Predictors of performance at business school and beyond : Demographic factors and the contrast between individual and group outcomes

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.