Predictors of Performance at Business School and Beyond

Reports on a study of MBA students (N = 362) at a major international business school which looked at the predictors of performance in management education. Considers not only GMAT but also age, gender, language proficiency, marital status and work experience as predictors of performance. Questions the use of individual grades in assessing performance since much work in both business schools and the business community is done in groups. Therefore, an analysis of the performance of students in groups was also carried out. Results support the relationship between GMAT and age, and individual performance, and more importantly show a predictive ability for language proficiency and marital status. Significantly, no predictors of group performance were found. Overall, the performance of groups was better than the performance of individuals. Discusses the implications of these results.

[1]  Drew Lathin,et al.  The skilled facilitator: Practical wisdom for developing effective groups , 1997 .

[2]  Joseph G. P. Paolillo,et al.  The Predictive Validity of Selected Admissions Variables Relative to Grade Point Average Earned in a Master of Business Administration Program , 1982 .

[3]  John P. Kotter,et al.  The New Rules: How to Succeed in Today's Post-Corporate World , 1995 .

[4]  Glenn H. Varney,et al.  Building productive teams : an action guide and resource book , 1989 .

[5]  Warren E. Watson,et al.  Cultural diversity''s impact on interaction process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diver , 1993 .

[6]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Business Without Bosses: How Self-Managing Teams Are Building High- Performing Companies , 1993 .

[7]  Donald E. Powers,et al.  The Predictive Validity of Preadmission Measures in Graduate Management Education: Three Years of the GMAC Validity Study Service. , 1982 .

[8]  D. Relles,et al.  Foreign student academic performance in U.S. Graduate schools: Insights from American MBA programs☆ , 1991 .

[9]  Lawrence D. Graham,et al.  Predicting Academic Success of Students in a Master of Business Administration Program , 1991 .

[10]  P. Goodman.  Groups That Work (and Those That Don't)Groups That Work (and Those That Don't) by Hackman Richard. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991, 512 pp. , 1992 .

[11]  Charles A. O'Reilly,et al.  Working Smarter and Harder: A Longitudinal Study of Managerial Success , 1994 .

[12]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Cumulative evidence of the relationship between employee age and job performance. , 1989 .

[13]  Jamal Abedi,et al.  Predicting Graduate Academic Success from Undergraduate Academic Performance: A Canonical Correlation Study , 1991 .

[14]  Robert D. Bretz,et al.  College Grade Point Average as a Predictor of Adult Success: A Meta-Analytic Review and Some Additional Evidence , 1989 .

[15]  Richard F. Deckro,et al.  M.B.A. ADMISSION CRITERIA AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS , 1977 .

[16]  Jon R. Katzenbach,et al.  The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization , 1992 .

[17]  David G. Mathiasen.  Groups that work (and those that Don't): Creating Conditions for Effective Teamwork, edited by J. Richard Hackman. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass 1990, 512 pp. Price: $39.95 cloth , 1991 .

[18]  A. Zander.  Making Groups Effective , 1982 .