MBA in India - a personal viewpoint
I have been reading about current MBA students in India, some through blogs such as these. There are some aspects of the IIM model which really make me cringe (although these views are based on a external viewpoint)
1. Program's "similar" to the western model: IIMs are very similar to MBA programs in US. They were supposed to be centers of excellence for teaching Indian business frameworks. Instead, these programs are very US- and multi-national centric. I have not heard of any concept-framework being published out of IIMs. Similarly the faculty seems to be unheard of, even within the general populance of IIM-test takers. These 21-24 year olds just know that they have to get into IIM - to be able to get a multi-national job (just like 80 years ago, some of our grandfathers traveled to England to get a IAS cadre stamp).
2. 20-21 year olds in B-schools??: The IIM system admits 20-21 year olds in the MBA program. This is one extremely negative aspect of the entire system. How can a recent college grad (out of 3-year or 4-year college curricula) understand the concepts of leadership and orgranizational behavior. Sure, these people are bright..and therefore, can recite the 4-frameworks (or 8 or 10, who cares??) of organizational behavior. But, most of these students do not bring anything to the table in terms of real substance, real work experience or real insights.
These are strong words, however it is true. If I am incorrect, then please go to the admission offices of the top B-schools in US, and they will tell you the multitude of IIM grads who are applying, to get a second MBA. Hmm...this speaks volumes of the system inefficiency.
