QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012 - International ...

2. Introduction
The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report originated
in the early 1990s as an alternative to business school
rankings. The ratings provide a detailed overview
of the most popular business schools around the
world, based on details provided to QS by over 2,000
employers who actively recruit MBA graduates.
Without inferring any overall rankings, QS’ objective
is to provide a resource to help prospective MBA
students identify the business schools from which
employers most actively recruit. The research is
intended to be of use to MBA employers, prospective
MBA students and institutions worldwide that are
interested in international business education and
recruitment trends.
At the heart of the report is the definitive list of 200
business schools from which employers prefer to
recruit MBAs. This list is compiled from an annual
survey of human resources (HR) managers and line
managers with recruiting responsibilities at companies
around the world. Each year, employers recommend
new schools to be added to the list. This is then sent to
other recruiters to rate.
The research provides ratings of the most popular
business schools according to two definitive categories:
Regional ratings:
Africa and the Middle East;
Asia-Pacific;
Europe;
Latin America;
North America.
MBA specialization* ratings:
Corporate social responsibility (CSR);
Entrepreneurship;
Finance;
Information management;
Innovation;
International management;
Leadership;
Marketing;
Operations management;
Strategy.
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
*MBA specialization refers to a business school’s perceived area of
expertise among MBA employers. Throughout the report the above
10 areas of expertise are referred to as ‘MBA specializations’.
Global employability: business school rankings or
ratings?
The objective of the QS Global 200 Business Schools
Report is to provide an indication of the employability
of an MBA upon graduation. As such, QS believes a
ratings system as opposed to the traditional business
school rankings provides a reliable measure of the
employability outcome of an MBA program.
Traditional rankings assess on average 15 to 20 criteria
in order to provide an overarching indication of
student satisfaction. These vary but are mostly based
on general aspects: academic peer review, citations
per faculty, faculty-student ratio, and international
students, for example.
The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report only measures
one indicator – the employability outcome of an MBA
program by region and specialization. Focusing solely
on employers’ views provide a reliable insight as to
which business schools produce MBA graduates and
alumni that are favored by recruiters. This is derived
from employers’ votes as to which schools they prefer
to recruit MBA graduates.
Employers and HR decision makers worldwide are
at the forefront of witnessing the worth of an MBA.
QS believes that they are in the best position to judge
the value of a business school’s graduates, and have
among the most objective and informed opinions
as to which are the ‘best’ business schools. When an
HR department selects a business school to recruit
MBAs from, the decision will often be the result of an
intensive research exercise: evaluating the strength of
faculty, the facilities and the relevance of the course to
the employee and the company’s needs.
Similarly, when HR managers choose which business
schools to recruit from, they will draw from a wide
7