The
Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Israel (HBSAAI) was founded in
1994. According to its charter, part of the vision was to ”attract
the most talented individuals to HBS” or better stated in the charter's goals
to "mentor qualified applicants through the application process and
beyond. “
In
my opinion, we are hardly doing enough to attain this goal which is the most
important feasible goal that the HBSAAI has on its agenda. Quality of the
HBS Israeli students, who become later on alumni, directly impacts the
positioning of HBS in Israel and this directly affects all of us.
Addressing this issue is the best way to "position
HBS, in Israel, as the world leading business school in general management”.
What
led me to reach the conclusion that we are not doing enough to expose HBS to
Israeli prospective students were several incidents where talented Israelis
did not even bother applying to HBS. The reasons people voiced ranged from
“Israelis can’t get admitted to HBS” to “HBS is no different from
other business schools” .
Some
people would say that Harvard Business School does not need any marketing or
promotion. This way of thinking, which was followed by HBS in the
US for many years, has been abandoned by the school. Today, HBS is
engaged in substantial marketing campaigns highlighting the advantages of the
case method and the unparalleled resources that the school offers.
Ultimately, the closer the ratio of enrolled to admitted students is to 1, the higher
the quality of the students.
Other top business schools are taking advantage of HBS's negligence in
Israel. These schools -- including Wharton, Stanford, INSEAD -- conduct informational
sessions and panels which attract hundreds of prospective students each year.
Not only do they positively expose their schools to Israeli prospective students
but they may reinforce the ignorance regarding HBS in Israel.
Isn’t it time we did something about it?
