At a time when the spotlight is on PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi and HSBC Indias CEO Naina Lal Kidwai for having broken the corporate glass ceiling, B-schools across the country are coming under focus for skewed sex ratios on the campus.

Data obtained shows some of the most renowned management institutions have as few as 10% women students. Even the institutes with the best gender ratios have over 65% male students. Experts feel the gap can be attributed to entrance tests that are heavily biased in favour of engineers, given their emphasis on mathematics rather than people management and study of the humanities.

At IIM-Ahmedabad, the number of female students for the MBA programme ranges from 10-15%. For the 26 years that I have been teaching at the institution, I have not observed an increase in the percentage of female students beyond 15%, says Professor Anil Gupta, who teaches technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and politics at IIM-A. Shekhar Choudhuri, director, IIM Calcutta, says that, for the last 10-15 years, there have been only 10% female students on campus.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Union College graduates John Castellani and Robert Bertagna, who have gone on to lead successful business careers outside the region, have joined the Schenectady schools board of trustees.

Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable in Washington D.C., a chief executive lobbying group, earned a bachelors in biology at Union in 1972. His organization represents chief executives of U.S. companies that collectively have revenues of $4.5 trillion a year and employ more than 10 million workers.

Bertagna is the head of industrial group investment banking at Lehman Brothers in New York City. He earned his bachelors in economics at Union in 1985. Bertagnas client list has included International Paper, Harvard Business School, American Airlines and Sears, Roebuck and Co.

More : bizjournals.com

I wholeheartedly agree with Harvard Business School associate professor Rakesh Khuranas concern about the direction of business-school education (Business Schools Forgetting Missions? by George Anders, The Economy, Sept. 26). However, the blame must be shared by others beyond the B-schools and their deans, who act (rationally) in response to the incentives driving their decisions. In particular, publishers of …

More : online.wsj.com

To address the increasing role that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are playing in developing and executing business strategies, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today the creation of the Center for CIO Leadership. The Center will bring together executive leaders, academics and other experts from around the world to build practical research and executive development initiatives focused on advancing the CIO profession.

The Center for CIO Leadership will serve as a global community for CIOs through which they can collaborate and learn in order to uncover opportunities where Information Technology will drive business value. The Center — led by Executive Director, Harvey Koeppel — will be governed by an advisory council comprised of leading CIOs as well as professors from some of the worlds most prestigious universities, including Harvard Business School, MIT and INSEAD.

In addition to creating unique research aimed at the concerns of todays CIOs, the Center will also provide new leadership development and other educational programs. Content for these online and classroom-based education programs will be based on CIO feedback, ongoing research, and outreach to executives with whom CIOs interact, such as CEOs, line-of-business leaders, boards of directors, and government leaders.

More : money.cnn.com

A few days ago I met a senior IAS officer who held an important post in the human resources development (HRD) ministry of the previous government at the Centre. It was in his tenure that the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) confronted the first significant move to curtail their autonomy. Considered close to the then HRD minister, he was also known for arm twisting the IIM directors with fiats on matters such as fee reduction. I was interested in knowing his side of the story and what motivated him to take on the IIMs.

He started by describing how venal some directors of IIMs were, the corrupt practices they indulged in, and so on. The IIMs, he said, are among the most mismanaged institutions. For instance, he said, in IIM-Ahmedabad he observed there are more than 400 support staff for about 80 faculty. The faculty, too, he claimed, is mediocre and, on average, teaches for only three hours a week and doesnt do much research. He said the incoming student group in the IIMs is very good, but the value addition is negligible. He cited the Shunglu committee report in support of his charges. And, of course, didnt want his name mentioned.

Whatever excuses the bureaucrats or politicians give, they cant camouflage the desire to control the IIMs; not for the good of society, but to satisfy their egos and the power associated with such control. The high growth in demand for management jobs in the last decade has probably made IIMs too tempting for the HRD ministry.

More : livemint.com

The first-of-its-kind, Building a Global Enterprise in India will be taught by HBS senior faculty in Hyderabad and is specially designed for senior executives from India

The program is based on 10 years of extensive, on-the-ground HBS research in India. It uses cases tailored to the specific needs of companies operating in India and incorporates examples from companies in the region that have addressed similar challenges facing Indian companies today.

This program was designed to address emerging challenges in the Indian business landscape as companies seek to manage and sustain growth in India, said Professor David Yoffie, Senior Associate Dean and Chair of Harvard Business School Executive Education programs.

More : newkerala.com

Harvard Business School (HBS) in conjunction with the Harvard Business School India Research Center (IRC) today announced plans to offer its first executive education program in India in February 2008. The first-of-its-kind, Building a Global Enterprise in India will be taught by HBS senior faculty in Hyderabad and is specially designed for senior executives from India and around the region.

The program is based on 10 years of extensive, on-the-ground HBS research in India. It uses cases tailored to the specific needs of companies operating in India and incorporates examples from companies in the region that have addressed similar challenges facing Indian companies today.

This program was designed to address emerging challenges in the Indian business landscape as companies seek to manage and sustain growth in India, said Professor David Yoffie, Senior Associate Dean and Chair of Harvard Business School Executive Education programs.

More : ndtvprofit.com

Following the trend of an increasing number of the world’s leading business schools shifting focus to India, the Harvard Business School (HBS) too has followed suit and will launch its first executive education programme in India in February 2008.

HBS will launch the course in association with the Harvard Business School India Research Centre and will be taught by HBS’ senior faculty in Hyderabad. The five-day programme called ‘Building a Global Enterprise in India’ will be held between February 10-15, 2008, in Hyderabad. The course is designed for senior executives from India and around the region.

The new programme will replicate the HBS learning experience with classes taught by members of the school’s senior faculty using the HBS case method, which requires participants to make decisions about real business situations.

More : business-standard.com

Harvard Business School (HBS) today unveiled HBS 2+2, a first-of-its-kind deferred MBA admissions program designed to reach qualified college students, especially those who may not typically consider business as a career path or business education as a future option.

This unique program will give undergraduates a guaranteed place in a future Harvard Business School MBA class, contingent upon their graduation from college and the successful completion of two years of approved work experience. Some of the worlds leading organizations such as Google and Teach for America have signed up as recruiting partners, receptive to hiring 2+2s for the work experience component of the program.

Harvard Business School will reach out to high-achieving college juniors studying in the fields of science, engineering, healthcare, government, and public service, among other disciplines, as they begin to explore career and graduate school opportunities.

More : home.businesswire.com

Youd be hard pressed to find it written in most business school literature, but common wisdom says the successful M.B.A. student has five years of post-college work experience. While 26 or 27 remains the average age of entering students at many top programs, business school officials are looking to shatter the myth that theres an age associated with the model applicant.

In a move meant to deliver that message, the Harvard Business School last week unveiled a deferred admissions program that allows applicants to be considered while they are still undergraduates. Rising college seniors who are admitted through the 2+2 program, as it is called, will enroll in Harvards M.B.A. program after working for two years at a company or organization that has agreed to participate.

Our message is apply when you think youre ready, said Carl Kester, deputy dean for academic affairs and a professor of finance at Harvard Business School. We are concerned that interesting and outstanding students are being fast tracked at jobs and are not considering business school until reaching a certain point in their careers. We said, What if we opened up a channel to resolve that uncertainty?

More : insidehighered.com