Best MBAs, CLO survey, takeover threats

Good afternoon from London. The day has come to reveal which are the top 100 global MBAs — results show that US schools still dominate. Change is inevitable, but how do you help staff deal with a takeover threat? If you are in charge of workplace training, there is a chance to tell us what the future holds for executive education.

Thank you for reading our Business School Briefing — Wai Kwen Chan and Andrew Jack.

Are you in charge of training?

We like to hear your views for our survey on executive education. Do share this and encourage your clients to fill it in anonymously: ft.com/closurvey. Here are the results from last year’s survey showing what skills employers want.

FT MBA ranking of 2022

Check out the top 100 MBAs of 2022 ranked by the Financial Times. Learn how the table was compiled and read the rest of our coverage at ft.com/mba.

Andrew Hill’s management challenge

Dealmakers have had a lot of practice in the past year — a record 63,000 transactions were announced in 2021 — but over time they remain quite bad at turning their rosy visions for takeovers into reality. No wonder, as I write in this week’s column, that staff get nervous about their jobs and their destiny when bidders loom on the horizon. A new book, The Synergy Solution, recommends a three-step approach to reassuring staff about takeovers: calm, spark, inspire.

For my management challenge this week, put yourself in the shoes of the chief executive of the bidder and draft a (short) memo to employees of the target calming or inspiring them about their future under new ownership. Bullet points are fine, but send them to [email protected] and we will print the best replies.

In further reading, for Valentine’s Day, here’s a guest essay by Joanne Lipman and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld for the New York Times about the latest episode in the long-running saga of office romances — the resignation of CNN’s president, Jeff Zucker over a relationship with a colleague. “There is no consensus in corporate America . . . about what is considered acceptable. Companies’ stated rules are all over the map,” they write.

Data line: MBA salary trends

MBA alumni salaries have increased by 28 per cent since 2006, both at graduation and three years after completing an MBA, write Sam Stephens and Leo Cremonezi. The cumulative inflation rate on the US dollar in that period is 37 per cent. Alumni surveyed in 2012 experienced a salary increase of 118 per cent three years after graduating and salaries are down in this year’s ranking for the first time since 2014. However, female MBA graduates still lag behind men in salary and career progression. More MBA analysis can be found here.

Join us for the FT’s ‘Future of Business Education: Spotlight on MBA’

We will be holding a virtual event on Feb 23 Wednesday 2022 with FT Editorial and top business schools sharing insights about the FT MBA ranking, responsible business education, innovation and the future of the MBA in a post Covid-19 world. Register for free on: https://businesseducation.live.ft.com.

Work and careers roundup

You can’t hide from the jerks at work Going back to the office may help us understand the humanity of bullies and bad bosses.

Do you suffer from ‘meeting bloat’ Some corporate leaders are holding fewer meetings — or banning them altogether.

English football: why are there so few black people in senior positions? Despite initiatives to address discrimination, minorities are still battling to be considered for managerial jobs.

FT business books: February edition The power of regret and how to reinvent the workplace — here are this month’s top titles.

How Gympass reinvented itself as Covid struck Cesar Carvalho feared the pandemic would close his ‘wellness’ platform — until he expanded its digital offering.

How up to date is your news knowledge?

Ten questions to test your news nous.

Top reads from business schools in the past week

US says Vladimir Putin intransigent over Ukraine invasion despite diplomatic efforts Kremlin calls warnings ‘absurd’ as western nations advise citizens to leave.

SoftBank’s $66bn sale of chip group Arm to Nvidia collapses Transaction had faced scrutiny from regulators and was opposed by rivals.

European scientists in ‘landmark’ nuclear fusion breakthrough Experiment at UK’s JET facility boosts hope that clean power source could soon be harnessed commercially.

Back issues

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