Around two years ago, I had blogged on whether the MBA placements would see a permanent downturn or not. While that post was aimed at the Tier I Bschools, it seems the general scenario has worsened since then. The original post is at http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.in/2012/02/iim-placements-2012-summer-of.html
Since then, the debate has heated up locally http://www.firstpost.com/business/slowdown-bites-spend-rs-9-lakh-on-an-mba-earn-only-rs-4-lakh-981611.html and globally ( http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/08/mba-remorse-business-school/) . While placements do seem better at IIMs, that is at the cost of Tier II/III/IV Bschools which struggle to place even 50% of their batch. In this context, the welcome address to the IIM Ranchi Batch of 2013-15 http://iimranchi.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Directors_speech.pdf was interesting, in the sense that it highlighted the declining MBA prospects, and implicitly conveyed the message that 'Don't be complacent'.
While the traditional 'MBA only' fields of investment banking and management consulting are picking up in recruitment, that does not offset the increased batch size, and competition from 1year MBA students in India and abroad, especially the Ivy league types who now try for jobs in India.
So bottomline to those deciding whether to go for or pursue MBA in 2014-16, think thrice.
