Welcome back and good afternoon from a sunny London. We hope you enjoyed the Easter holidays. Today, we bring you stories you may have missed while you were away. Also, find out which MBA schools are rated the best for organisational behaviour teaching.

Due to a UK national holiday, our newsletter will return on May 3 Tuesday.

Thank you for reading our Business School Briefing and have a great week — Wai Kwen Chan and Andrew Jack.

University admissions: Merit vs connections

Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, has striven to make entry into higher education more meritocratic. Daniels has banned “legacy admissions”, giving preferential access for students with family connections, a system that remains widespread among America’s elite.

“When we started talking about the way in which legacy seemed antithetical to the values of merit and equal opportunity, not surprisingly there were people who were concerned about what this would mean for our ability to attract philanthropic support and the devotion of the alumni to the university,” he says.

Will women leaders change the future of management?

The demographics of work and business are shifting rapidly — and the male-dominated model is overdue an overhaul. Read comments from experts at business schools, including Columbia’s Rita McGrath, Harvard’s Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Amy Edmondson, plus London Business School’s Lynda Gratton.

“If you’re not getting smart about how you not only bring women in but also how you keep them, you’re at a talent disadvantage in a major, major way,” says Rita McGrath.

Meet the new online learning entrepreneurs

While online MBAs and massive open online courses, or Moocs, offer free online classes backed by established universities, there is a rising wave of competing courses launched and marketed by solo entrepreneurs alone, without the might of a company or a university behind them. Learn more and find out how to launch your own online course.

IFSAM Inaugural Awards

Professor Tima Bansal from Ivey Business School, at Western University in Canada, and Professor emeritus Romain Laufer, HEC Paris, are joint winners of the inaugural award of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management for Excellence in Societally Relevant Management Scholarship. The award aims to “encourage scholars to prioritise research which serves society”.

Data line: Salaries — MBA vs Online MBAs

MBA alumni who completed a survey for our business school rankings, reveal what their salary was before starting business school and three years after completion. The average percentage increase in online MBA graduates’ salaries is under 70 per cent — 49 percentage points lower than the average salary increase for campus-based MBA graduates. The salary increase peaked in 2020 for participants of both degrees, write Leo Cremonezi and Sam Stephens.

When starting their studies, online MBA graduates are usually at a later stage in their career than MBA alumni. This can explain the higher starting salaries for Online MBA graduates, and why the wage increase is not as large.

Further analysis of the FT’s Online MBA 2022 ranking can be found here.

‘I have an MBA and cannot get a job’

One of our readers is an MBA graduate with expertise in ESG and work experience at a senior level in banking and consulting. He is now struggling to get a full-time job. Do you have any advice? Jonathan Black, director of the Careers Service at the University of Oxford, will give his views on May 2.

Climate game

If you were a global leader, would you be able to save the planet from the worst effects of climate change? Play our new game to find out.

Got an idea for a business book?

Take part in the FT’s Bracken Bower Prize, which aims to encourage young authors to tackle emerging business themes. Contestants must submit a 5,000 word proposal for a full-length business book. The prize awards £15,000 towards the research and eventual publication of the winning proposal. 

Help us find Britain’s healthiest workplace

Employers are invited to participate in the search to find Britain’s healthiest workplace. The study, founded by Vitality and backed by the Financial Times along with Rand Europe, the University of Cambridge and Aon, will explore the effects of the pandemic and broader factors influencing the health of employees.

Work and careers round-up

Workplace anxiety — and how to overcome it Feeling stressed or even fearful at work is increasingly common, but some simple techniques can help you manage it and support others.

How to handle a narcissist in the workplace The behaviour of the late publishing magnate Robert Maxwell provides an object lesson in the psychology of extreme power.

What you should know if you’re fiddling your expenses The pandemic has eased the scourge of fraudulent claims. Pilita Clark looks at dishonesty at work.

Are you up to date with the news?

Test yourself with 10 questions. Meta’s long-awaited plan to allow WhatsApp users to make payments to businesses in which South American country was delayed? Do you have the answer?

Most-read FT stories in the past week

UK households cancel streaming subscriptions in record numbers About 1.5mn accounts terminated within three months as inflation squeezes finances.

Elon Musk unveils $46.5bn financing package to fund Twitter bid Buyout group Thoma Bravo talking to Tesla chief about participating in takeover.

Vladimir Putin abandons hopes of Ukraine deal and shifts to land-grab strategy Russian president was considering settlement with Kyiv last month but now sees no prospect.

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