Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Ref. No.: ME0011

Nitu’s Business School Selection:

Riding on an Indifference Curve

Nitu Gupta (Nitu), a B. Com graduate from St. Francis College, Hyderabad, found herself in a
catch-22 situation once she finished her final examinations. What should be her next step? This was
the most pressing question that confronted her with regard to her career choice. To find an appropriate
solution to her problem, she attended the career guidance fair organised by her alma mater in
September 2008.The fair was conducted over 3 days. All those who attended the fair got a chance
to know about different higher-education options, immediate career choices and professional courses
like MBA, CA, CFA, Law, etc. After gaining awareness about different careers and courses, most
of the students were able to take a decision. Almost all of Nitu’s close friends also clinched the issue
and were excited about their respective career choices. Two of these friends decided to pursue Civil
Services and planned to go to Delhi for coaching in April 2009. Three decided to pursue M.Sc
(Computers) course and one decided to undergo training in SAP with an eye on taking up her dream
job later on.
However, Nitu was still pondering what should be her next move? Lots of advice (unsolicited
most of the times) led to equal measure of confusion. Looking at the trend of the youngsters veering
towards management education, for once she even thought to be right what her inner voice had all
along been prompting. The MBA entrance season was fast approaching. Most of the premier
B-Schools’ entrance examinations are conducted around December every year. To confirm her
plan, she wanted to seek her father’s advice and guidance before taking the final call.
The following was a conversation between Nitu and her father Mahavir Gupta (Gupta), who is
an officer in allied services:

This case study was written by Akshaya Kumar Jena IBSCDC. It is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to
illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case was compiled from published sources.

© 2009, IBSCDC.
No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the copyright owner.

Background Reading: Chapter 5, “Demand and Consumer Behaviour”,

Economics (Paul A. Samuelson and William D. Nordhaus)

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Gupta: Well done Nitu, you have scored quite so high in your degree exam. Scores in economics
are very impressive.
Nitu: Thank you, Papa.
Gupta: What do you like to pursue – Civil Services or teaching profession?
Nitu: No Papa, I wish to train myself in business administration.
Gupta: Why?
Nitu: Because it helps in landing plum jobs.
Gupta: That’s all! You can as well open a business of your own in a lucrative line and earn a lot of
money.
Nitu: But that requires business acumen, which can be learnt through business administration.
Gupta: I see! But I am afraid business education hardly helps in organising business in real life. If
you can focus on your work and observe day-to-day operations carefully, you can as well master the
art of managing any business.
Nitu: That would be true, Papa, but only at a low level. At a very high level, the intricacies of
business administration need to be learnt. Moreover, it is pointless to squander time and effort reinventing
the wheel. Business schools, I hope, do a good job by bringing together both practice and accumulated
research.
Gupta: OK, you must have then to apply for various admission tests and make a thorough
preparation to crack the tests.
Nitu: Yes Papa. The dates for GMAT, CAT, IBSAT and XAT have already been notified. I would
shortly apply for those tests.
Gupta: But have a second thought. Would a degree in business administration make your career
recession-proof?
Nitu: Not, quite obviously; but it surely hones one’s business skills and knowledge so much that
one can, I believe, tide over the problems that may come up.
Gupta: That’s nice, my brave heart.
Nitu: And Papa, a course in business administration not only ensures a high-salaried job and a
sought-after status, it also offers a platform for sharpening one’s inventiveness and decision-making
capability. It also teaches resilience and how to cope with pressure.
Gupta: Quite right. Follow your instincts, my dear.
Since the early 1990s, the Indian economy has been on a roll with the introduction of Liberalisation,
Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG). The opening of Indian economy has unlocked a world of
opportunities before the MBA graduates. An MBA degree from a reputed institute has become not
only a ticket to high salaries and new lifestyles but also a symbol of status. Many high level business
positions attracting six-digit salaries and above require MBAs only. An International Recruitment

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Survey and Salary Report prepared for EU and North America in 2007 has revealed that the average
salaries of MBAs compared to non-MBAs are the highest across all industries except for Aerospace,
where Ph Ds command a bit higher (Exhibit I).

Exhibit I
Comparative International Salaries of MBAs and Non-MBAs in 2007 (in $
per annum)
4 yrs Experience Masters Ph D MBA
(no masters)
Aerospace/Defence 62,500 70,000 97,500 85,000
Consulting/Prof. Services 72,129 65,121 77,415 99,154
Energy 64,351 65,074 70,761 83,100
Financial Services/Banking 66,231 62,937 73,002 93,515
FMCG 66,528 45,286 52,710 87,329
Manufact./Automotive 64,447 60,716 70,466 86,988
Media/Entertainment 53,637 46,927 63,745 97,295
Pharma./Healthcare 68,182 71,287 72,346 89,671
Public Sector/Non-profit 66,478 66,478 73,188 82,398
Retail 56,326 63,541 72,388 79,833
Telecoms/High Tech. 57,500 72,500 75,000 82,500
Transportation 50,805 50,967 53,933 88,750

Source: Quacquarelli Nunzio, “The MBA Salary Gap Increases”, http://www.topmba.com/news/article/

the_mba_salary_gap_increases-1/print.html

It is a dream-come-true to get admission into a good MBA institute. However, there are layers of
difficulties beginning with tests one has to take. There are tests like CAT, XAT, IBSAT, GMAT,
SNAP, FMS, IIFT, TISS, etc. And quite a considerable amount is spent towards exam fees and
application forms for admission. The hefty advertisement spend of the B-Schools bamboozle the
successful candidates as to which of the B-Schools to join. Many magazines and business newspapers
give their rankings of B-Schools that are often in variance with each other. A comparative study of
rankings of Indian B-Schools by no more than three magazines in 2007 is illustrative of the point
(Exhibit II).

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Exhibit II
Rankings of Indian B-Schools: A Comparative Study (2007)

Sl.No. B-School Ranking

Business World India Today Outlook
1 IIM-A 1 1 1
2. IIM-B 2 2 3
3 IIM-C 4 3 2
4 XLRI 5 4 6
5 IIM-L NR 7 4
6 MDI 3 18 4
7 SP Jain 9 13 8
8 IIM-I NR 9 NR
9 IIM-K NR 15 NR
10 FMS NR 6 5
11 Bajaj NR 8 NR
12 Tata, Mum. NR 12 NR
13 Mudra, Aham. NR NR NR
14 IRMA, Anand 8 NR NR
15 XIM 10 20 12
16 IIFT,Delhi 6 14 9
17 SCMHRD Pune NR NR NR
18 Narsee, Monjee NR 17 10
19 IMT, Ghaziabad NR 16 10
20 Symbosis (SIBM) NR 5 17
21 Sydenham NR 26 NR
22 BIM Tiruchirapalli 23 NR 19
23 Nirma 20 21 21
24 GIM 18 NR NR
25 TAPMI 16 NR 13
26 IMI, Delhi NR 27 14
27 UBS, Chandigarh 15 NR 16
28 K.J. Somaiya 27 19 22
29 Welingkar 24 29 NR
30 Fore School, Delhi 11 24 NR
Source: “Comparative Ranking of Indian B-Schools”, http://admissionsync.com/2007/08/04/comparitive-ranking-of-
indian-mba-schools/

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

However, these surveys and rankings confound the students further. The MBA aspirants, therefore,
tend to do the groundwork by actively seeking the requisite information and weighing in their minds
various aspects of the B-Schools with reference to their own strength, weakness and ambition.
To simplify the rigid one-on-one B-School rankings, Career Launcher1 has started categorising
India’s well-known B-Schools into clusters. Within each cluster, the level of difference among the B-
Schools is said to be very negligible. However, B-Schools in a particular cluster are more alluring
than the ones belonging to a lower cluster and less alluring than the ones belonging to a higher
cluster. Career Launcher’s ranking methodology has taken into account seven parameters (Exhibit
III) for evaluating the B-Schools.

Exhibit III
Career Launcher’s Seven Parameters of Ranking Methodology

• Placement records of the last 3 years

• Infrastructure: school and learning environment
• Faculty
• Geographical location: proximity of B-schools to business hubs
• Entrance exams applicable
• Interaction with alumni
• Interaction with Career Launcher students now studying at these B-schools

Source: “Top B-Schools”, http://www.careerlauncher.com/mba/about_mba/top_b_schools_in_India.html

After visiting the various well-known B-Schools and assessing the relevant inputs, Career Launcher
has grouped these Indian B-Schools into eight clusters in order of their preference (Exhibit IV).
Since any sort of quality evaluation is inescapably subjective, Career Launcher has inserted a disclaimer
stating that its ranking system which has come out of due deliberation with experts and experienced
persons is, however, not a definitive guide for selecting a B-School and offers its regrets if any
institute feels aggrieved or offended. It recommends that the ranking should be taken in the spirit of
being a suggestive opinion.

1
Career Launcher is Asia’s leading education service provider with presence in over 130 locations across India, Middle East and
the US. For more information,visit http://www.careerlauncher.com/company/aboutcl/index.html

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Exhibit IV
Categorisation of B-Schools into Eight Clusters

Cluster 1
B-school Location Link
Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) Ahmedabad www.iimahd.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Management (IIM-B) Bangalore www.iimb.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Management (IIM-C) Kolkata www.iimcal.ac.in
Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad www.isb.edu
Indian Institute of Management (IIM-L) Lucknow www.iiml.ac.in
Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur www.xlri.ac.in

Cluster 2
B-school Location Link

Indian Institute of Management (IIM-I) Indore www.iimidr.ac.in

Indian Institute of Management (IIM-K) Kozhikode www.iimk.ac.in

IIM-A Agri Business Management (ABM) Ahmedabad www.iimahd.ernet.in

IIM-L Agri Business Management (ABM) Lucknow www.iiml.ac.in

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) - New Delhi www.fms.edu

MBA & MBA - MS, Delhi University

SP Jain Institute of Management & Research Mumbai www.spjimr.org

(SPJIMR)

Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon www.mdi.ac.in

National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai www.nitie.edu

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) New Delhi www.iift.edu

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies Mumbai www.jbims.edu

(JBIMS)

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai www.tiss.edu

Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) Anand (Gujarat) www.irma.ac.in

Mudra Institute of Communications

Ahmedabad (MICA) Ahmedabad www.mica-india.net

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Cluster 3
B-school Location Link
Indian Institute of Technology - Shailesh J.
Mehta School of Management Mumbai www.som.iitb.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology - Department New Delhi www.iitd.ac.in/academics
of Management Studies mba.html
MDI (HR) Gurgaon www.mdi.ac.in
Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM) Chennai www.glakes.org
Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad www.imt.edu
Symbiosis Centre for Management and HRD
(SCMHRD) Pune www.scmhrd.edu
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
(SIBM) Pune www.sibm.edu
TA Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) Manipal www.tapmi.org
International Management Institute (IMI) Delhi www.imi.edu
Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) Bhubaneshwar www.ximb.ac.in
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Mumbai www.nmims.edu
Studies (NMIMS)
Goa Institute of Management (GIM) Goa www.gim.ac.in

Cluster 4
B-school Location Link
Symbiosis Institute of International
Business (SIIB) Pune www.siib.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology – Vinod
Gupta School of Management Kharagpur www.som.iitkgp.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Technology - Department
of Management Studies Kanpur www.iitk.ac.in
University Business School (UBS) Chandigarh www.ubschandigarh.org
Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics Mumbai www.sydenham.edu
Welingkar Institute of Management Mumbai www.welingkar.org

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies

& Research (SIMSR) Mumbai http://simsr.somaiya.edu
IBS Hyderabad www.ibsindia.org
Indian Institute of Technology - Department
of Management Studies Chennai www.doms.iitm.ac.in
Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM) Tiruchirapally www.bim.edu

Cluster 5
B-school Location Link
FORE School of Management New Delhi www.fsm.ac.in
Nirma University - Institute of Management Ahmedabad www.nim.ac.in
Master of Finance & Control (MFC),
University of Delhi (South Campus) Delhi www.mfc.edu
Indian Institute of Technology - Department
of Management Studies Roorkee www.iitr.ac.in
Master of Business Economics (MBE),
Department of Business Economics,
University of Delhi Delhi www.mbe-du.org
IBS Gurgaon www.ibsindia.org
Loyola Institute of Business Administration
(LIBA) Chennai www.liba.edu
Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management
(LBS) Delhi www.lbsim.edu
Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) Bhopal www.iifm.org

Cluster 6

B-school Location Link

Amity Business School Noida, U.P www.amity.edu/abs
Institute of Technology & Management (ITM) Navi Mumbai www.itm.edu
Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
(SIMS) (For Defense Personnel & their
dependents) Pune www.sims.edu

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Alliance Business Academy (ABA) Bangalore ww.alliancebschool.org

IBS Other Campuses www.ibsindia.org
Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business
Management (IISWBM) Kolkata www.iiswbm.edu
Chetana’s Ram Prasad Khandelwal Institute
of Management & Research Mumbai www.chetanamgt.org
NL Dalmiya Institute of Management Studies
and Research Mumbai www.nldalmiamgmt.org
Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) Ranchi www.xiss.ac.in
Birla Institute of Management Technology
(BIM Tech) Delhi www.bimtech.ac.in
Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication
(SIMC) Pune www.simc.edu
Institute of Financial Management &
Research (IFMR) Chennai www.ifmr.ac.in

Cluster 7
B-school Location Link
Shri Ram College of Commerce, University Delhi www.srcc.edu
of Delhi, Global Business Operations
(SRCC GBO)
Masters in International Business (MIB) Delhi www.du.ac.in
Department of Commerce, Delhi School
of Economics
Master of Human Resource and Delhi www.du.ac.in
Organisational Development (MHROD)
Department of Commerce, Delhi School
of Economics
Institute of Technology & Management Bangalore, www.itm.edu
(ITM) Chennai,
Hyderabad,
Warangal

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow www.jiml.ac.in

Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras
Hindu University (FMS BHU) Varanasi www.bhu.ac.in/fms
Army Institute of Management (AIM) Kolkata www.aim.ac.in
Xavier Institute of Management &
Entrepreneurship (XIME) Bangalore www.xime.org

Cluster 8
B-school Location Link
New Delhi of Institute of Management
(NDIM) New Delhi www.ndimdelhi.org
Institute for Integrated Learning in
Management (IILM) New Delhi www.iilm.edu
Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS) Delhi www.jimsindia.org
Globsyn Business School (GBS) Kolkata www.globsyn.com/gbs
Asia Pacific Institute of Management (APIM) New Delhi www.asiapacific.edu
Entrepreneurship & Management Processes
International (EMPI) New Delhi www.empiindia.com

Source: “Top B-Schools”, http://www.careerlauncher.com/mba/about_mba/top_b_schools_in_India.html

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 Nitu’s Business School Selection: Riding on an Indifference Curve

Nitu, who had meanwhile written various entrance examinations for MBA for the year 2009,
wanted to base her decision on Career Launcher’s ranking selection. Nitu was on a calculating
mode as to which of the B-Schools to join. She fancied her chances at least in clusters 4 and those
below. For her, cluster 4 was any time preferable to clusters 5, 6, 7 and 8 but less attractive compared
to clusters 1, 2 and 3. However, the problem that was perplexing her was what she should do if she
got call from more than one institute belonging to cluster 4. Whether she should join IBS, Hyderabad
or Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune or Indian Institute of Technology – Department
of Management Studies, Chennai had been working up her mind for weeks together. Eventually,
Nitu’s expectations and apprehensions came true. Her scorings made her eligible for admission in
various B-Schools except from those belonging to clusters 3 and above. Last heard, she had already
clinched the issue in favour of IBS, Hyderabad. Asked about the reasons, she just gave a cryptic
smile and muttered that it is all economics and economising.

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