Bschool Blitz Boomerangs

Finally, the issue which was waiting in the wings has boomeranged, with the top salary grossers of the placement season from IIMB, Gaurav Agarwal and Venkatesh Shankararaman registering their displeasure with the institute director regarding the disclosure of their compensation package details. They have expressed anguish saying that above-normal salary package details catch the attention of unscrupulous elements and this might put their kith and kin in danger.

Just as with all other high-profile issues in India, even details of this confidential mail have been leaked to the media! So much for confidential information and secrecy! This leakage apart, the concerns raised are very valid and the duo deserve praise for taking up this issue with the top level of the institute. Throughout this drama of anything-and-everything about bschool placements going live in the Indian media, I have always considered it to be a short-sighted exercise that just goes beyond limits and in addition puts all concerned in a spot. This is because:

* Companies expect the compensation details to be treated sacrosanct. It is for the simple reason that they offer differential compensation to candidates even in a single campus based on their background, relevant work-ex, job profile and so on. Thus, differences are bound to exist across campuses and, at a bigger level across countries. Disclosing these details in the media puts them in a soup.

* From the student’s point of view, in spite of the few minutes or days of fame they enjoy, they are treated very much like uniquely engineered laboratory specimen. Additionally, disclosing their net-worth-to-be obviously puts them in danger. It is said that the details of the first Crorepati from KBC serial was kept under wraps to protect his identity till the issue was telecasted. So, much for a one-time crorepati!!

* BSchool campuses gather advertising mileage out of the process, no doubts about that. But it remains that they can drive home their point regarding the attractive returns-from-MBA by just providing general statistics like Top 10% pay, Average batch pay and a whole lot of other illustrative and insightful statistics.

It has to be seen how this issue would be handled next year. Will campuses adopt a mature approach and factor in the valid concerns raised. One must wait and watch.