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the first paragraph。
。 Thomas Global Register （thomasglobal） is an online directory
in 11 languages with details of over 700；000 suppliers in 28 countries。 It
can be searched by industry sub…sector or name either for the world or
by country。
。 Trade Association Forum （taforum 》 Directories 》 Association
Directory） is the directory of Trade Associations on whose websites are
links to industry…relevant online research sources。 For example； you
will find The Baby Products Association listed； at whose website you
can find details of the 238 panies operating in the sector； with their
contact details。
。 Transparency International （transparency）： TI； established
in 1986； is independent； impartial and operates through a worldwide
network of over 90 locally established organizations。 It is probably best
known for its Corruption Perceptions Index （CPI）。 This is a posite of
independent surveys studying 159 countries。 In the most recent survey；
70 countries were rated as having ‘rampant corruption that poses a
grave threat to institutions as well as to social and political stability’。
。 UK Trade & Investment （uktradeinvest。gov。uk） is the government
agency charged with helping UK…based businesses succeed in ‘an
increasingly global world’。 It provides information on doing business
with every country and every business sector； from Aerospace to
Water。
。 World Intellectual Property Organization （wipo 》 Resources
》 Directory of IP Offices） is a country…by…country directory of the organizations
responsible for intellectual property （patents； trademarks；
Appendix 299
logos； designs and copyright） around the world。 From there you can
find the rules and procedures for protecting IP。
。 World Market Research Associations （mrweb）； while not
quite covering the world； does have web addresses for over 65 national
market research associations and a hundred or so other bodies such as
the Mystery Shopping Providers Association； which in turn has over
150 members； and panies worldwide。
。 Worldwide…Tax （worldwide…tax）： This website is a very
prehensive site that deals with a host of taxation and financial
subjects for some 70 countries。 For each country there are a general
and economic survey and links to providers of professional services
such as accountants； banks； lawyers and government sites； as well as a
plete and prehensive section on the embassies in that country。
。 Yellow Pages World （yellowpagesworld 》 Yellow Pages
International） is an international directory of online yellow pages and
white pages whose goal is to make it easy to find an online yellow pages
or white pages provider in the country you want to search in。 Currently
31 countries are covered。
Also look at the data sources listed in individual chapters。
KEEPING TRACK OF THE MBA WORLD
There are a number of subjects that every MBA needs to know something
about。 Reading this book will have given you an insight into what most of
the top business schools do and how well they are rated。 But the business
school world is nothing if not dynamic。 Twenty…five years ago there were
only North American business schools in the top ranks； 15 years later a
handful of British schools joined them。 Now there are four Spanish Business
Schools and three French； as well as schools from Argentina； Australia；
Belgium； Canada； China； Holland； India； Ireland； Mexico； Singapore and
South Africa。 In 2008； some 30 executives from 13 countries pleted their
MBAs at a brand…new business school in Berlin。 The European School of
Management and Technology （ESMT） started its two…year part…time MBA
programme only in 2006。 Backed by firms including Allianz； Axel Springer；
BMW； Bayer； Bosch and Siemens； with Lars…Hendrik R。ller； a former
INSEAD professor； at the helm and sufficient funding to triple its 22…strong
faculty； it looks set to soar up the league tables – a first for Germany in this
field。 In fact； frustrated business school professors make a habit of spawning
new and great schools。 Visiting Harvard faculty launched Cranfield School
of Management in the 1960s。 In the days when two…year MBAs were the
norm； Cranfield students did their second year at Harvard。 Then it was
Cranfield’s turn； with its senior faculty spinning out to help launch schools
at Oxford and INSEAD。
300 Appendix
Below are the key sources of information to keep up to date in the MBA
world。
Setting standards
The world has moved on from having ‘degree mills’； where the award is
effectively purchased； to ‘accreditation mills’； where the recognition of
the university awarding the MBA has been purchased。 That in turn gives
a spurious； perhaps even criminal； quality standard to institutions that
use such recognition for marketing purposes only。 There are a number
of legitimate organizations concerned with se。。ing standards in terms of
teaching； research and resources in business schools。 They do a thorough
job of work and charge accordingly。 Business schools pay anything from
￡35；000 to ￡100；000 to gain accreditation and as much again in administrative
pain。
Among the accrediting organizations of repute are：
。 The Council on Higher Education （che。ac。za） in South Africa。
。 The Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation
（fibaa） in Bonn； Germany； which accredits schools in Germany；
Austria and Switzerland。
。 The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs （
acbsp）； which typically accredits smaller； private US schools；
though it does have Business and puter University College BCU
University in Lebanon on its books。
。 The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education （
iacbe）； founded in 1997； has 200 accredited institutions； mostly
undergraduate and mostly in the United States。 Pontificia Universidad
Católica； Lima； Perú； with five MBA programmes； one in association
with Maastricht School of Management； is something of an exception。
。 The Council for Higher Education Accreditation （chea） is a
consortium of a number of US regional accreditation agencies； which
in turn accredit mostly US schools。 Such international schools as are on
their books are usually very small； with strong US connections； such as
the American University in Blagoevgrad； Bulgaria； for example； which
offers a part…time executive MBA。
Three associations； however； dominate the field when it es to accrediting
the top…ranking business schools。 A score of the very top； mostly non…US；
business schools take the value of accreditation so seriously that they have
signed up to all three。 You might be forgiven for thinking that to be more
a sign of insecurity than a demonstration of value； remembering of course
that it is the students who pay for accreditation in every respect！
Appendix 301
The Association of MBA
AMBA （mbaworld）； founded in 1967； has accredited 150 business
schools in 68 countries。 Its initial purpose was to help forge links
between the MBA alumni of the small but growing number of schools in the
UK； but subsequently it has branched out into the accreditation business。
Unusually for this type of activity； membership is open to any individual
who went to； or is studying or is enrolled to study； at an AMBA…accredited
business school。 It wants to be sure that schools offering an MBA： have
a clear strategy and mission； the faculty is large enough for the task； at
least 75 per cent of faculty have a masters or doctoral degree in a discipline
relevant to the subject for which they are responsible； and students must
have a minimum of 3 years’ work experience。
The Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business
AACSB （aacsb。edu）； founded in 1916 by； among others； Columbia
University； Dartmouth College； Harvard University； and Chicago；
Pennsylvania and Yale Universities； this the oldest and largest of the
three accrediting bodies。 It is； however； dominated by North American
institutions； with less than 10 per cent of its member institutions ing
from outside the United States and Canada。 But that may all be set to change。
AACSB； worried by petition from ranking provided by newspapers
and journals and concerned that these may be distorting schools’ behaviour
and misleading prospective MBA candidates； has invested in a business
school database of its own。 Since 2005； AACSB has published searchable
profiles of its 600 member business schools on its website and is the only
source of information about the whole business school and is the most
prehensive in terms of its coverage of the market。 Here you will find
details of schools such as HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management
（Germany）； Toulouse Business School – Groupe ESC Toulouse （France）
and United Arab Emirates University （UAEU） （United Arab Emirates） that
may not show up in the rankings； but have high academic standards and
creditable results。
The European Quality Improvement System
EQUIS （efmd 》 Accreditation 》 Equis）； formed in 1997； is the
newest and smallest of accrediting organizations。 It was set up by the
European Foundation of Management Development （EFMD） and accredits
113 institutions in 32 countries。 Though small in the accreditation world；
with over 15；000 management development professionals as members
302 Appendix
of the EFMD network and 650 organizations from academia； business；
public service and consultancy in more than 75 countries； its impact has
been significant。 EQUIS is not； however； primarily focused on the MBA。
Its scope covers all programmes offered by an institution； from the first
degree up to the PhD。 It has three important criteria： a business school
should show international standards of quality； have significant levels of
internationalization and integrate the needs of the business world into
its programmes。 EQUIS membership is almost the mirror image of that
of AACSB。 You won’t find Harvard； Wharton； Tuck or indeed many US
business schools of any calibre on its books。 But then you won’t find schools
such as Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile； Escuela de Administración；
Chile； the University of Auckland Business School； New Zealand； Ume。
School of Business； Ume。 University； Sweden or the Coppead Graduate
School of Business； Federal University of Rio de Janeiro； Brazil on AACSB’s
books。
RANKING THE SCHOOLS
Business school rankings have been around since the late 1980s； when a
couple of US general business publications realized that ‘best of’ lists were
a powerful tool for generating advertising copy from business schools
and upping circulation from potential students thirsty for knowledge。
Publications producing rankings have mushroomed； as have the
methodologies and data collection techniques employed。 Few business
schools believe that the ratings are of great help to students when making
their choice。 Nonetheless； most continue to participate； even to tailor their
activities towards improving their rank even at the expense of some aspects
of MBA content。 The logic is simple： rankings generate publicity。 If a school
is in and going up； it provides helpful PR； if it is out； or going down； it
will have to explain why to prospective students and to its alumni who are
naturally anxious not to see their investment devalued。 The Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business （see above） is trying to encourage
the media to ‘rate’ rather than ‘rank’ programmes and to revise measures
to include research productivity while educating the public about the
limitations of rankings。 With newspaper circulations in terminal decline；
this seems a pious hope。
What’s being ranked
When you read the rankings you will see exactly what measures business
schools are being ranked on and how they are weighted to make up the
final result。 You need to consider if the measures are important to you。 For
example； ‘international mix of students’ features in many rankings； if you
Appendix 303
are an American student ing to a British business school you might
not see it as much of a benefit to find that less than 15 per cent of your
fellow students actually are British； as are an even smaller pro