Archive for March 27th, 2012

MBA Rankings: A big winner’s keys to success …

March 27, 2012

In a prior post, we looked at changes in Business Week’s rankings of MBA program in the 10-year period from from 2000 to 2010.

The key observations:

  • 13 MBA programs (e.g. HBS, Wharton, Kellogg) held their top 30 positions – plus or minus a spot or two – between 2000 and 2010
  • 6 MBA programs were in the 2000 Top 30 and improved their position by 6 or more spots between 2000 and 2010
  • University of Chicago  jumped 9 spots to take over the #1 ranking
  • 6 MBA programs that weren’t in the Top 30 in 2000 broke into the 2010 Top 10 (more on that later)
  • 5 MBA programs dropped a whopping 15 places or more from 2000 to 2010 (more on that later, too)
  • Another 6 MBA programs dropped 5 spots or more between 2000 to 2010

Among the 6 MBA programs that weren’t in the Top 30 in 2000 and broke into the 2010 Top 10, SMU is the shining star.

SMU came out of nowhere – unranked as late as 2006 – and soared to #12 in 2010.

How did they do it?

Here are the details that support the SMU ranking in 2008 – SMU’s first time in the Top 30:

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Answer: heavy emphasis on Teaching (A+) and Career Services (A) yielded a #17 ranking among Corporate Recruiters … and a number #18 overall ranking.

Not bad! But, apparently, not good enough for SMU.

Things got even better in 2010.

SMU kept Teaching at an A+ level and boosted Career Services from a plain old A to an A+ … the result: up to #6 with Corporate Recruiters and #12 overall.

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Source: Business Week – 2000 & 2010 MBA Rankings

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Bottom line: Get good students, teach them a lot, help them find jobs …. and, BINGO, MBA program success.

You’d think that’s common sense, right?  No surprise.

Well, tomorrow we’ll look at one of the biggest losers … with a twist that may surprise some of you.

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iPad loses its grip in the tablet market

March 27, 2012

Punch line: While iPad sales volume is up and expected to increase, but  its share of the tablet market is expected to drop to 62% this year, down from 66% last year, and 87% the previous year.

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Excerpted from cnet.com, “iPad’s share of tablet market to dip to 62 percent this year”

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The iPad will maintain its lead, though its share will drop because of competition from Android devices, estimates research firm TrendForce …

Though the iPad’s market share may be on the downswing, its sales are still headed higher.

Estimates from TrendForce call for global sales of about 59 million units in 2012, up from nearly 41 million last year and 14 million in 2010.

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(Credit: TrendForce)

Certain Android vendors have captured some of Apple’s former market share, but they’ve failed to catch up with the iPad’s advancements.

Amazon’s low-priced Kindle Fire ignited strong sales during the holiday quarter. But the Fire “still does not quite match consumers’ expectations for a tablet PC,”

Further, Amazon’s orders for display panels have fallen for the first half of 2012, indicating that the Fire won’t be a threat to the iPad’s dominant lead.

Some tablet vendors have been slowly cutting back on Android to focus on Windows 8 as Microsoft prepares its new tablet-friendly OS. But even here, success is far from assured.

“The makers are counting on Windows users’ high commitment to Microsoft Office to spur the sales of Windows 8 tablets,”

“But several issues persist, such as whether or not the ARM Windows 8 tablet is able to release as scheduled, the weight and battery life, and whether the software compatibility and interface design cater to the users’ preferences.”

With a new high-resolution display expected, the iPad 3 will help Apple hang onto its leading market share …

Overall, tablet makers are forecast to sell 94 million units this year, a 53 percent jump from the 62 million sold in 2011.

Edit by KJM

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