EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION...

ISSN: 2249-7196

IJMRR/ October 2014/ Volume 4/Issue 10/Article No-2/961-980

Cheshta Sharma et. al./ International Journal of Management Research & Review

*Corresponding Author www.ijmrr.com 961

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION

OF MANAGEMENT SCHOOL AMONG ASPIRANTS

Cheshta Sharma*1 ,Vikas Bhanot

2

1Research Scholar, Dept. of Management, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana,

Haryana, India.

2Alumni, LMTSOM, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, India.

ABSTRACT

The growing need of market is creating demand for professionals who are something more

than an engineer and have an edge over technical knowledge with managerial skills. But the

engineering graduates are always confused, do they really want to go for higher studies or

they should stick to their engineering profession only. “Do we need an MBA??” this is the

most important question which comes in mind of every engineering student in his/her final

stages of the course.In this paper we made an attempt to analyse factors influencing selection

of management school among the aspirants. A Master in Business Administration opens

many doors to an advanced management position and many other great career opportunities.

However, is not necessary to have an MBA to have a successful career, and the process is

definitely not for everyone. We concluded from our survey that there are three key

influencing factor which are reputation of the institute, quality of placements and placements

which contributes 68% of all the factors of selecting a Management School.

INTRODUCTION

The MBA qualification broadens and enhances knowledge and should be viewed in a sense

of building up skills. Although the most popular reasons for undertaking the MBA is to

increase salary, other reasons include widening career opportunities, furthering one’s career

and/or to extend personal networks.

Today, an MBA is the most prestigious qualification in the world. It offers the potential for

talented young professionals to place themselves in the shop window for the most prestigious

and highest paying recruiters in the world; companies like Accenture, Bain, McKinsey & Co.,

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley treat the MBA qualification as essential for career changers

seeking to join their firms.

There are other equally important reasons that any prospective MBA student will state, but by

far the most compelling is to create career opportunities for oneself. The challenges imposed

by the 21st century have made it an essential component that we upgrade skills and

qualifications in order to meet the demands set by companies, customers and the environment

we operate within.


Copyright © 2012 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 962

This is where the MBA becomes a tool to be utilized in building up existing competencies -

the theory learned can be utilized to find plausible solutions to concurrent business issues. At

the end of an MBA program, one emerges with an upper level of functional managerial and

business issues as well as new conceptual skills ready to meet the demands that are set by the

competitiveness around us.

Selecting a school from which to obtain an MBA degree can be as confusing as choosing a

personal computer. MBA programs are similar to one another in design, and most of them

offer approximately the same general courses. However, there are subtle differences that can

be critical in determining compatibility.

The larger the quantity, the greater the variant shades of quality of these schools. At one end

of the spectrum you have world-class institutes and at the other end, there are the low-grade

varieties, degrees from which are not exactly passports to big-ticket jobs.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Dr Lew of Damelin International College of Postgraduate Business Sciences in the

magazine of the Fuqua School of business published in July 07 says:

“The fact is, we are operating in an ever-changing, fast-paced, highly competitive and global

world of work, but how does one respond to this environment. According to Dr Charlene

Lew, former dean of the Damelin International College of Postgraduate Business Sciences,

the first step would be to gain an understanding of this distraught business world. “It all starts

with an understanding of the economy and how businesses can contribute to the invention of

products that will increase the country’s resources. With that is an understanding of economic

concepts, such as ‘inflation’ and ‘consumer price index’. A simple insight into managerial

economics, such as supply and demand and opportunity costs assists MBA graduates

understands the role of profit maximisation endeavours in the firm and how economics

inform organisational decision-making.”

Smith Jayne of wall street journal in the business context of august 07 edition says:

“The MBA manager can truly add value to any firm. And the value is added where it really

matters – in improved performance of the manager and in increased profitability of the

company. “But, a principle condition to this increased value-add needs to be clearly stated -

the value added is proportional to the degree to which the MBA knowledge is applied,”

Rashmi Bansal alumni IIM Ahmedabad in the April 08 edition of Business week says:

“At a top tier Management School, you'll find all of the above species of professors - and

then some. But for an academic, what is the real measure of greatness? Popularity among

students or stature among peers? Number of papers published or days spent consulting with

companies? Management - never an exact science - is a field where the academic community

has struggled. However, the debate has just got more heated.”



Warren G. Bennis and James O'Toole of university of South California in august 07

published article ’ Reflections on Leadership and Change’ says:

“The scientific model is predicated on the faulty assumption that business is an academic

discipline like chemistry or geology when, in fact, business is a profession and business

schools are professional schools - or should be," the paper asserts. "Business school deans

may claim that their schools remain focused on practice, but they nevertheless hire and

promote research-oriented professors who haven't spent time working in companies."

C.K. Prahalad professor University of Michigan Ross School of Business in his’ book base

of the pyramid’ Management Guru says:

“The truth is, many academics join the field because of the personal freedoms it offers. They

crave to be "who they are" - a state of being which is often not possible in the corporate

sector. But 'succeeding' in academics, often equated with bagging prestigious consulting

assignments, is not just about brilliance. It requires the very same profile-building and

perseverance in the PR department that most 'thinking types' abhor. Which is why there are

so few Management School professors with their names in lights - both in India and

elsewhere? Peter Drucker is an exception.”

Abhishek Saha student of Oxford university in business week February 08 says:

“A student of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, doesn't enjoy distractions, especially

as he's invariably saddled with projects, assignments and a gruelling schedule. So when he

wants to withdraw money, he doesn't need to step outside the campus. Instead, he simply

steps out of his room to the ICICI ATM machine that has been installed just outside his

hostel. Every second is precious for Saha and the authorities at IIM Calcutta know this only

too well. That's why the entire campus boasts of 8Mbps Internet connectivity helping Saha to

connect to his laptop easily. For his notes, Saha steps into the special computer room

equipped with a laser printer. Break time for him and his friends includes a trip to the gym

with its state-of-the-art equipment and a sports room which boasts of a snooker table, besides

other regular indoor games. And yes, after all the sweat and toil, the dirty clothes don't have



to be handwashed. They are simply dumped into the washing machines that have been

installed in the campus.”

Dipak Jain Dean of Kellogg says:

“Kellogg, which was deposed from the top perch of BW, should be suffering anxiety attacks.

The reality however, is that Business School officials have become more sanguine about

rankings in recent years, as the proliferation of rankings reinforces their skepticism and as

they realize that rankings seem to be steadily losing their impact with MBA applicants around

the world. Although The Wharton School still tops rankings, Dean Pat Harker argues “Some

people believe that if the rankings help us, who cares if they are flawed or give a limited view

of the school? But we can’t have it both ways. We either endorse a defective, inconsistent

practice, or we speak out and work with the media to enable them to report with more useful,

objective data.”

Frederick Taylor an American mechanical engineer says:

“Defines management as the art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that it is

done in the best and cheapest way. Management certainly applies science too but it is more

art, based on "insight," "vision," "intuition." And most management is craft, which means

that it depends on experience and learning. Put together a good deal of craft with a certain

amount of art and some science, the manager ends up with a job that is practice. There is no

'one best way' to manage as it depends on the situation.”

Raj Nambiar Programme Director The International College (THINC) Mumbai says “One

thing uniform about Indian business schools, regardless of size, reputation, location,

placements and other academic trivia, is that all of them are ranked amongst the top-10 by

some incongruous publication or the other.”

While the ranking system for universities / colleges / business schools in the West (typically

represented by institutions in the US, UK, Europe) have become more and more scientific,

the same cannot be said about institutions back home. The better known publications such as

a US College News or the Financial Times in the UK resort to statistical tools using historical

data and year-wise comparisons whilst still relying on the basic benchmarks such as faculty,

research, infrastructure / facilities, student scholastic performance, admission criterion,

programs of study and many such prerequisites. Unfortunately, the ranking race is a

commercial opportunity waiting to be exploited for most publications worth their salt. The

race has gotten murkier with publications of all hues jumping onto the ranking bandwagon.

So a cursory glance at any publication at least through the time that students / parents are

considering possible study options would reveal institutions from all corners touting their

newly acquired ranking (which invariably is about how much advertising space the institution

being ranked commits to purchase in the publication which ranks). It makes for interesting

reading how many institutions that have just begun have been ranked for the previous five

years. While the publication / institution conducting the ranking survey is mentioned in fine

print in all probability at the bottom of the advertisement, the criterion used by the

publication in arriving at published rankings would be unavailable to most of us. While the

business of ranking helps add to the bottom lines of most publications, it definitely would be



worrying if parents / students actually considered the rankings as credible measures of the

institution's effectiveness or for that matter in making admissions decisions. And there are

publications that can make the deal sweeter by providing the institution with a good ranking

as well as advertorial space next to the page in which these rankings are published. The

advertorial normally quotes a Professor or a Director of the institution paying to be ranked -

and in India it doesn't take tenure, teaching experience or terminal degrees to become a

Professor - the moment you are employed to teach, you become one.

Paul Kedrosky Executive Director of the William J. von Liebig Center in San Diego says:

“The heads of two of the world's top business schools are leaving their jobs at a crucial

moment for MBA programs. The deans of Yale and Harvard are resigning--a rare double

departure in the upper echelon of business schools. It feels a little like rats leaving a sinking

ship. Applications to most top-tier MBA programs have trended down for almost a half

decade now, with Wharton applications falling 21% in 2004. The number of people writing

the Graduate Management Admissions Test, a leading indicator of business school

applications, has fallen 22% since 2002. Why is the bloom off the rose for MBA programs,

and does it have anything to do with why Jeffrey Garten, former dean of Yale, resigned from

his post in June, and Kim Clark, head of Harvard, plans to follow suit at the end of July? The

trouble with business schools, in a nutshell, is that they don't work, they take too much time,

and they cost too much money. As most students discover, the main value of MBA programs

lies in the people you meet.”

Coomi Kapoor editor Indian express says:

“SHOULD higher professional education be cost-effective or should it be subsidised by the

state? That question has come to the fore following the surprise decision by the premium

Indian Institutes of Management to triple its fees from the coming academic session.

Politicians led by HRD Minister Arjun Singh reacted angrily to the rise. They argued that

even higher education is a social service and, therefore, ought to remain unaffected by rising

all-round costs. Votaries of the fee rise, on the other hand, supported the increase, pleading

that those acquiring specialised education get recruited by major national and international

corporate houses at six- and seven-figure annual salaries and, therefore, ought to be made to

pay for their specialised education. There are six IIMs in the country. Every year major

domestic and multinational corporations raid their campuses to snap up various IIM

“products” at fancy salaries. Some of the starting salaries offered to IIM students can run into

nearly Rs10mil (RM788,000)a year. The average starting package, though, is in the region of

Rs3mil (RM236,000) for an IIM post-graduate. To give you a perspective on the mind-

boggling salaries available to IIM products, the per capita income of Indians is less than

Rs30,000 (RM2,360) a year. It was the IIM–Ahmedabad which, so to say, belled the cat. The

chairman of the IIM-A’s board of directors Vijaypat Singhania surprised everyone by

announcing that after a review of the “cost structure” of the two-year post-graduate

programme, the fee has been tripled. From the existing Rs450,000 (RM35,460) for both

years, the new fee would be Rs11,500,000 (RM906,280), that is, Rs550,000 (RM43,344) in

the first year and Rs600,000 (RM47,284) in the second year from the new academic year

beginning June this year.”



Dr. Vinith Kumar Nair Asst. Professor DC School of Management & Technology

Pullikkanam says:

“There are about 1200+ business schools in India (not an official estimate) which offer

Management Programs in different formats churning out more than 55000 MBA's in a year.

In India, a management program costs a fraction of one in the West. While an MBA at a top-

ranking Management School in India may cost Rs.3 lakhs, it would cost four times the

amount to get into even a B-category school in the West. Now though Sriram has got this

information but he is still confused about the Management Schools in India. He knows about

the Ivy League, the IIM's, S.P.Jain, NMIMS etc and about the next category of Management

Schools which gives him good education like TAPMI, IMT, Symbiosis, Amrita School of

Business, GIM etc. but what about the rest of the schools. What if he wants to study in a

Management School which is close to his place or what are the other options available in

terms of a Management Program if he is not able to make into the top 20 Management

Schools. There is no system in India whereby the quality of the institute is known. Though

there is a system of ranking carried out by many magazines like Business India, Business

Today, Outlook etc. but nothing is concrete and there is a huge variation in their rankings.

Though ratings are out for this academic year also, a huge variation has been observed in the

same and many of the top institutions not participating in the same. Though there are two

bodies National Board of Accreditation (NBA) of the AICTE or the National Assessment and

Accreditation Council (NAAC) of UGC, which is coming out with a formal system of

accreditation, but there are very few institutes or programs, which have been accredited. The

students who are planning to go for MBA and their guardians who spend a lot of money on

their education are not aware of the grading and their significance. The regulatory authorities

like AICTE and UGC should play a much bigger role in this respect and it is not only

approving the new programs and the institutes but also keeping a check on this institutes as

part of the social responsibility which should be on their cards.”

R. Sukumar & Pareena Kawatra research associates BT January edition says:

“Indian Management Schools aren't producing enough managers. The evidence? According

to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, there are 1,125 companies in India whose

turnover exceeds Rs 100 crore, comprising 74 banking corporations, 30 financial services

companies, 886 manufacturing companies, and 135 service-providers. And their collective

appetite for new managerial resources is greater than the supply.Of the 74 banks, 80 per cent

-- the nationalised banks -- can be assumed to be uninterested in hiring MBAs. Let us guess

that the average requirement of the remaining 15 is likely to be between 5 and 10 managers a

year. Assuming a mean of 7.50, the banking sector's annual requirement of entry-level

managers can be placed at 113. Given the state of the financial services sector, only about 50

per cent of the firms are likely to need entry-level managers in the medium term. And the

annual requirement of each of these 15 companies can be pegged at between 3 and 5. Taking

a mean of 4, the sector's annual requirement is 60 MBAs.

Prince Kaushal student LMTSOM says:

“Companies hire recruiters to fill their needs, and recruiters are going to do what it takes to

find a match for the company. Because recruiters only get paid if their referral gets hired,



some recruiters will spend more time and energy on the person who is most likely to get hired

quickly and for the highest salary (on which the recruiter’s commission is usually based).

Often times, the higher ranked the MBA program, the easier it is to find a recruit a job. This

is not always the case however, as each student brings different skills and abilities to their job

search.”

Sachin Verma student PUNJABI UNIVERSITY,PATIALA says:

“Top tier schools continually produce highly sought after employees. The relationship each

school has among certain industries and employers can have a major effect on how sought

after their students is. Employers also view MBA programs differently. Some of the larger

banks, Fortune 500 companies, and investment firms will only hire out of top ranked

programs, while many regional and local companies have long standing relationships with

smaller MBA programs and hire extensively through those schools”

Nipeksh Birbian student UBS,Chandigarh says:

“If you are interested in a particular concentration, find out which schools are noted for that

field of study. Northwestern's Kellogg School, for example, is considered to have one of the

best Marketing departments in the country. Consult any one of several books that profile

business schools and highlight noteworthy departments for more information. You may find

information using the MBA websites to which BC has links.”

Gagandeep Singh student Chitkara Univeristy says:

“This is often a measure in determining published rankings of business schools. Check the

business school's prospectus to see what companies recruit on campus, what percentages of

graduates are employed within three months of graduation, and what the average starting

salary is for graduates with different concentrations and different backgrounds (prior industry

experience, length of experience).”

SIMRAN KAUR student Aryans Buss School says:

“An MBA opens doors that otherwise may not have been open to you, or at least, the door

would not have been open to you as quickly. Many times an MBA can also raise your career

ceiling, that is allow you to reach a higher position in your career than you otherwise would

have. Similarly, an MBA can give you a better chance at getting hired more quickly if you

are between positions or if you relocate.”

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

A study was conducted to understand and explain what are the various factors that affect the

choice of Management School by engineering graduates. A questionnaire was designed to

study these factors. The questionnaire focused on the following fifteen factors which were

considered to be important in explaining engineering graduates’ choice of Management

School:

a) Reputation of the institute/Ranking

This is not everything, but, among schools that do not differ dramatically in their ability to

deliver what a student is looking for, it is highly likely to be a critical factor. Rankings like



those produced each year in Business Week, Business World, India Today etc. can give some

idea of a school's reputation relative to other schools. Reputation can be important for

placement success, because companies will sometimes only recruit at certain schools.

b) Infrastructure

A good business school has the basic facilities necessary to provide a quality education. This

includes a separate building dedicated to the needs of the business program. A dedicated

building is probably more likely to have the equipment and room configurations necessary

for a business curriculum. It also includes library facilities, students' access to computers, wi-

fi connectivity and classroom and residential facilities.

c) Quality of placement

It relates to what kind of companies are coming for recruitment, what is the starting salary

being offered , whether the students have the choice of jobs they dream for, etc.

d) Placements

It is also a factor that is considered by prospective students before joining a Management

School. Students often check the business school's prospectus to see what companies recruit

on campus, what percentage of graduates are employed within three months of graduation,

and what the average starting salary is for graduates with different concentrations and

different backgrounds.

e) Teaching Methodology

There should be proper use of computers, Audio and Visual aids. Two predominant methods

are theory based and case method. Theory based coursework emphasizes learning theory in

lecture formats. Case method emphasizes discussions about real-life business situations and

how to resolve them. Most schools offer a blend of both.

f) Faculty

One way to determine the emphasis that a school places on teaching is to examine the

school's policies that affect the hiring and evaluation of the faculty. At one end of the

spectrum are schools that try to ensure teaching excellence by using only senior level faculty

in the classroom, evaluating the faculty on their classroom performance, and measuring their

production of teaching materials (textbooks and cases). At the other extreme are schools that

have policies to use doctoral student "teaching assistants" or recent Ph.D. graduates who may

have little teaching or practical experience, policies to promote and tenure faculty strictly on

the basis of their research records, and policies that do not recognize the value of writing

teaching materials.

Percentage of senior faculty: It gives an idea about how much experienced faculty is

available with the school.

Percentage of faculty holding doctorate degrees: Higher the percentage of doctorate

faculty, the higher the quality of teaching.



Percentage of faculty having recent publications in scholarly journals: The publication of

scholarly research assures that a faculty member is knowledgeable of the most current trends

in the field.

Percentage of faculty that has published textbooks: Those who write textbooks spend a

considerable amount of time and effort thinking about perfecting the learning and teaching

process. It seems reasonable to assume that there is a relationship between the quality of

teaching and the extent to which the faculty are engaged in the preparation of teaching

material.

g) Fees / Scholarship, Financial Aids

As doing an MBA is a costly affair so several options are available to fund the fee. These

include:

• Scholarships: Many schools offer robust scholarship packages based on merit or need. It

is always a good idea to investigate the availability of scholarships.

• Grants: Grants are wonderful because they do not have to be repaid. There are grants to

be had from schools, as well as at the national, state, and local level. Most grants are need

based, but there are others that are not.

• Work/Study Programs: These are a great way to help pay your tuition or living

expenses while attending school. Some schools offer you the chance to teach an undergrad

course, or do other work in the school which will lower your tuition and give you a stipend.

These programs can be very competitive.

• Student Loans: Loans are the least favourable option from this list because you must

repay them, and you may not qualify for a good interest rate. The good news is, many banks

are willing to extend loans for MBA students because they know that once you graduate, you

should be in line for a nice payday.

• Other financial aid: Sometimes you need to get creative to find other sources of money.

The Internet and your admissions office will be the places to look.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Return on investment relates with how much money you are putting in your MBA degree and

how much you will get at the end of it. To determine ROI following things need to be

considered:

• Cost of MBA program: Once you have decided on which program you wish to attend,

you will know roughly how much it will cost.

• Opportunity cost: This is the forgone salary while you attend your MBA program.

• Post MBA salary: Of course, this is an unknown for students, but thankfully most MBA

programs keep track of this information for past students. You may be able to make a

reasonable estimate.



Example ROI

As an example, let us assume that a student with work-ex currently earn Rs.3,00,000 per year,

and the MBA program that has been accepted to costs Rs.1,00,000 per year. Assuming this is

a 2 year course, a student will spend Rs.1,44,000 on tuition, and give up Rs.6,00,000 in

forgone salary. However, the total cost of the program is not just Rs.1,44,000, it is really

Rs.6,44,000 because the student missed out on salary for two years*.

Next consider post-MBA salary and determine how long it will take to make up that

Rs.6,44,000 difference. Let us assume the post MBA salary is Rs.5,55,000 per year. With the

additional salary of Rs.2,55,000 per year, the student will earn back that Rs.6,44,000 in 2.5

years. Although it will take 2.5 years to earn back the cost of tuition and lost salary,

everything earned after that is “profit.” This is where return on investment comes in.

*For this example, we will assume the salaries will remain constant. Raises and promotions

are wild cards and lead to more difficult math.

h) Admission Eligibility

Most of the Management Schools accept CAT, MAT, XAT, JMET scores. Some of the

Management Schools also conduct their own entrance tests. Different weight age is given to

test scores and GD/PI. Percentage of marks earned in graduation is also considered.

i) Learning Environment

It includes various factors such as:

Program Reputation: MBA degree will stay for the rest of your life. So will its

reputation.When considering the reputation, one may need to consider how well the

prospective school is looked upon by international, national, regional, or local employers.

Program Specialization: Sometimes the rank of the school is not s important as how well

the school specializes in certain fields. Common specializations include accounting,

entrepreneurship, IT, finance, marketing, strategy, operations, or logistics.

Program Flexibility: Can a student choose a specialty, is there flexible class scheduling, is

the program a lock-step program (meaning you work with the same group of people in a

rigidly structured schedule)?

In-residence or Distance Learning: Where and how one learns is a very important

consideration. One has to choose the program and learning style one will benefit the most

from.

Full-time or Part-time: Is the program being offered full-time or part-time?

j) Course Curriculum or Choice of Trade

It includes what are the various areas of specialization offered viz. HR, finance, marketin, IT,

operations etc. another factor here is what are the various subjects being offered, what are the

electives being offered etc.



k) Location

Schools located in major cities offer both a social life outside the schools' walls and part-time

employment possibilities. A school's location (as well as its language of instruction) may

offer a chance to learn another language and culture. Going abroad to school may offer a

chance to work abroad, but at the sacrifice of local connections in your home country. Better

the location; more are the prospects of getting a good job. A Management School should

have easy access to industry, so that a series of corporate lectures by eminent industrialists

could be arranged.

l) Accreditation/Affiliation

Make sure that your MBA program is approved by either AICTE / UGC. If it is accredited by

NBA then it is much better. As NBA accreditations are widely recognized and looked with

respect.

m) Student Culture

It is always considered better if there is diversity among the students. By diversity it is meant

that students come from different backgrounds, cultures etc. There should be a proper mix of

students with work-experience and freshers.

n) Friends Recommendation

Prospective MBA students do take into consideration the recommendations of their family

friends. A student often takes advice from his friends and seniors who are already doing

MBA from other Management Schools. It helps the students to get an idea about the work

culture, environment, reputation; placement etc. of the Management School and makes it

easier to make a choice.

o) Exchange Program & Corporate Linkage

There should be student exchange programs with foreign universities of repute. For this, a

Management School should have MoU with foreign institutes. Moreover, it is better to have

corporate linkages so that the course curriculum could be modified according to the industry

needs. Corporate linkages also help in getting the trainings and placements of students done.

FIELD SURVEY

As the topic of our research is related to engineering students so we choose to conduct a pilot

survey. A questionnaire survey was administered to final (4th) year students as well as pre-

final (3rd) year students of various engineering branches This study used final year and pre-

final year students for two important reasons. First, most of the final year students are likely

to have made their career decisions by this time and, second; many third year students start

preparing for MBA so that there is no gap in their studies.

Care was taken to conform to established procedures for creating the survey questionnaire

with respect to such things as phrasing of questions, appropriateness of wording for intended

subjects, clarity of questionnaire items, structuring and scoring a Likert-type scale, and pre-

testing the survey questionnaire.



Soucrce: www.business-today.com

Pilot Survey

A pilot survey was conducted among 10-15 students to check whether the questions included

were relevant as well as understandable, appropriate changes to the questionnaire were made

thereafter.

Finally a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was administered. For each item the

students were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement or disagreement on a 5-point

Likert-type scale ranging from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree.” Thus the scores

potentially could have ranged from 15 (15 X 1) to 75 (15 X 5), with higher scores indicating

more influence of the given factor. In total 150 completed questionnaires were received of

which 115 were used for analysis. Of the 115 respondents, 70 were male and 45 were female.

The average age of students surveyed was 22 years.

DATA ANALYSIS

Factor Analysis:

Step 1: Descriptive Statistics

Interpretation: Preferred sample size is 75 (=15*5). We have taken 114 samples

114/15= 7.6 > 5

Mean Std. Deviation Analysis N

VAR00001 4.4649 .82204 114

VAR00002 4.0088 .81464 114

VAR00003 4.4123 .98494 114

VAR00004 4.2105 .96371 114

VAR00005 3.7105 1.06200 114

VAR00006 3.7544 1.06896 114

VAR00007 3.3070 1.17592 114

VAR00008 3.6404 .96969 114

VAR00009 3.7368 .93177 114

VAR00010 3.7544 .93659 114

VAR00011 3.3158 1.09960 114

VAR00012 3.8158 1.06069 114

VAR00013 3.5351 1.06580 114

VAR00014 3.1842 1.03536 114

VAR00015 3.4737 1.24240 114



Step 2: Correlation Matrix

Interpretation: Principal component analysis requires that there be some correlations greater

than 0.30 (more than 1) between the variables included in the analysis. For this set of

variables, there are 31 correlations in the matrix greater than 0.30, satisfying this

requirement. They are highlighted.

Step 3: KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling

Adequacy. .762

Bartlett's Test of

Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square 510.649

df 105

Sig. .000

Interpretation: The set of variables included in the analysis was 0.762, which exceeds the

minimum requirement of 0.50 for overall MSA. Principal component analysis requires that

the probability associated with Bartlett's Test of Sphericity be less than the level of

significance. The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity is a statistical test for overall significance of all

correlations within a correlation matrix. The probability associated with the Bartlett test is

p<0.001, which satisfies this requirement. The variables now included in the analysis satisfy

the screening criteria for the appropriateness of factor analysis. The next step is to determine

the number of factors that should be included in the factor solution.



Interpretation: There are two anti-image matrices: the anti-image covariance matrix and the

anti-image correlation matrix. We are interested in the anti-image correlation matrix.

Principal component analysis requires that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling

Adequacy (or simply MSA) to be greater than 0.50 for each individual variable as well as the

set of variables. (The sampling adequacy evaluates the appropriateness of applying factor

analysis. Values above 0.50 for either the entire matrix or an individual variable indicate

appropriateness). In our initial analysis, the MSA for the VAR00014 variable was 0.434.

Since this is less than 0.50, the variable should be removed from the principal component

analysis.

Step 4: Communalities

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .657

VAR00002 1.000 .532

VAR00003 1.000 .728

VAR00004 1.000 .670

VAR00005 1.000 .693

VAR00006 1.000 .766

VAR00007 1.000 .596

VAR00008 1.000 .424

VAR00009 1.000 .689

VAR00010 1.000 .480 VAR00011 1.000 .566

VAR00012 1.000 .530

VAR00013 1.000 .562

VAR00014 1.000 .543

VAR00015 1.000 .457



Interpretation: The next adjustment that we make to the factor solution is to examine the

communalities. The communalities represent the proportion of the variance for each of the

variables included in the analysis that is explained or accounted for by the components in the

factor solution. The derived components should explain at least half of each original

variable's variance, so the communality value for each variable should be 0.50 or higher. If

one or more variables have a value for communality that is less than 0.50, the variable with

the lowest communality should be excluded and the principal component analysis should be

computed again. In the above case we have var00008 =.424 ,which is less than 0.5,

therefore should be removed from the analysis.

Communalities (Revised - i)

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Communalities (Revised - ii)

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .656

VAR00002 1.000 .522

VAR00003 1.000 .727

VAR00004 1.000 .678

VAR00005 1.000 .705

VAR00006 1.000 .764

VAR00007 1.000 .646

VAR00008 1.000 .438

VAR00009 1.000 .678

VAR00010 1.000 .574

VAR00011 1.000 .730

VAR00012 1.000 .525

VAR00013 1.000 .559

VAR00015 1.000 .417

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .666

VAR00002 1.000 .505

VAR00003 1.000 .740

VAR00004 1.000 .714

VAR00005 1.000 .710

VAR00006 1.000 .773

VAR00007 1.000 .654

VAR00008 1.000 .447

VAR00009 1.000 .666

VAR00010 1.000 .627

VAR00011 1.000 .762

VAR00012 1.000 .524

VAR00013 1.000 .561



Communalities (Revised - iii)


Communalities (Revised - iv)

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .662

VAR00002 1.000 .489

VAR00003 1.000 .742

VAR00004 1.000 .721

VAR00005 1.000 .721

VAR00006 1.000 .789

VAR00007 1.000 .664

VAR00009 1.000 .649

VAR00012 1.000 .521

VAR00013 1.000 .544

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis

Final Communalities


Interpretation: Running the principal components analysis after removing the last variable

produces a table of communalities where all are above 0.50.

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .662

VAR00002 1.000 .454

VAR00003 1.000 .742

VAR00004 1.000 .716

VAR00005 1.000 .722

VAR00006 1.000 .778

VAR00007 1.000 .635

VAR00009 1.000 .635

VAR00010 1.000 .364

VAR00012 1.000 .518

VAR00013 1.000 .553

Initial Extraction

VAR00001 1.000 .664

VAR00003 1.000 .740

VAR00004 1.000 .719

VAR00005 1.000 .734

VAR00006 1.000 .800

VAR00007 1.000 .658

VAR00009 1.000 .608

VAR00012 1.000 .556

VAR00013 1.000 .664



Step 5: Total Variance Explained

Interpretation: The components explain 68.265% of the total variance in the variables

which are included on the components.

Step 6: Component Matrix (a)

Component

1 2 3

VAR00001 .645 -.410 -.282

VAR00003 .705 -.428 -.245

VAR00004 .574 -.584 -.219

VAR00005 .734 .417 -.149

VAR00006 .792 .396 -.126

VAR00007 .228 .672 -.393

VAR00009 .624 .326 .336

VAR00012 .474 -.185 .545

VAR00013 .465 .028 .669

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.a 3 components extracted.

Rotated Component Matrix (a)

Component

1 2 3

VAR00001 .796 .158 .079

VAR00003 .832 .167 .141

VAR00004 .841 -.035 .102

VAR00005 .255 .786 .225

VAR00006 .298 .797 .274

VAR00007 -.149 .761 -.241

VAR00009 .060 .501 .594

VAR00012 .223 -.035 .711

VAR00013 .029 .080 .810

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser

Normalization. a Rotation converged in 5 iterations.

Interpretation: Once variables have been removed for low communalities, we examine the

pattern of factor loadings (loadings greater than 0.40) to make certain that each variable loads



on one and only one component. This pattern is called simple structure and is an accurate

description of this table. Thus, the principal component analysis extracted 3 components –

Component 1 included the variables: Reputation of institute [VAR0001]; Quality of

placements [VAR0003]; placements [VAR0004].

Component 2 included the variables: teaching methodology [VAR0005];

faculty[VAR0006];fees/scholarship [VAR0007] .

Component 3 included the variables: learning environment[VAR0009]; Accreditation

[VAR00012]; student culture[VAR00013].

FINDINGS

Out of 15 total factors we consider following factors that were left after all the iterations were

completed:-

1. Reputation of the institute/Ranking

2. Quality of placement

3. Placements

4. Teaching Methodology

5. Faculty

6. Fees / Scholarship, Financial Aids

7. Learning Environment

8. Accreditation/Affiliation

9. Student Culture

Out of these nine factors 3 main factors viz Reputation of the institute/Ranking, Quality of

placement, Placements contributes 68 % of the total contribution of all the nine factors.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Factors

Percentage

Percentage



RECOMMENDATIONS

Reputation of Institute

Reputation of an institute is build upon by its faculty, programs offered, visibility and success

of its alumni. Schools with a strong brand will attract and retain the best students, faculty,

staff and corporate sponsors within their targeted marketed segment. Therefore it’s important

for an institute to have good corporate links, which would further enhance the reputation of

the institute in terms of placements, in terms of overall ranking and in terms of attracting the

best student .Moreover the institute should participate in various Management School surveys

conducted by various agencies, which would further help the institute to get a wider

recognition.

Quality of Placements

The institute should emphasize not on the quantity of the recruiters coming to the campus but

rather on the quality of the jobs being offered. The institute should see that a good starting

salary is being offered and also that the students are satisfied with the job profile. For this to

take place the institute should focus on good corporate linkages so that good quality

organizations come for recruitment.

PLACEMENTS

Often an institute is judged by the percentage of students recruited. This is a factor that many

students see before joining a Management School. So the placement cell of the institute

should do good efforts in bringing as many recruiters to the campus as possible.

LIMITATIONS

The main region of over survey was Patiala city & its adjoining area only. Such focus could

limit the generalizations of the findings of our study to the factor affecting choice of school in

India. The sample size of respondents, although 114 was achieved in this study, which is

considered as an acceptable size, nevertheless, it is felt that for a research like this, using a

larger sample size would have been more preferable.

REFRENCES

[1] Kamran A, Feroz AK, Manzunil A. An Empirical study of factors affecting Graduate

students career choice in New Zealand, 1997.

[2] Kapoor C. Should higher professional education be cost-effective, editor indian express,

2007.

[3] O’Lander R. Factors Effecting high School Student’s Choice of Computer Science as a

Major. St.John’s University, Jamaica, New York, 1993.

[4] Martin S. The MBA Guidebook. Management Research News 1993; 16(7): 15-18.

[5] Bennis WG, O'Toole J. Reflections on Leadership and Change, University of South

California, 2007.

[6] http://www.india-today.com/btoday/07051998/cover7.html

[7] http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search



[8] www.onestopmba.com

[9] www. businesstoday.digitaltoday.in.

[10] www.advancedge.com

[11] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5436/is_200504/ai_n21364211/pg_2

[12] http://businessworldindia.com/oct0305/coverstory16.asp

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION...

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