An open letter to Madras HC on why campus placements are fair

Disclaimer:- I could not locate the ruling on www.judis.nic.in, so this article is without reading the entire ruling. Still, I think the newspaper extract gives enough data to go along. Fair disclosure-my campus(IIM-A) also has campus placements that feature on TOI front page(!), so can't say I'm neutral but have tried to be objective 

Dear Madras HC, 
Three days ago, I read that you passed an conjunctive order(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/hc-restrains-psus-from-campus-hiring/232542-60-120.html), which barred the PSUs named in the order(like HPCL, BPCL) from recruiting from the campus till the final hearing. You were reported to have raised concerns about the fairness of the process, and about employment exchange members being considered. With due respect, I submit that barring campus placements by PSUs is misplaced, for reasons explained below

1. Equal Opportunity for public service:- I'm sure you know the law better than me, but from my understanding, it would mean equal opportunity to be considered. The PSUs I know of do not have campus placements as their exclusive mode of recruitment for any post, but supplement their existing exams/applications with campus placements. So others do have a chance to anyways apply also. And even if the role is different, it is the business judgement of the PSU as to whether students of any particular campus are best fit for it.
2. Reasonable cause for 'discrimination':- The constitutional prohibition on discrimination is circumscribed by the reasonableness test,  and the PSUs just need a show an intelligible link between their selection process and their desired outcome. During campus placements, the PSU knows that its student pool has been vetted, tested and nurtured during the 2year period(atleast for the reputed colleges which the PSUs visit). Also, the PSU can subject the students to tests w/o using its own infrastructure, can interview multiple students on the same day, and more importantly can steal a march over its private sector competitors. Hence, this process meets the tests of efficacy and efficiency. 
3. No recruitment assured/equally competitive ratios:- Though the PSU may still give offers to ensure its place in the next year's lineup, the fact remains that giving 1-2 offers to a pool of say 400 students compares favourably with the conversion ratio of entrance exams, more so for 'serious' applicants who can even clear the entrance tests. 
4. Public purpose of professional management:- Multiple committee reports on PSUs have stressed the need for PSUs to infuse young professional managers to compete with their private sector peers. And given that MBAs confident in their abilities are unlikely to have the time/inclination to undergo the prolonged selection process of the exams. So like other recruiters, PSUs do need to wow the students by actually coming down on campus
5. But yes, the ruling can cover these points to ensure the fairness
1. Management Quota students:-For Students who have not got admission via explicitly protected quotas(like affirmative action) or merit, the merit argument is much weakened. Hence, the question is should PSUs consider those students for campus interviews too?  This is the classical nature versus
2. Centralized Assessment Centres:-To ensure that more students(campus or otherwise) get a chance to be considered post written tests, a chain of PSU assessment centres could be set up to evaluate interpersonal skills/group tasks ability etc. Outsourcing this may pose integrity issues, unless it be to reputed players like Teamlease subject to strict audits etc.
3. Conduct non campus candidate's interviews first:-This will help PSUs gauge their talent pool much more accurately, so that they can make the spot offers which are the norm in the campus system.
4. An objective definition of merit to prevent nepotism:-PSUs DO have clearly defined role and recruiting documents(which would help build case that they do not discriminate). They should not relax those standards for campus, and ensure that conflicts of interest(like relatives on campus..) do not enter the campus process. 

10 tips to decide a career during campus placements

Ordinarily, I hesitate to write articles on topics that a simple Google Search/ reading books will throw more light on. However, I've endured a week of advising people on their career choices, taking mock HR interviews, giving interview 'guidelines' etc-and thereby got an insight into what makes the best aspiring managers of future tick. And I strongly believe that campus dynamics may influence the process with false choices/'hype and herd mentality'/misinformation/speed dating etc. Hence, I decided to capture all those insights/suggestions below, based on that week, and also interactions with alumni/faculty/some recruiters etc.

1. Job versus career:-Remember that although you are interviewing for a job, it is just the starting of a number of roles in your eventual career. So do take the long term view and try to think what next/how will your career grow from here. 
2. Summers vs Finals:-The recruiting dynamics are quite different between summer internships and final internships. During the summers, recruiters have less to lose(since only 2 month commitment) and may not grill as much, and tend to look for general HR fit/skills reasoning that the candidates-especially those without prior experience-may not have much technical insight/company awareness. Hence, those with the swiftest tongue may win out here. However, the final placement dynamics ensure it is more grueling as fit+interest in company+technicals+assessed tendency to 'remain' is assessed, and there are more application forms/SOPs/assessment tests/GDs/presentations and what not, and fit is usually better. Of course, companies may fear the lemons problem while interviewing those without that coveted PPO(pre placement offer), so that is another factor. Some tips are
1. Summer stipend not necessarily prorated for final salary:- During summer internships, investment banks/consulting firms tend to prorate the stipends resulting in lakhs/month, while many other roles which may pay equally well(say 18-25lakh) may give a nominal stipend which is not prorated, but on confirmation, the final pay is much better. Hence, before dismissing a firm outright, find out the final pay structure as well. 
2. Be clear on company PPO policy:-Some companies(can't name them here) have a clear policy of not awarding PPOs(!), others award just PPIs and convert them to PPOs towards year end, while yet others boast of a 100% PPO policy. See the historical trends on campus and general company/sector health before assessing this, especially if you are the sort who wants a secured job rather than say a challenging internship w/o 'assured' PPO
3. Compensation:- While this may seem the no brainer, one should remember that Gross does not matter, net saving does. High pay is accompanied by high variable component, high tax, more incidental expenses like rent/dining etc, so depending on one's lifestyle/location, the net savings  would vary drastically as per the role and location. For instance, a person with a residence in Mumbai would save around 20,000+pm(minimum) by working there as opposed to Gurgaon. 
4. Quality of work/learning opportunities:- Some roles have a great pay but are kind of 'brain dead' i.e very little personal/professional growth. So if you are someone who values mental challenge, new kinds of work and intellectual stimulation, then some high paying roles are not apt for you as they may get monotonous.  So ceteris paribus, do what you like
5. Location/Travel/Work life balance constraints:-Family responsibilities(NOT only women-even for men) may make some reluctant to go abroad/travel extensively. While some value worklife balance more than those extra zeros in the pay check. Find out the pros and cons of the role you are taking.
6. Exit options/Career Growth:-Anecdotal evidence holds that 60% of all IIM graduates quit their first job within the first 2 years. But exit options goes far beyond that. It depends on the quality of work you have done, the employer brand, skills learnt on the job etc. And some careers like consulting have great exit options, while some companies like HUL, ICICI, GE, TAS have typically spawned great managers for India Inc. So people who value an enhanced choice of exits may go for those roles which enhance their employability(as opposed to just more pay) 
7. Do you have what it takes to reach the top? Most people do aspire to reach the top of their chosen profession. Though the skills vary, generally lower level roles need more technical skills while higher level roles need more selling(internal and external), people and organization building skills. Hence, even if one would make a great analyst(for example), it is better to introspect whether they have the required zeal/qualities to make it to the top(these are necessary not sufficient!). Of course, not all wish to make it to the top, in which case this point is not for them.  This is where speaking to alumni and networking helps to get data points for making that call.
8. Sync with eventual goals:-Some people nurture the dream of being entrepreneurs some day, in which case general management roles/rotations during career etc would be appropriate, as opposed to a desk based role/advisory role-or even better taking that career plunge directly. While others may plan on becoming global thought leaders/academics some day, in which case research/consulting roles may be good. Yet others may want to settle abroad, in which case working in roles offering that mobility is better. While one can never plan even 5yrs ahead(let alone 10-30yrs), the core goals/objectives/motivators(be it fame/money/responsibility/giving back to society/family size) tend to stay unchanged, and can be that navigating compass to decide between choices. 
9. Your competitive advantage/Blue Ocean Strategy:-It is not for nothing that people advice 'do what you love and the money will follow'. If someone is really good in something, the market does notice it eventually-be it the same industry/foreign roles/cross functional stints etc. And working in nascent industries has its merits of ESOPs/first mover advantage/not competing with other IIM graduates etc. Some examples of this are film industry, commodities trading, SME banking etc. The highest networth individuals among alumni are typically entrepreneurs..
10. Don't fall prey to 'false choices' during campus placements:-Sometimes under the Cluster system with companies confirming their participation late, it may so happen that a company coming under a later cluster may be much better fit for you than a 'Cluster 1/Day0' company in terms of pay etc. So especially if there is a chance of your dream employer coming to company(like Zynga/Groupon/Facebook/Linkedlin etc), don't compromise on your choices. And off campus, there is a whole new world out there. So don't adopt the frog in the well approach that the universe of choices is only the campus jobs, and nothing beyond that. Also, following the herd is not a good idea, even if you are a topper etc throughout.

This is all for now, hope it helps those who are sitting for any campus placements-even though largely written from the IIM-A vantage standpoint.

IIM final campus placements 2012-great but lottery?

When the going gets tough, the tough get going
The above is NOT just a hackneyed cliche but is really true. It is when things get worse that true quality shows up and is differentiated. So when the finance job market kind of collapsed, the well oiled placement system stepped up to the challenge and filled the gap with consulting/general management /sunrise industries. Some management colleges with pretensions of challenging the best, realized their status and all. And students who attended the Wharton India conference held in Mumbai recently, found out from the Wharton students of Indian origin that the job situation was worse than in India, because those students had to network like hell, attend interviews off campus etc and in comparison, those fortunate enough to get campus placements had easier offers.

Despite those who call the placements as 'cattle farms'. they are quite efficient systems of matching employers and students. While people can crib about the scheduling exploding offers, being spoilt for choice etc, that does result in an overall efficient outcome for all concerned. Otherwise, imagine a senior manager having to interview 20 people on different days etc, the coordination problem would be quite difficult.

The reason this efficient system may seem a lottery at many colleges(but mainly IIMs) are

1. With multiple students and companies on a given day, there is usually an algorithm needed to match students with companies as per revealed preferences, availability of students etc.  This algorithm is kept a blackbox from all but a trusted handful, to avoid chances of gaming the system. Hence, certain scheduling decisions may seem random, especially for those not slotted for interviews.
2. In a spot offer system where companies must make spot offers or risk losing the candidate to other firms(or students must make spot acceptance decisions or risk losing that hand in the bush), the final job matching may correlate more with scheduling luck than the actual 'optimal' preferences. Of course, this brings us to scheduling of interviews again
3. Equity and efficiency needs to be balanced in this system as in any other system. Equity would entail that all students get atleast one interview, that people are not allowed to reject offers once accepted etc, but efficiency would entail that people on the 'hotlist' of many companies are scheduled first and often to clear the company wishlist, they are scheduled repeatedly

The only way a more prolonged fit could be ensued is via the summer internship PPO route, or otherwise through multiple interview rounds/assessment centres. However, the later approach needs break from academics, and colleges like IIMs do not see themselves as placement centres. Hence, companies/industries with long interview processes often must modify their techniques else avoid coming via the campus route. 

The paradox of choice-how more choices make it difficult to choose careers on campus

Be it summer internships or final placements, students at India's #1 Bschool have a large number of realistic options(ok most of them do).  Indeed, in bschools where students have an upper hand, stuff like allowing to hold offers/reject PPOs/'dream on companies' etc all exists, and for the express purpose of maximizing choices on campus. But research shows that the more choices there are, the greater is the chance of sub optimal decision making. For instance in his TED talk on the Paradox of Choice(http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html) , Barry Schwartz makes the point of analysis-paralysis and bounded rationality in the context of investments, retal, healthcare etc. Some interesting quotes from that transcript are

1. The more options there are, the easier it is to regret anything at all that is disappointing about the option that you chose.
2. When there are lots of alternatives to consider, it is easy to imagine the attractive features of alternatives that you reject, that make you less satisfied with the alternative that you've chosen.
3. Opportunity costs subtract from the satisfaction we get out of what we choose, even when what we choose is terrific.

All these 3 points are quite valid in the context of campus placements, because while applying off campus, the offer universe might be much more, but the job seeker courts the companies instead of vice versa(atleast at entry level). Hence, the heady feeling of being wanted would boost the self image of the candidate. Anecdotal evidence is that upto 60% of top tier MBAs switch their jobs within 2 years of graduating from campus. Expectations mismatch may have a lot to do with this, which is turn fuelled by the opportunity costs of the options given up.

But should this be an issue at all? If recruiters want to give special treatment to some campuses by sending their A team to interview/courting students with food/freebies/calls-and therefore giving them more choice-so what is the issue? From the student perspective and campus perspective, more choice is better since it would give more confidence to students and avoid them rushing into a career. But sometimes, specific placement rules like company preferences/spot offer or offer window system etc nullify that advantage, making the whole process akin to speed dating.
My $0.02:- Sometimes, placement systems may seem like democracy(all other options are worse!) but they do work. However, they can do with more thought and improvement on both sides

Recruitment styles at IIMs- Final Placements 2012

At the outset, let me clarify that media restrictions and desire to protect proprietary trade secrets of IIM-A/companies concerned curtail this post from being more informative. But the following are interesting trends which I think will continue.

1. More application forms:-Usually(atleast at IIMs), a simple 1 page CV is related to firms which then analyze it on their end. But this year, more firms have begun mandating filling in applications in their own format either online or offline(paper forms). 
2. More 'fit' questions:- Companies are aware that the tight job market may make candidates apply to roles that do not dovetail with their own preferences. Therefore, many companies are making their HR questions more intensive, be it via application forms or in the interviews
3. Excel based forms which are then printed to PDF:-This is a very interesting innovation, which leverages the best of Excel and the PDF add-in. Instead of spending on paper forms/curtailing space, the companies now(atleast some of them) send an Excel based form which the candidate can fill, and then export to PDF and attach as application. Even the photo can be pasted(.jpeg file) in the form! It saves paper and ensures company can store those forms as PDF easily.
4. More senior people coming down:-As Economic Times mentioned in a recent article, IT firms are sending senior people and alumni in droves(even at CXO level) to campus, perhaps to raise the firm profile and send a signal about the firm's interest. Very few companies now send merely junior people or HR to campus. 
5. More tests/group activities:-Psychometric tests(elimination and otherwise) are making a come back, as are some non GD group tasks. Ironically, that is when IIMs have abolished GDs(atleast A&B have), so some candidates may be on the weaker foot there.
6. Fewer spot offers:- Since companies are wary about candidates leaving them soon after joining, they prefer to take the best fit they can, which would entail looking at the maximum candidates they can. Of course, placement committee rules do matter but this seems a trend. 
7. Selling the growth story:-Be it mature or old companies, many of them are claiming that they are still expansion mode despite the global turmil and all. If you are global, claim that you are expanding in Asia/the role you are coming for! If you are Indian, claim you have game changing international aspirations etc. 

Would update this post if required but this is what  I see at present. 

BCG & Opera Case Study competitions-alternate shortlisting procedure!

Earlier, I'd blogged about how companies are increasingly using competitions/games/contests as a way to gauge the interest levels and quality of students on campus, while spending relatively little(for the amount of information they gather) money/resources. Read this earlier post for some background(http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-corporates-are-using-contestsgames.html). Recently, I'd the privilege of participating in the BCG case study competition on campus, where one works on a past BCG client problem (suitably annoynmized) and proposes solutions to the same. Among the initial entries, some teams(10 in this year) were shortlisted for presenting their case to a Partner and a Project Leader of BCG, who travel to campus for that purpose.While my team did not win that competition, there were many interesting lessons from that competition.

While working on the problem, I learnt a lot about my interest and tolerance level for typical issues faced during consulting such as contradictory data, data mining, ambiguity, multiple facets of a problem etc. While the avowed aim of having fun was not truly achieved, I did learn a lot about the sector by arranging expert interviews, conducting secondary research etc. While BCG thankfully mandated keeping the use of outside data to the minimum(thus giving premium to analytics), the same was still needed to form a perspective on the industry, and help those new to the industry.

The final interview shortlists did reflect a slight bias towards those participating and getting shortlisted for the finals of those competitions. The conventional CV based shortlisting model(using academics/extra currics etc) was supplemented by using that competition as a tool. Even Opera Consulting had conducted a competition based on their work profile of 'Big Data', and gave a shortlist to some participants who would otherwise have not received a shortlist based on their CVs alone.

If we define the Moneyball approach as creatively using alternate metrics to analyze, then these firms deserve an A+. Participation(and doing well) in these competitions ensures students self select themselves for the roles, and give the firm a small work sample of how they would perform on the job. Hence, one must admire that. Other companies are also doing the same as evident in the large number of competitions by Pepsi/LearnwithFlip/Tata Business Leadership Competitions etc which offer preplacement interviews/interview shortlists to those performing well in those competitions. While campuses like IIM Ahmedabad do not permit contest based PPIs/PPOs to the winners, nothing stops those companies from coming down to campus and anyway doing the same.

IIM Placements 2012-the summer of discontent and trickledown

Disclaimer:-Adjectives like top etc are for ease of convenience and express MY feeling about how recruiters perceive the colleges. They do NOT imply that student quality is necessarily better/worse, so please do not feel insulted by the same. Also, my views only and not meant to convey official views at all

  Earlier in Apr11, I'd blogged my concern about whether the top tier colleges(IIM ABC) were losing their connection to Indian firms thanks to the Day0 obsession with multinational finance/consulting firms. Read the entire post here(http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.in/2011/05/will-top-indian-firms-begin-to-think.html). Ever since then, global financial markets have turned topsy turvy, with India specific factors like inflation/corruption/energy issues etc exacerbating the issue, and causing companies to grow/hire with caution, despite the still healthy domestic demand.  This has shown its effects on placements, as the audited reports in Sep'12 would doubtless show, and invited comments in the popular press.

1. During IIM Ahmedabad's business festival Confluence 2011, Tata Sons chief (Group HR) Satish Pradhan compared IIM placements to cattle fairs, stating that people competed hard to get into IIMs, and then harder to get better packages, neglecting other options like becoming entrepreneurs, business leaders and agents of change. In my view, he was perhaps distressed at the campus perception of TAS/other Tata group companies(Indian firms you see) at premier campuses. 
2. Older IIMs are reaching out to more sectors and areas as reported here, most of which doubtless would be domestic firms  (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/IIMs-innovate-to-fight-placement-blues/articleshow/11722119.cms).
3. IIM Indore reportedly sought help from external placement agencies. 

As  I see it, some top paying roles from other campuses are now being offered at IIMs as well, which will have its repercussions on the other campuses as well. For instance, FMCG/consulting firms which may have hired say x people from top IIMs, may now proceed to hire 2x, including those people who may have entered banking but for the global financial crisis. Of course, the PPO holders from other campuses would retain their offers, hence the maximum impact would be on the final placements.  

While the pay is mostly sufficient to service that looming education loan, it may not provide that margin for spending binges on clubs/foreign holidays etc. While that may disappoint some people, they should be pleased of working during a downturn, where they learn rapidly/get more responsibility and are baptized under fire. For the Batch of 2010-12, summer placements were generally reported in the press as having seen bumper 'business as usual'. But because that is not always reflected in the Fin placements, some people could be forgiven for feeling cheated during that last mile lap(since markets situated worsened only towards the end of the 2yr course).  Personally, I feel that this baptism by fire will only help in the long run despite the visible short term effects. So there is still room for optimism.

Entreprenuerial mindset-the new buzzword in preplacement talks

At the outset, let me clarify that this is based on a limited sample of the pre-placement talks attended by me during the final placement season at IIM Ahmedabad. These talks share much in common-a nice graphic/whiteboard based PPT, videos, interactive Q&A and free food etc. But what I've noticed recently across sectors(consulting, general management and even finance) is that firms want to have their cake and eat it too-'entrepreneurial mindset'-wherein employees unleash their creative energies within the organizational framework and create wealth.  Indeed, companies pitch this 'intrapreneurship' as a positive, claiming that with their vast resources(cash, infrastructure, relationships, reach etc), they can make the employee's business idea come true. This trend is not new to the USA where companies actively seek out those with entrepreneurial mindsets. Infact, Jamie Dimon(Bank of America CEO) said in his FY10 letter to shareholders(Pg 23) said these golden words which sums up the importance of intraprenuership.
Big business needs entrepreneurs, too
the popular perception is that entrepreneurs – those who believe in free enterprise – exist only in small companies and that entrepreneurs in small companies should be free to pursue happiness or monetary gain as appropriate. Free enterprise, entrepreneurship and the pursuit of happiness also exist in most large enterprises. And you, our shareholders, should insist on it. without the capacity to innovate, respond to new and rapidly changing markets, and anticipate enormous challenges, large companies would cease to exist. the people who achieve these objectives want to be compensated fairly, just as they would be if they had built a successful start-up 

This is a very interesting shift from the earlier apprehension that entrepreneurial minded employees would soon leave the organization to start their own thing. But like how Infosys had incubated/funded Onmobile, perhaps organizations could also start that  practice of investing in their spinoffs, to realize wealth and more business later. Another reason for the tolerance could be that for Indian firms growing at CAGRs of 20%-40%(or more) in new business segments, they need people like that to drive the growth-people fine with working in unstructured environments, and who can do some 'jugaad' to get across the inevitable obstacles in the way of achieving that growth.

Even more staid organizations like consulting, stress that  that everyone's thinking is valued(naturally!-why else would you pay that person big bucks to join you!), and that they are ever open to new ideas/innovative ways of working.

But that begs the question-why come to business schools if you want entrepreneurs instead of managers? To be a successful intraprenuer, I strongly believe that you should be a good manager adept at navigating the organization dynamics. And MBAs are a good fit for that. Hence this approach by companies. Anyways, if this trend continues, clubs and activities aimed at fostering entrepreneurship among students(Entre Club, business plan competitions etc) will really do well.

Why some IIM programs seem like reverse mergers-people getting in without the same scrutiny

@GSElevator GS Elevator Gossip

1: But she went to a good school. 2: She transferred in. That’s like a reverse merger; you get on the exchange but w/o the same scrutiny.

What inspired this title is the above tweet from the GSElevator tweeter account(it is very politically incorrect and offensive at times, but a lot of it rings true). I'd blogged earlier on the different programs offered here(http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-who-qualify-as-iim-ahmedabad-alumni.html) but had not gone into the details of the same. Now, IIM Ahmedabad(and most other IIMs for that matter) is associated with its flagship program-the 2yr full time PGP program. Hence, students from other programs such as PGPx/PGP(Agri Business Management) etc may feel at times that they are getting a raw deal in perception. While the PGPx program having executives of 10yrs average experience is not comparable with the PGP program(indeed it has better FT rankings for its category than the 2yr program!), the PGP-ABM program at times is perceived as a reverse merger stock of students who have got in in the 'easier route', which does show up in the relative placement figures. The reasons for that, and my opinions are below

1. Significantly lower CAT cutoofs:-One can argue that the CAT %ile does not matter, but as an admission benchmark(however flawed that maybe), the ABM students have a lower percentile cutoff of the order of 4-5%Ile. Hence, even though the CAT%ile is usually NOT mentioned on the CV, recruiters may perceive a quality difference vs PGP students. Many students do score above the certain minimum cutoff in order of 97%ile+, but the perception is framed by cutoffs..
2. Common first year program:-All first year students-PGP/ABM/FPM share the same curriculum, and are often in same section. They are  source of much needed diversity in academic backgrounds, mostly comprising non-engineers. That does benefit class participation.
3. But little overlap in 2nd year:-There is little overlap in the second year though, with each program having its own Acads Secretary and course selection. To be fair, the 2nd year IS usually more chilled out than first year, so academically I doubt there is any effect on quality of students due to this. While PGP students can take only upto 3 ABM courses in the 2nd year, the converse is not true where ABM students can theoretically take even 80%-90% of their courses from those offered to PGP students. It is a different thing that certain 'coveted' courses are not opened to ABM students due to the Professor's discretion. But even though this flexibility exists, very few people I know have exercised it. 
4. Median/Mean/Max pay packages much lower:- The audited placement reports on the IIM-A website say it all. Despite spending 2yrs within the same walls, this happens. And companies which come for both PGP and ABM students(very few but there) offer lesser pay packages to the ABM students(and different roles for no demonstrable rationale).

Having interacted with PGP-ABM students during my first year(indeed we shared the same classrooms/courses for the first year), I would rate them equally competent on average. If there are 'misfits' who would not have got into IIMA but for the ABM program, the same is true for some students of the PGP program as well(not sure whether they got via reservations or not!). So the difference in quality is more perceived than real. In fact, the 4 member IIMA team which won the national level M&M War Room contest(strategy event for conglomerate), had 3 ABM students. In other colleges(like IIM Lucknow), the ABM program students can sit for the same placement process like the PGP students, thus the difference is not much. But again, for colleges like MDI-HR program and XLRI-HR program(where there is a different flagship program too), the placement process is different and lower for these specialized programs.

However, I would call this process outcome  TINA(There is no alternative factor).If the placements for PGP and ABM students are not differentiated, then the ABM program will be an arbitrage source for students who could not enter IIMA PGP program via the normal route. And scrapping the ABM program would not really be in anyone's interests. So like democracy, this is a bad alternative, except for all the remaining alternatives!While some roles like trading commodities in investment banks, working in PE roles in that space etc could be viewed as relevant for the program, the institute sees the purpose of the ABM program as creating managers for agribusiness, not such other roles however relevant they may be. Overall, given that they pay the same fees as the PGP students, it is a pity about the lower returns/cost ratio. If students had entered the program thinking that the career prospects would be same as that for PGP, then they can certainly be forgiven for feeling deceived. But then, caveot emptor applies in education more than vendor emptor viz the students should have done their due diligence on the program and its profile. If recruiters perceive the program like how investors now perceive Chinese ADRs on NYSE(reverse merger ones) of having less rigour etc, that is an issue which will take years to solve, and need an open debate/review.

Credits:-For views on this topic, I thank students from the ABM program(who prefer to stay unnamed), for sparing their time and perspectives on the issue

Think beyond the IIMs-will Indian firms start doing this?

Like how the IIT brand was largely built by the legions of Silicon valley(and other) engineers, the IIM brand can be mostly credited to the achievements of the alumni in conventional industries/vocations like marketing(HUL, P&G), general management, consulting and entrepreneurship(read Rashmi Bansal's books). But in the past 10 years or so, the 'cream' of the batch is seeking lucrative pastures abroad(yours truly also!) in investment banking, consulting and other 'Day-0' jobs. These jobs are high risk-high return ones, unlike their more sedate counterparts in advertising, commercial banking, general management etc. While those alumni have certainly made their mark(leading to companies coming back time and again), the subprime crisis exposed the frailty of this model with the top Bschools having to depend on PSU/PSU banks to bail them out.  But that is not the subject of this post, rather this post analyzes whether the IIMs are driving away top Indian firms with their 'day system' etc.

In general, those who pursue MBA are primarily money driven, so it is no surprise that they seek the best jobs available at that time. Before the 2000s, those best jobs were largely domestic consulting, general management(TAS), advertising, media, commercial banking(ICICI) etc. That led to the 'best'(in terms of academics, CV, aptitude etc etc-placement wise best) staying in India to pursue careers. They left their mark, and built the IIM brand, being acknowledged the best in India. Post the 2000s, the best jobs monetarily are consulting(again!) and investment banking. No wonder then that with those rare exceptions, the 'best' gravitate towards those roles, largely in MNCs and abroad. Even a Tata, Reliance, Infosys etc was relegated to the second day, to pick from the rejects of earlier days. Harsh, but true. This still happens.

To some extent, one can argue that the day system is student preference, and that those who pay more should get better positioning. But the holes in that argument is that one does not give merit for tenure, stability etc. The same banks who abandoned campuses en-masse in 2009, get pride of place in 2010 and beyond, while the recruiters who came to the rescue of the campuses in 2009, are relegated to their (usual place of) latter days. No wonder then, that the recruiters with ego/brand image from other industries, may feel that they are not desired on campus, and go elsewhere. Consider this:-

1. IIM-L is now spoken in the same breath as IIM-A/B/C. While their academics, infrastructure, students etc all deserve credit, it did help them that companies like HUL, P&G, TAS, ICICI did not find sufficient willing candidates at A
2. The toppers from lower 1st tier colleges(MDI, SP Jain, XLRI) may be as good(or even better) than the average students of IIM-A/B/C. A smart recruiter may prefer pride of place in those colleges, to being regarded 2nd grade in IIM A/B/C. 
3. As informed by a noted HR Prof at IIM-A, banks like HDFC/ICICI prefer to recruit IIM ABC graduates laterally, when they no longer come with unrealistic expectations. 
4. Every year, the quality, variety and diversity of recruiters goes up at other colleges. For example, a MDI student was offered an 2011 summers advertising internship in London, which I'm sure IIM A/B/C students would kill for(!)
5. Placements are handled by a student elected body, with little faculty oversight. This may lead to inconsistent strategy across years, and little institutional memory. As discussed in Cohan's book(Money and Power), Goldman Sachs refused to help in fund raising for a potential USA Presidential candidate, because he had ruined the career of one of their partners 19 years ago!! I'm quite certain that the institutional memory of the IIMs(or to be fair most other management colleges) does NOT extend that long. Perhaps there is something to be said for professional involvement in the process, but then the issues with that are confidentiality, and loss of management development opportunities for the students
6. Other things being equal(or even unequal at times!!), alumni prefer to recruit from their alma mater. And lets be honest. There is no substantial entry level difference among candidates, and MBA colleges live or die on their alumni network. And if companies recruit elsewhere and realize that they can get 'value for money' there, that may continue.

Of course, this is not only the student's fault. Other reasons for this skewed approach can be

1. The last 2 years admissions criteria of the IIMs-few are ‘off the charts/exceptional’. This is not must to be good managers but that old eclectic mix is missing..less diversity
2. Quality of applicants also to do with this-for corporate finance/strategic management roles, diverse background helps which over the last 5 years has been falling. For instance CAs may consider Corp Fin but engineers may not.

Whatever the reasons/effects be, this issue needs to be discussed. Given the recession in the West/Europe, students from those schools are now coming to Asia in large numbers, where their alumni are also present. To leverage on the 'India Story', Indian corporates should be willing to have IIM ABC students as their partners(not in the literal sense!). But given that few of the top students prefer India, will they be outshown by the toppers from other colleges? Even if that does not happen, another factor to consider is once the music stops(lesser foreign roles), will Indian Cos be willing to return to ABC where they are given stepchild treatment in terms of positioning/applicant qualities? 

So what is the way out? There are no easy solutions to this, but you need to break some eggs to make an omlette! While the respective Placecomm heads/members/faculty supervisors would be in the best position to analyze and find out solutions, my view as a student would be to make the system of 'clusters' and 'days' more transparent, also highlighting the non monetary benefits of non glamorous industries. For example, working 1yr in an ICICI/HDFC may provide more learning than 2-3yrs in some foreign locale. Alumni would be the best source for this info, but thanks to the issues mentioned above, they are scarce in those industries.

While IIM ABC are still considered India's best colleges(in that order!), can that perception sustain without a substantial continued alumni achievement in India? I only hope it does!
Disclaimer: This is not based on any statistical research as such, but on the alumni meet(s)/reunions I have seen, placements preferences etc. Though largely modeled on IIM-A, this should apply to IIM-B/IIM-C also. This does NOT convey the official views of either IIM-A or any student body. While I'm told that this applies to the IITs too, I do not have enough data yet to blog on that!

So why are MBA's paid so much anyway?

The IIM-A Final placements are well under progress(newspapers have reported an increase of 10%-20% in average pay packets). Often, these young graduates(me next yr!!) earn more than their parents(in their prime of career/at retirements) had ever earned. This pay disparity(which is what sparks off the MBA rush by applicants who think this is true of all institutes) is the subject of occasional debates where the point is raised-what value does a MBA bring to the table vis-a-vis an experienced graduate(w/o MBA)?

 While this issue will keep simmering, my 2 bits to this issue are:-

1. Imperfect talent market:- Unlike the West, there is much more of a gap here between the 'best' and the 'rest'. It is not merely due to inputs('student quality' as measured by CAT scores, work experience, grades etc) but due to infrastructure issues(mainly faculty-you can build nice amenities but not faculty!). This, coupled with the first mover advantage and alumni network, gives the top colleges that 'brand'-which allows their graduates a premium relative to other MBAs
2. Revenue Producers:- Consulting, Sales, Marketing and Investment Banking(the most in demand professions at B Schools) all share a common attribute-YOU are the revenue producer and not merely a support role. So when the performance is easily evaluated, it is linked to pay and a high pay can be justified. Of course, this is why job security is relatively weaker 
3. Data Analysis/Comfort with ambiguity:- The case method teaches(for those who sincerely work on the cases before class) you how to crunch data and be comfortable with incomplete, conflicting and ambiguous data. While MDPs can cover this, a 2 yr MBA permits this attitude to be ingrained which then gives a better career start. Organizations value someone who can make sense of data AND be comfortable with uncertainty. 

I am not including stuff like communication skills(presentations etc), working with others(study groups are just proxy for real world) which both MBAs and non MBAs can develop with equal ease. So I would attribute the MBA non MBA pay differential to the above 3 factors only.