GISMA Business School Full-Time MBA

Mauricio13
New Member



Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 1
Location: North America

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:26 pm

 

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I would like to share my personal experience at GISMA Full-Time MBA at GISMA Business School in Hannover Germany. I am a GISMA alumni.

GISMA misleads potential MBA candidates by doing clever marketing. It sells its MBA as a top notch program with Purdue University. Truth is, GISMA has multiple shortcomings. The program is extremely quantitative but scores very poorly when it comes to soft skills and networking which are extremely important in an MBA. Furthermore, GISMA lacks true MBA ambience. The school is very small; networking non existent. If it were not enough, it's not easy to find a more boring place than Hannover.

However, the most serious aspect about GISMA is the way it recruits MBAs. It has a deliberate policy of recruiting students who lack leadership, ideas, and entrepreneurial desire; who will be contented with low level positions in German multinational companies. Most of the students come from underdeveloped countries / regions such as India, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, etc., and it is no coincidence. GISMA selects students from these parts of the world because it is consistent with its strategy of finding low cost labor for German companies. It never chooses candidates from developed countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Japan, etc. because people from these countries expect higher salaries. The exceptions being German and American students. The latter serve the function of being the link between foreign students and the multinationals. German and American students are oftentimes in the "Dean's List" and secretly enjoy special privileges. On a lighter note, the academic director is the best example of what a manager shouldn't be. She is not involved and doesn't show interest in student concerns or disposition to help. She completely lacks people skills and is not liked by the vast majority of MBA students (some will not recognize this out of fear). Ironically, she is a GISMA MBA graduate. Furthermore, GISMA is in a very bad financial situation. The Dean even bothered to travel from the States to inform the class of 2008 the possibility of GISMA closing next year. In the mean time, German companies have agreed to continue to subsidize GISMA. However, this is by no means a guarantee of its long term viability. This is bad news particularly for candidates applying to GISMA in the future without knowing the risk it implies.

In conclusion, GISMA is definitely not a good business school. It is misleading in its advertising and the Full-Time MBA program has multiple failures. But the worst part about GISMA are its students. Most lack leadership, entrepreneurship, soft skills, and even social skills. Participation is discouraged even if they deny it. Their policy of choosing students lacking leadership, vision, and all of the above qualities is pathetic. GISMA is not a business school for leaders. It is a school for low level employees.

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Karyn Gonzales
New Member



Joined: 19 Jul 2008
Posts: 1
Location: Hannover

Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:34 pm

 

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This is a direct reaction to the post made by Mauricio regarding the Purdue MBA Program at GISMA.

I am a member of GISMA MBA Class of 2008 and I say that the statements made by "Mauricio" are ridiculous.

The statements made in this post are false and I am going to address each and every one of them.

1) The program being extremely quantitative is a shortcoming:

I really do not see why this is a problem. I even think that this is one of the strengths of the program. Finance, Accounting, Quant Methods – are basic skills that an MBA must have to succeed in today’s business environment and the Purdue MBA program at GISMA really makes sure you got this nailed. If you’re weak in this area, then this program might not be for you.

2) But scores very poorly when it comes to soft skills and networking:

I totally disagree. There were plenty of opportunities to network. There were MBA Career Fairs, Company Presentations, Company Field Trips, and Dinners with Alumni. There were also a lot Electives focused on the development of soft skills, i.e. Leadership, Negotiations, Cross-Cultural Management, Managerial Communications, etc.

3) Furthermore, GISMA lacks true MBA ambience. The school is very small.

What GISMA had, which is having a small class of 48, shows that the school is highly selective. Also, a small class has the benefit of more student-professor interaction and more opportunity to participate in class discussions. Thus, you get exposed to a lot of ideas from different perspectives making discussions a whole lot richer. This is what I experienced and I really have no clue why this is a problem.

4) If it were not enough, it's not easy to find a more boring place than Hannover.

This is highly subjective. A big city like NY or Hong Kong can be boring if you don’t have friends at all. I never found Hannover to be boring because there were always friends to hang-out with. Also, there were plenty of things to do with friends, like hang-out in the lake, barbeque in the park, hang-out in beer gardens, play football or badminton, clubbing, etc.

5) The way it recruits MBAs (more from under-developed countries than developed countries):

I think GISMA admits students based on a very clear set of criteria. If the best qualified applicants turned-out to be mostly from developing countries, I really don’t see why that is a problem. A good mind is a good mind; it doesn’t matter where it came from. And the claim that GISMA recruits students from developing countries in order to provide low cost labour for German companies is just ridiculous!

6) German and American students are oftentimes in the "Dean's List" and secretly enjoy special privileges.

Students who WORK HARD get rewarded to be in the “Dean’s List” regardless of country of origin. For the Class of 2008, they come from – Germany, Croatia, Romania, Mexico, Philippines, India, Bulgaria, Moldova, Colombia, and the States. Each one of them deserved to be there.

7) The academic director is the best example of what a manager shouldn't be.

I think this is a very unfair statement. Mauricio couldn’t have been in a position that allowed him/her to develop a reliable opinion on this matter.

8) That most students lack leadership, entrepreneurship, soft skills, and even social skills.

This is not what I observed. This class is full of future leaders and entrepreneurs. I really have no idea where “Mauricio” got this notion.

Again, I say that the statements made by "Mauricio" are ridiculous.

If you are a prospective MBA student, I trust that you are smart enough NOT to form an opinion about GISMA based on his/her statements

Yours Sincerely,

Karyn Gonzales (Philippines)
MBA 2008 / GISMA Business School

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GoranCalic
New Member



Joined: 08 Aug 2008
Posts: 1

Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 2:23 pm

 

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I disagree with the original poster. GISMA offers a great learning experiance.

The faculty are top notch and the students are friendly. I would highly recommend the school to anyone looking for an MBA education.

Now with the Hannover University partnership, future students get a German and America degree.something I missed out on.

Highly recommended!

Goran Calic
MBA 2007 (Canada)

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