I keep interacting with most of them (obviously alongside the best in the domain) in order to figure out whether any of these struggling schools have any thought or understanding of the reasons as to why they are in a downward spiral and if there is a remedy for such a sorry state.
One of the major issues that these b-schools probably have never thought of - is the negative word-of-mouth publicity that is implemented by their own students, which snowballs into very strong negative perception affecting their admission numbers, placements etc each year.
Let us understand what really happens:
1. B-school starts operations and pushes the Marketing/Admission team to get applications for the MBA/PGDM program
2. Marketing/Admission team resorts to tried and tested and failed methodologies right away (these are not some of the best talents in India anyways). They buy databases, call people without permissions, visit cities for education tours and flash GD-PI selection processes, dole out "discounts" in the name of scholarships to "non-scholars", and care a damn while trying to get the seats filled
3. Since the failed methods are used, the perception of the b-school starts on a negative as some of the better students (or students aspiring for a good program) view this as another program started by some X person , thereby quality applications never show up on the radar.
4. While application numbers from the entrance tests databases don't show up, the b-school gets restless and then goes to some of the most remotest areas in India (places like the North-eastern states, Bihar, J&K, Jharkhand, East UP, etc). The "rags to riches" story through something called as MBA is doled out with additional spice. These places generally have dormant decision making kids, and more active parents. So somehow parents are convinced that their sons and daughters will do good (with "city" jobs).
5. These students are then the representation of majority in such b-schools and somehow the fees are collected and batch begins
Other than external ecological factors that will take the wind off the sail for such b-schools in due time, the following happens in the 2 years after these students get admission:
A) They are trained by the B-school in "written" and "spoken" English. Special classes dedicated to personality development are conducted (sometimes in regional languages so that these kids understand)
B) They are trained on using Internet and all technological advancements that are related to the Internet. At the end of these sessions and (armed with the Laptop) at the end two years, these kids are now empowered to use Social network, identify forums for MBA, etc.
C) When placements season arrives, these kids don't get placed through the internal process (mostly due to them being un-employable in any good starting role available to other grads from other MBA programs), and all of a sudden these kids realize that they will never have that dream life which was told to them during the "Admission Seminar" at their respective places
D) Armed with access to internet and filled with disgust, these kids then take on the cyber world, writing some of the most demeaning things about their b-school- the lies, the vacant promises, the bad faculty, no placements, etc. across social networking websites, MBA forums, chat sites, and wherever they feel they can vent their anger
Due to this, in the next admission season, the college again fails to get any response through the normal procedure (through notifications, etc) and resorts to visiting some new places for "fishing".
Since the cyber-world will be filled with amazing negative feedback about the college, people with access to broadband will definitely get to read those while they Google the college. So the only hope will rest on people who don't have broadband access and have no understanding of a career etc.
Thanks to "India Shining!" (sarcasm), there are still areas that fit the description for a good market for such b-schools. Areas that are still pretty backward, and will give anything for a career in the cities.
However, the same story plays out post the admission of this batch as well.
The b-school has now successfully invested and contributed to their very own, home-grown army of students and alumni who are proactively bad-mouthing the college across every possible medium.
What happens in the corresponding year?
The enrolments drop. All of a sudden I get to hear b-schools running a batch of 120 with about 20
enrolments. Given that their yearly budgets on admission activities/scholarships will be driven by the numbers of previous year (again a huge mistake, but will take this topic later), one doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the way things will go from here. Downward Spiral!!
Two years back, I had predicted that over 1500 b-schools will close in India. To a certain extent, they have. The others have still survived due to the way they got admissions from rural India and kept on the working capital intact. But things are changing faster. Accessibility of broadband and usage of mobile internet will be comparatively growing faster in the coming 3-5 years. With that being the premise, where will these b-schools go??
Is there a way out for them?
Definitely. But that includes things that they wont listen to or even do. They will need to close down their current programs. Re-establish everything from scratch. Get large funding, excellent faculty, use the best mediums available to communicate and interact with the best applicants in India, select only the best, get accreditation that matters, design pedagogy that will be world-class, and then see magic happen in about 5-7 years. Every b-school has gone through stages in their growth process.
Imagine a Hit Bollywood movie. Do we go for a 3rd category production house, with no stars, amazing music, and no special effects? We don't. Because we know that the quality of everything in a movie matters, and therefore people are ready to pay a premium and watch these movies in Multiplexes (and spend more on pop-corns than the movie tickets).
So if 3 hour movie experience needs to be world-class, then what about a 2yr program that will lead to someone start an excellent career??
Don't b-schools think anything on this line? Is surviving another day a part of their DNA now? How do they feel to know that their very investments are their biggest detractors and enemies?
WAKE-UP, and CHANGE.
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