapid growth in certain sectors, diversecultures and sub-cultures, income- and caste-based classifications of the society, ethical values,existence of powerful unorganized markets for most products, career orientation among youth, etc. As the business environment is unique, there is a need to develop management education programswhich consider the differences and develop MBA programs to suit the requirements of the Indian context.Indian B-schools rely on textbooks and case studies used in the USA and based on research done in an American context. The reason for this is the scarcity of research in Indian B-schools.Most B-schools have affiliations with the state universities. The syllabus and other norms imposed bymost universities tend to be restrictive and degenerative. The norms do not allow flexibility to respond tothe local conditions and do not build competencies for quality teaching, service, and scholarship. Theevaluation techniques adopted in a majority of B-schools still employ traditional grading methods byrelying on term end examinations for awarding the degree. The teaching techniques, in most Bschools,are lecture-based approaches, though there is increasing popularity of

more experiential learningexercises like unstructured business situations, case study analysis, projects, internships, team learning,computer-based instructions, etc.

METHODOLOGY The 2010 Business Today rankings, the fourth of its kind, are more ambitious than the preceding ones. The coverage was, spread across 11 citiesAhmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi,Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Indore, Coimbatore and Mumbai.In the first phase of the businessschool survey, MBA aspirants and human resource heads (readrecruiters) were asked to list all the schools they would consider applying to or recruiting from.Associations for each school were obtained on parameters classified under eight factors-reputation, placement, quality of placement, infrastructure, faculty, teaching methodology,specialist units and admission eligibility. From this face-to-face feedback, 30 top schools wereshortlisted. In the second phase, the final 30 colleges were ranked using AC Nielsen ORGMARG's brandequity measurement model. Three categories of respondents were introduced-MBA students,young executives (with two to three years' experience) and functional heads. By taking intoconsideration attributes such as favourite school, recommended school and the price premiumcommanded by a brand, the model calculates the brand equity index (BEI) for each school. Thehigher the BEI score, the better its rank and greater its ability to stand out. MBA education in the country is also going through a phase of innovation. One excellent example of thisis the Indian School of Business. But it is not included in our survey since it is a one-year programme. The Hyderabad-based school, a collaborative effort by Kellogg, Wharton and the London BusinessSchool, has pioneered the trend of co-branded B-schools at home. A similar success story is Great LakesInstitute of Management in Chennai, also not included in our rankings. Whether or not this will become anaccepted practice in the years to come will depend on how such a model benefits students and that'sexactly what has been explored in a guest column by Boston Consulting Group's Vijay ChakravarthiWhy

do we need B-school rankings? Because we are obsessed with rating everything from music tomembers of the opposite sex, from restaurants to chief ministers, so why not educational institutes?Because rankings help students and parents digest data and arrive at the "best" option from over 2400 approved institutions. Because opting for an MBA is not a decision that can be taken lightly-all MBAs aretime consuming, while most are expensive, and your future hinges on your selectionand rankings offer the best available means to evaluate institutions. The most basic statistical measures of effectiveness of a B-school are its placement record andgraduation rate. But a majority of B-school websites-including several top-tier ones-does not offer information on these. Instead, you will see beautiful students talking about their beautiful campuses,faculty, giving soundbites on the quality of education and cool info-graphics. There are very few studies,no numbers and no comparative analysis. Without such basic information at their disposal, MBAwannabes have to make choices based on programmes, geography and, you guessed it, rankings.True, the rankings don't capture everything one needs to know about an institution. That is why it isimportant to go beyond them. Surveys can, at best, help you narrow down your B-school search to theones you can actually apply to.Image management never stops, because if a brand's image is not controlled well by its owner at alltimes, it is more than likely to be controlled by outside market and competitive influences.Now is the time for countries to work hard on their branding. Barack Obama was elected on a platform of change, and a large part of his campaign success rested on his declared determination to re engineer and restore America's global image. This area of emotional as opposed to rational appeal won himmillions of votes. Americans want their brand and reputation back. As the public sector learns lessons from the corporate world, the branding of countries is now fastbecoming a constant cabinet agenda item. This is not surprising as a strong national brand can bringhuge benefits, including: As has been the case in the past few years' the last academic session was a phenomenal year for IndianB-schools. There's been a marked improvement in terms of pedagogic initiatives and placements. Severalof them have started new programmes and introduced innovative courses and electives. A few haveinvested huge amounts in upgrading infrastructure; the near future may witness the setting up of world-class campuses. Consistent 8 per cent plus GDP growth rates have also

had a positive impact onplacements average salaries for top B-schoolers jumped by 15-20 per cent..Even successful B-schools like IIM-A' IIM-B' IIFT' SJMSoM' IITBombay and NITIE are forced to initiatenew things to stay at the top IIFT' which is also public-aided like the IIMs' has started social awareness programmes to exposestudents to social realities

NITIE has introduced many innovations' making learning more experiential. One of them is directselling where students are divided into groups of eight' each given four products to be solddirectly to people on the streets. Each group is given Rs 3'000 of inventory and a minimum salestarget. Students are free to decide pricing strategies' marketing methods' area of operations etc.Last year' the profits were donated to an NGO' Navnirmiti' which promotes scientific educationamong children.

As expected' there's a wide variation in quality among private B-schools. The top end is strivinghard to become world-class. In fact' ISB now has high international standards in pedagogy evenbetter than the IIMs.

Some private B-schools have kept pace with changing realities. For instance' ICFAI has donewhat the IIMs should have done. It has set up a management teacher s academy to counter theacute faculty shortage.

Only a few institutions like BIMTECH, Wellingkar and NMIMS have programs to cater to thisneed. Wellingkar' partnering with multi-commodity exchange (MCX)' provides a 3-month trainingin commodity trading.

Students are provided with a simulated trading environment. To facilitate paperless interactions'IMT and Wellingkar have also introduced new software solutions.

Some B-schools have integrated a course on soft skill development where students get to workon topics like leadership skills' emotional intelligence and personality development.

TAPMI has restructured its entire program after consultations with the industry. It'll now be basedona 60:40 ratio of classroom study and experiential learning. The latter part is in the form of workshops' projects and industry work. A required course for all students is a laboratory for entrepreneurial motivation.FMS Delhi banks on quality students' alumni network

XLRI has introduced village-exposure program for all students so that they experience the 'other side' of India. The institute also offers tailor-made courses for firms like L&T, M&M, BHEL and Accenture.

S.P. Jain Institute has actively pursued the agenda of empowering BPL communities. Its project' Ankur' in collaboration with Cornell University' USA' is a co-creation of business between acorporate and a poor community. A pilot is now under way in a Mumbai slum. The idea is todevelop entrepreneurship/generate income for the poor through the intervention of a corporate.It's among the first schools to motivate students to take up community projects in social sectors.

In new-age B-schools like IMI faculty members are required to' besides teaching' either trainconsult or research. The extra revenues are shared between the individuals and the institute.

ICFAI and Alliance are also making campuses eco-friendly and energy-saving' so as to get greenratings from the world building congress.

Still the majority of private B-Schools fall in the lower matrix with low performance on all criticalparameters.

In most such schools fresh graduates pass off as faculty and the schools are little more thanglorified placement agencies. Value addition to students is worse than in the case of university departments. There have alsobeen cases of students being duped even as the regulatory bodies look on.

The surplus generated through high fees is siphoned off into non-academic activities. Themushrooming of these dubious schools is primarily the result of the failure of excellent B-schoolslike the IIMs to either replicate their successful models. If the IIMs had done that there would bean IIM in all the major commercial cities.

Faculty compensation packages is also a matter of concern. With average packages in the Rs 2-3 lakh per annum bracket' it's difficult to attract the best minds.In promoting gainful institute-industry interface India Inc hasn't done enough. A few exceptions like ISB'which gets regular funding do exist. The school recently got a $1 million grant from Goldman Sachs for one of its centers of excellence.MBA is one of the most popular and sought-after degrees available at the present scenario. The growingpopularity of management education is because of the essential and irreversible changes occurring in theeconomy, government policies, outlook of business and industry across the nation. Indian economy hasundergone a paradigm shift, and at present, India is the second fastest growing economy of the world.Therefore, to sustain the growth rate of the economy, skilled manpower for the management sector hasbecome a fundamental need of the society. A survey was carried out by IpsosIndica The Advertising Research Specialist, which focused on MBAcourses offered in 104 institutes. In order to arrive at the top 50

institutes, each institute was rated on 22parameters, in five domains, which were i) Learning Experienceii) Global Exposureiii) Resources & Infrastructureiv) Bran d & Marketabilityv) Quality of Outcomes. After the thorough assessment, a list was prepared that enlisted India s top 50 Business Schools.