Evidence-Based Innovation Blog

Note: The Financial Times Global MBA Rankings - 2013 are released today.

It's another year which means another round of MBA media rankings. While a prominent position delights the hearts and minds of MBA marketing and admissions directors (not to mention business school deans), these annual publications can also bring disappointing news.

The fact of the matter is that there are many excellent MBA programs with terrific value propositions, thriving alumni, and top-notch faculty, but there simply aren’t enough rungs on the rankings ladder. 

Prominent media rankings provide prospective MBA students with quantitative data that is very helpful in the decision-making process including salary and career placement statistics. (Check out my blog article from last year with ideas on how to promote MBA rankings). However, there are additional ways to measure the value of the MBA experience. Consider this:

As business schools refine marketing strategies in the New Year, it’s worth tuning into the spectacularly successful PBS drama, “Downton Abbey,” for some imaginative ideas.

The economic recovery may still be sluggish, but if retail sales from the beginning of this holiday shopping season are any indication, consumers are feeling a bit more confident about the future even with looming concerns about the “fiscal cliff”. 

Black Friday weekend sales are estimated at $59 billion, up 12.8 percent from last year.

Still, for those of us who are looking to reign in expenses this holiday season, you may want to keep your hands firmly on the credit card for more than the obvious reason.     

According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are more likely to purchase a product if they hold an object and imagine it as their own. It all has to do with what behavioral economists call haptics, the science of touch.

At long last, the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign is over.  While the President, members of Congress - and for that matter, political junkies – can now focus on “getting back to work," it is worth taking a moment to reflect on what happened.  And, you don’t have to be inside the Beltway to benefit from the lessons learned. MBA admissions officers all over the country can apply the takeaways from Decision 2012.

With Halloween fast approaching, it’s that time of year when thrill seekers get their adrenaline pumping at haunted houses throughout the country. And, if there was ever any question about the best places to get spooked, haunted attractions have joined business schools, consumer goods, and celebrities as yet another subject of media rankings.  From Screamworld in Houston to The House of Horrors in Buffalo, Reader’s Digest has it all covered in the 11 Best Haunted Houses Across the Country.