Social scientists are paying increasing attention to the business and financial elites: There’s a great need to understand who these elites are, what they do, and what makes them tick, as individuals but also as a class. By examining elite business schools, the institutions that train and prepare people to assume important leadership and decision-making positions in business, finance and related sectors, we may also learn how the economic elites are made. A key argument in this book is that elite schools are known to create powerful groups in society, offering them the intellectual and analytical means to act as leaders, but, most importantly, the social, moral and aesthetic skills that are deemed necessary to exercise power; in all essential respects elite schools consecrate people. By dominating much of higher education today, and by doing so in a way that creates and reproduces a market-based organization and control of society, elite business schools represent certain interests and ideologies that affect the lives of most people. In understanding how the modern economy is run, elite business schools, therefore, represent critical study objects. This book, based on an in-depth study of the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), offers a sociological analysis of the world of elite business schools. Specifically, this book examines the consecration of SSE’s students from a number of perspectives and in a number of situations, focusing on student union activities, school culture, faculty behavior, teaching, courses and alumni events, noting the symbolic importance of economics and particularly the school’s unique relation among the world’s business schools to the Nobel Prize. The book addresses the topics with regards to the sociology of elites, management education and organizational studies and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students also interested in business history, higher education studies, and sociology of education.

Education and Consecration of Neoliberal Elites: Introduction -- Business, Economics, and the Nobel Prize: History and Legacy -- Admission: Privilege, Values and Practices -- Consecration, Business Skills and Leadership: The Student Union -- Teaching Business: The Invisible Hand in Class -- Affinity: Pedagogics for a Future Elite -- Academic Freedom and the Business Community -- Business School Faculty and Neoliberal Thinking -- Lifelong Social Relationships and Networks: Business School Alumni -- Elitism and Masculinity: Business Schools and Elite Employers -- Business Schools and the Consecration of Elites: Conclusions.

Business education programs should practice what they preach: applying the principles of strategic analysis to play to their strengths and develop distinctive offerings that attract the most profitable customers—in this case, students, faculty, local communities, and the institutions that support them financially. With the costs of private MBA programs skyrocketing, public universities, which generally operate out of the spotlight of the Harvards and Whartons, have a tremendous opportunity to distinguish themselves as centers of innovative, high-quality education. Mimi Wolverton and Larry Penley conducted extensive research to identify the qualities of those public institutions across the country—from the University of Washington to Georgia Tech—that have successfully established competitive advantages, generally through a combination of cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. Elite MBA Programs at Public Universities features 12 in-depth case studies by senior representatives of the respective institutions, detailing the process by which they developed and launched programs to raise their profiles and ultimately compete aggressively for talent and support. From developing strategic alliances with local businesses and complementary academic departments to establishing online and overseas courses to investing in state-of-the-art facilities, these schools are setting new standards for business education—and measuring the positive results, for example, in terms of increased funding, higher faculty research productivity, higher rankings, and greater student diversity. Wolverton and Penley frame the case studies by applying the concepts of strategy theory, drawing lessons that can be applied in other educational institutions, as well as for students of strategy and general readers interested in emerging trends in business education. The result is a fascinating peek behind the scenes at the most innovative MBA programs, as well as a rich canvas for observing the principles of strategic management in action.

The top secrets to getting into the best MBA programs, from a leading industry expert Top MBA programs reject more than 80 percent of their applicants, but author Chioma Isiadinso's admissions consulting firm has successfully guided 90 percent of her students into the best business schools around the world. As a former Admissions Board Member, Isiadinso offers insider tips and strategies to help applicants get into the school of their choice by building and promoting their personal brand. This revised and updated edition now offers: the do's and don'ts of social media networking sample admissions essays that worked an international perspective for global admissions appeal

How does one become a member of an elite profession? Managing Elites examines how elites-in-training contest, rationalize, and ultimately embrace their dominant positions in society. Using interviews with law and MBA students, the author shows that becoming elite is not a straightforward process without tensions. Successful socialization outcomes--employment in large corporate law firms or prominent investment banks and consulting firms--require both accomodation and resistance to ideologies about achievement and meritocracy.

Surefire Strategies for Getting Into the Top MBA Programs Now with new and expanded information on international MBA programs, comprehensive rankings of the leading schools, and new interviews with admissions officers, How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs provides a complete overview of what the top schools look for. This book features a step-by-step guide to the entire application process with in-depth advice from more than thirty admissions directors. It shows you how to: ? Develop your optimal marketing strategy ? Assess and upgrade your credentials ? Choose the programs that are right for you ? Write quality essays for maximum impact ? Choose and manage your recommenders ? Ace your interviews Prepare for business school and get the most out of your program once you go.

With The Firm, financial journalist Duff McDonald pulled back the curtain on consulting giant McKinsey & Company. In The Golden Passport, he reveals the inner works of a singular nexus of power, ambition, and influence: Harvard Business School. Harvard University still occupies a unique place in the public’s imagination, but the Harvard Business School eclipsed its parent in terms of influence on modern society long ago. A Harvard degree guarantees respect. But a Harvard MBA near-guarantees entrance into Western capitalism’s most powerful realm—the corner office. And because the School shapes the way its powerful graduates think, its influence extends well beyond their own lives. It affects the organizations they command, the economy they dominate, and society itself. Decisions and priorities at HBS touch every single one of us. Most people have a vague knowledge of the power of the HBS network, but few understand the dynamics that have made HBS an indestructible and dominant force for almost a century. Graduates of HBS share more than just an alma mater. They also share a way of thinking about how the world should work, and they have successfully molded the world to that vision—that is what truly binds them together. In addition to teasing out the essence of this exclusive, if not necessarily “secret” club, McDonald explores two important questions: Has the school failed at reaching the goal it set for itself—“the multiplication of men who will handle their current business problems in socially constructive ways?” Is HBS complicit in the moral failings of Western capitalism? At a time of soaring economic inequality and growing political unrest, this hard-hitting yet fair portrait offers a much-needed look at an institution that has had a profound influence not just in the world of business but on the shape of our society—and on all our lives.