爱恨交织：商学院与排行榜的那些不为人知的秘密

    《商业周刊》发布MBA项目榜单的历史起源自1988年，当时只是一个相对简单的调查。现在，鉴于许多机构效仿《商业周刊》发布商学院排行榜，它已经成为一项非常耗时的工作。许多商学院安排专人汇总排名数据，不管这项职务是叫媒体关系总监，还是合规专员；还有一些商学院把这项工作交付给多位员工。无论具体负责人是谁，高名次需要多个办公室和多位院长的高投入，相关人员必须审查、签署他们递送给各家出版物的统计数据。

    塔克商学院的帕克特大约花费三分之一的时间来处理排行榜相关事宜，还要督促另一位为此投入一半时间的员工。这所学校每年参加5个排行榜，有些申请工作需要耗费数月才能完成。像就业统计和本科生平均绩点(GPA)等数据必须从各个院系分头收集。但据帕克特说，通常情况下，这类统计工作仅仅是个开始。

    在考克斯商学院，马丁内斯几乎凭借一己之力管理各类排行榜。这所学校至少参加了8个主要排行榜，应付各种表格可不是一件容易完成的任务。她说：“填充这些答案时常让我汗流浃背。我已经成为这所学校最偏执的工作狂，因为我总是担心我会莫名其妙地把事情搞砸。”

    排行榜的泛滥无疑稀释了它们的整体价值。当10份榜单给出了10个不同的榜首院校时，我们就很难确定谁才是真正的王者。从军事MBA(Military MBA )到加拿大的企业骑士(Corporate Knights)，许多组织现在都提供各自的商学院排名。考克斯商学院营销和传讯事务副院长琳达•奥利弗说：“我们拒绝了很多邀请，因为无论是就统计工作，还是就情绪方面而言，我们实在无力参加所有排行榜。”

    尽管排行榜存在这样那样的缺点，但它们的覆盖面和影响力意味着几乎没有几家商学院敢躲开它们。西班牙企业商学院(IE Business School)MBA项目副院长埃里克•施利说：“排行榜无疑是一个重要的信号工具，因此，它们有助于提升商学院的声誉。”

    但另一方面，名次的大幅下跌或报告错误可能会让商学院遭受重创。排名是向新生和潜在雇主传递的一个彰显教学质量的信号。所以，排名下跌有可能导致申请人数减少，阻止未来的雇主招募某所商学院的MBA学生。

    阿姆斯特朗说，考克斯商学院在《商业周刊》全日制MBA排行榜的名次下滑并没有显著影响它的招生工作。但这所学校也特意向质疑者指出，名次下滑是排名方法变更所导致的结果。此外，她还坚持认为，虽然学校不能忽视排行榜，但也不能完全被各类榜单左右。她说：“我的哲学是，排行榜只能显示一所学校某一方面的特征。”

    考克斯商学院确实经历过排名的起起落落。去年，该校EMBA项目高居《商业周刊》排行榜第三位，仅次于西北大学凯洛格商学院(Northwestern Kellogg)和芝加哥大学布斯商学院(Chicago Booth)。“怎么说呢，我们正在等着他们声称，‘哦，我们又改变了排名方法，’特别是考虑到高居第三位的是我们学校，”副院长奥利弗说。我记得接到过这份杂志打来的几个核实信息的电话。“我寻思着，他们肯定在想，‘哦，天哪，我们刚刚在全日制MBA排行榜上把他们打下来了，现在我们又不得不说他们是排名第三的商学院。’这种感觉真的很甜蜜。”（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒

    BusinessWeek began ranking MBA programs in 1988. It was a relatively simple survey. Now, given all the rankings that have followed BusinessWeek's list, it's a time-consuming job. Many B-schools have a dedicated professional, ranging from a media relations director to a compliance officer, who aggregates the ranking data; other schools spread the work across multiple personnel. Regardless of the person in charge, top rankings require the input of multiple offices and deans, who must review and sign off on the stats they deliver to publications.

    Tuck's Paquette spends roughly one-third of her time on rankings and supervises another employee who devotes half his time to them. The school participates in five rankings each year, and some applications take months to complete. Numbers such as employment statistics and undergraduate GPAs must be collected from departments across the school. But often the stat is only a starting place, according to Paquette.

    At Cox, Martinez manages the rankings almost single-handedly. The school participates in at least eight major rankings, and juggling all the forms is no easy task. "I literally sweat bullets over these answers. I've become the most paranoid person that works at this school because I'm always afraid I'm the one who's going to somehow mess up," she says.

    A proliferation of rankings has undoubtedly diluted their value overall. When 10 rankings dub 10 different schools No. 1, it's difficult to determine who's really top dog. Organizations ranging from Military MBA to Canada's Corporate Knights now offer their own orderings of B-school programs. "We turn a lot down because we just statistically and emotionally can't participate in all of them," says Lynda Oliver, Cox's assistant dean of marketing and communications.

    Despite their drawbacks, rankings' reach and influence mean that few business schools dare shun them. "Rankings are undoubtedly an important signaling tool, and hence, they fuel the brand of the school with prestige," says Erik Schlie, the associate dean of MBA programs at IE Business School in Spain.

    But on the flip side -- a major fall in the rankings or a reporting gaffe -- can cost schools big time. Rankings are a signal of quality to incoming students and potential employers, so a drop can reduce applications and deter future employers from seeking a B-school's MBAs.

    Armstrong says Cox's slip in BusinessWeek's full-time MBA ranking hasn't significantly affected applications. But the school made a point to communicate the methodology change to anyone questioning the fall. She's also adamant that while schools can't ignore rankings, they also can't be ruled by them. "My philosophy is that's just one part of what you are," she says.

    Cox has certainly experienced the highs and lows of the rankings roller coaster. Last year, BusinessWeek ranked Cox's EMBA program No. 3, right behind Northwestern Kellogg and Chicago Booth. "We were kind of waiting to get that, 'Oh, we changed the methodology again,' especially given that it was us," says Oliver, an assistant dean. She recalls receiving several calls from the publication verifying their information. "I think they were like, 'Oh God, we've just knocked them down under full-time and now we have to say they're No. 3.' That felt pretty sweet."