Readers Report
What the B-School Issue Left Out
One statistic missing from "The best B-schools" (Cover Story, Oct. 21) is their dropout rates. With graduation virtually guaranteed and an inflation in programs (executive, evening, etc.), 20% of graduates will pound the pavement for years to come as long as the hardest part of business school is the getting-in. The way to restore value to the MBA is through an independent certification process akin to the bar exam or CPA exams--a "Certified MBA" standard. Then business schools would not only produce graduates who are more likely to succeed (i.e., land a job) but would also attract more women and other underrepresented groups.
Segev Tsfati
Rockville, Md.
Your issue on B-schools is incomplete. BusinessWeek must also rank the schools that turn out the most effective swindlers. Index the officers and directors of the 1,035 companies that cashed in $66 billion worth of stock before the market tanked, and find out, of those holding MBAs, where they were educated. From such a ranking, a potential offender profile could be generated and perhaps used to some effect.
D. Patten
Boston
B-school rankings of "student happiness" and placement, based on the dean's push and alumni pull, may lead to another round of misplaced priorities. B-school programs, like any other business process, should be evaluated on the basis of "economic value added," input-output ratio, or return on total investment--and not on relationship networks and undue favors. Let the difference between the market value of inputs and the market value of outputs indicate the efficacy of the process used to prepare proactive, self-reliant business warriors capable of fending for themselves in the global business arena.
Trilok N. Sindhwani
New Delhi
It was gratifying to see the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business make it back to No. 2, but what's up with the cover? You've got No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 represented in full regalia, but no Chicago. Miscounted? Couldn't find a Chicago GSB student in a clean sweatshirt?
Brad Cherniak
Toronto
I read your MBA articles with interest, but I do take offense at the comment that Europe might be better off with MBAs, not engineers, leading a media company ("Switzerland's media MBA," Cover Story, Oct. 21). If I may be blunt, the mess in North America is caused by MBAs. Instead of actually building a business, hype was sold by business folks who did not understand product development, typically the domain of engineers. And what about NCR's merger, and subsequent separation from AT&T? AOL and Time Warner might go this same route--yet another "brilliant" MBA strategy. A CEO should understand what the company is and what it is trying to sell. That could be an MBA with an engineering background or an engineer with a business background. But in either case, it is a well-rounded person.
Christian Gross
Zurich
The View from the Top of Citigroup's Board
Citigroup does not belong on the table "Boards that need work" ("The best & worst boards," Cover Story, Oct. 7). As you note, we have taken important steps to ensure that our board adheres to the highest standards of corporate governance, including our announcement on Oct. 1 that I would eliminate interlocking directorships.
At 16 members, Citigroup's board of directors is not too big; the fact is, we need a large board to provide the attention and review required, given our company's size and complexity. Also, we have never had a problem with our audit committee, whose members always have devoted the time necessary to ensure rigorous review of our procedures and results. As you noted, Citigroup's board "is loaded with top-flight CEOs," and the ones you mention all sit on our audit committee.
Sanford I. Weill
Chairman and CEO, Citigroup
New York
FASB: Getting the Facts Straight
I want to try to correct some errors and mischaracterizations of the Financial Accounting Standards Board in "Killing reform behind closed doors" (Editorials, Oct. 21). First, FASB is not, as you state, "the accounting industry's rulemaker." We establish financial reporting standards for U.S. public and private companies and not-for-profit entities. We do not set standards for the accounting or auditing industry.
Second, the particular vote you refer to occurred at the June, 2002, meeting of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), a group that addresses specific emerging practice issues in financial reporting under the oversight of the FASB and the SEC staff. Contrary to the implication in the editorial, all meetings of the EITF are open to the public, and people can observe the meetings in person or listen in via a dial-in facility. Likewise, our board meetings also are open to the public.
Also, contrary to the implication in the editorial, the EITF did not "kill" discussion of the particular matter. While I was not yet a member of FASB at the time of that June EITF meeting, my understanding is that, based on the vote and discussion at the meeting, it was decided that the issue warranted further study. That study has now been performed and the issue will be discussed again and hopefully resolved at the next EITF meeting on Oct. 25.
FASB has initiated reforms aimed at enhancing the timeliness, effectiveness, and perceived independence of standard-setting, including more direct involvement by FASB in the agenda, deliberations, and conclusions of the EITF.
Robert H. Herz
Chairman, FASB
Norwalk, Conn.
NASA Is No Pie-in-the-Sky Investment
"Call it the wrong stuff" (Science & Technology, Oct. 14) correctly hit all the main issues that are facing American aerospace. I would add just one more point: All of the problems we are facing are symptoms of a basic problem--the lack of federal investment in aerospace. NASA's current budget is a hair over $15 billion. At the funding peak of the Apollo program in the mid-1960s, NASA was receiving just under $30 billion in today's money. I can assure you that a similar funding trend has impacted our military space efforts, too.
As it stands, aerospace is the largest positive [contributor to the] balance of trade in American manufacturing. This will not continue without increased investment. Many other countries are investing heavily in their own aerospace efforts. We in the U.S. must do the same. Our strategic and economic interests are at stake.
Dave Weldon (R-Fla.)
House of Representatives
Washington
Editor's note: Weldon represents Florida's 15th District, where Cape Canaveral is located.
You Can Eat Right at McDonald's
In your rush to demonize McDonald's food, you left some helpful facts off your plate ("Why we're so fat," Marketing, Oct. 21): Only 5% of our customers choose to supersize anything; the typical McDonald's customer visits our restaurants about twice a month; McDonald's has been giving customers comprehensive nutrition information since 1973; our quality food is right-sized for all ages, from Happy Meals to Extra Value Meals; you can eat three times a day at McDonald's and still meet Agriculture Dept. nutritional guidelines; and McDonald's has sponsored physical fitness programs and nutrition education for decades. McDonald's takes nutrition very seriously. Too bad BusinessWeek readers were fed supersize clichés instead of facts about our menu.
Walt Riker
Vice-President, Social Responsibility
& Communications
McDonald's Corp.
Oak Brook, Ill.
Not Necessarily the Views of the Management
I would like to add a simple disclaimer to my letter published under the heading "Here's to productivity," (Readers Report, Oct. 21). My letter does not represent the official position of my employer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Joel A. Claghorn
Economist, Industrial Price Div.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
New York
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Copyright 2002, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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