Who is the customer in Management Education

[hawk31981]

I have had a few discusions with the dean of my institute as well as the directors of 2 other institutes and a couple of consultants about who is the real customer for a management institute. While the consultants unanimusly defined the students as the customer because the students pay the fees. The dean of my institute(Goa University) and of one other institute fealt that the customer for management education was the industry and not the student. The director of the third institute fealt that the students were the customer and the customers of the students were the industry and he also stated that it was this focus that had allowed his institute to moveup the rankings to the top 20 in such a short time. However in may fourms i have been hearing that management institutes look at the industry as a customer and not the students

I would like to hear the opinion of other on this and what in your view will be the consequence of each approach

[kartik]

Ofcourse the students are the customers..

Suprised that directors think industry is the customer.

Take away students and the industry and the institute both go down the drain

[bhavin_3]

Yeah surely studnts are the customers..!!

But you cannot deny that industry plays a pivotal role..!! Its the brand this days which studnts go for..!! You ask any student who is giving cat which institute he wants to for it would surely be iims.. Has that person ever seen iim campus , heard the faculties, seen the education there, hve frndz dwn der, the answer to all this question could be no but still the aim remains iim's.. Coz of the brand value it has created..!! So even though students are the customer, the students follow the industry for rankings and they understanding of b-schools..!! Without gainin a name in the industry u cannot attract students..!!

Something like for a production house the wholesalers would be the customer while for the wholesalers, retailers would be the customer.. Each one is right at the end of the day..!! Its jst the focus which differs frm one 2 another..!!

[kr_m]

hallo
Happen to see friend reading post and jus was not able to stop giving my experience so i join fourm.I finish my MBA through DC School of Management and Technology in 2003 batch and happen to have good contact with what is happening in institute. Our Dean Sir Dr Sreekumar has fired consultant who brought to do brand building because he say that the student is the customer and refuse to accept that industry is customer .Sir Dr Sreekumar do a lot for my institute and is Dr. from IIM Ahmedabad so because of this may be the explaination that industry is customer is correct becauze if industry is customer then instute prepare us for industry so if industry is satisfie we get the job otherwise if industry is not satisfide then no job for us. unlike what kartik say if no industry then no management and no students because the industry pay students and also pay institute for comming for taking placement. So sometime if industry happy then even if student no so good he gets taken because industry as customer of institute is happy with institute. Also brand name of institute being built because company come to institute not because of student.

krm

[bips]

students are the customers...pity from a profession , its turned into a money making dcheme

[RC1327]

i think the companies are the customers in me because students churned out of mba b schools are their inputs in greater efficiency production and sales