N Issue 1 - December 2014

1

To majority of the candidates pursuing an MBA programme, one of the objectives is on how to discover opportunities required for the ever-changing career environment, and be able to harness the power of knowledge. The interview with the Dean of the College of Business provides an interesting, yet, different perspective on the newly restructured MBA programme that has an ambition goal, which will ultimately lead to a new era in MBA education.

When being asked on the strategic priorities of the College of Business, Professor Houmin Yan has a strongly focused vision to making an impact, continue to becoming a regional business education hub, and running an internationally competitive MBA programme for the business leaders, the restructuring has been quite successful. One of the priority challenges of the MBA programme has been working on the quality of the students, and we have been actively pursuing top candidates on a global scale with attractive scholarships available. The future direction of the CityU MBA must be comparable with top-ranked MBA programme in the world, resources have been allocated in high priority to provide the state-of-the-art learning facilities for the students and the world-class teaching team. Industry exposure and international exchange are the keys to success in the MBA programme, the UC Berkeley linkage is one of the examples to providing the students a unique learning experience which is also one of the strategies in restructuring our MBA.

In this Issue

1. Looking Forward: Fostering Opportunities and Career Changes with World Class MBA Experience

2. Interview with the MBA Programme Director

3. Official Welcome to 2014 MBA Participants

4. Summer at UC Berkeley

5. Business in Practice – MBA Enterprise Diagnostic Residential Trip

6. The Adventure of Leadership

7. Energise your Career

8. Campus Life – Establishment of Student Clubs

9. Congregation of MBA Participants

Looking Forward:Fostering Opportunities and Career Changes with World Class MBA Experience

Professor Houmin YanDean

NIssue 1 - December 2014

2

Interview with the MBA Programme Director

Professor Kevin ChiangMBA Programme Director

You may have noticed that our CityU MBA programme has gone through major changes in the past couple of years. Through interviewing with the Programme Director, Professor Kevin Chiang, we understand that developing the elements of SHARP (S = Software, H = Hardware, A = Alumni, R = Recruitment, P = Placement) has been the strategic plan to make CityU MBA one of the top programmes worldwide. We strive to create an exceptional learning and networking environment with world class Software, state-of-the-art Hardware, and well connected Alumni to boost Recruitment of global talents seeking promising opportunities for career advancement and Placement, says Professor Chiang.

Beefing up programme curriculum and providing career development services to students and alumni are particularly important. Our newly established MBA Career Centre aims to assist our participants in planning and achieving their career goals throughout the study. In terms of curriculum, five concentration areas in Accounting, Finance, Information Management, Marketing and Supply Chain Management were added into the curriculum with the purpose of equipping our participants with relevant skillsets for career advancement. According to Professor Chiang, he will continuously review and revise the programme curriculum to provide our participants with current knowledge which looks behind the technical and analytical skills to the successful strategies used by managers in arriving at and implementing decisions for the rapid transformations in today’s marketplace and organizations. The objective is to help our MBA participants to stay competitive in the dynamically changing business environment.

With the recruitment exercise started from mid-November 2014, Professor Chiang and the MBA team will continue to meet with potential participants all over the world. We hope to continue attracting quality students with the aspiration to be high flyers into the programme so as to further contribute to the business community, says Professor Chiang. CityU MBA newsletter will be published periodically in order to keep a closer link with you.

NIssue 1 - December 2014

Official Welcome to 2014 MBA Participants

To mark the beginning of a new journey for 2014 cohort MBA participants, a successful Orientation Programme was held on 23 August 2014. Professor Kevin Chiang, MBA Programme Director kick started the event with an official welcoming speech and a presentation on the importance of Goal Setting, and how the carefully designed programmes will enable participants to acquire both knowledge and skills required to attain their goals. Professor Paul Lowry, Associate Programme Director then addressed participants on various opportunities to go abroad, for example, Cultural Exchange and Triangle Exchange Programmes. Apart from preparing participants for classroom learning, career planning will be emphasised in the programme too. Finally Mrs Chiamin Fung, Business Manager introduced services that are available in the MBA Career Centre. She encouraged participants to have an early career head start in the programme for a positive impact on their long-term career goals.

The afternoon session consisted of a learning group meeting and a team-building workshop. Participants were firstly divided into groups so that they could utilise the opportunity to get to know their learning partners, the background and interests of other fellow participants. Next a team building activity evaluated their communication and teamwork skills. Participants were required to build a Tower with limited resources so as to strengthen their goal setting and enhance their team spirit.

Professor Houmin Yan, Dean of the College of Business gave a welcoming speech to the new cohort in the evening. Participants, staff members, and representatives from the MBA Alumni Association then had a buffet dinner held on 19/F in the AC3 building. The participants, who were pleased to meet their learning partners and academic staff of programme, were thrilled about their new learning journey.

3

The MBA Orientation event is an important initiative for student transition to MBA study at the City University of Hong Kong. It provides an important introduction to some of the essential supporting services that we are offering to participants, and will provide recommendations for the development of academic skills required to succeed at the postgraduate level. Perhaps the most important aspect of the programme is the valuable opportunity to meet with your fellow participants and our faculty staff.

NeIssue 1 - December 2014

Summer at UC BerkeleyThe Residential Summer Programme is an exciting and unique opportunity for CityU MBA participants to mingle in an international setting by staying at the UC Berkeley campus for a 7-day Entrepreneurship & Business Plan Development Programme and a 5-day Innovative Management for Global Business Programme from 28 July to 7 August 2014 and 11 to 15 August 2014 respectively.

4

Entrepreneurship & Business Plan Development ProgrammeExposure to innovative business thinking in the bay area: The course leader, David Charron from Haas School of Business kick-started the programme by introducing Silicon Valley’s innovation and entrepreneurship culture for participants to acquire an in-depth understanding of the business environment in the bay area. Through detailed explanation, practical examples of various corporations, visits of large and small companies and sharing of local entrepreneurs, participants were able to see how new ventures, customers and venture capital can relate to each other.

Essentials of entrepreneurship and business management: Participants were divided into groups for interactive activities to learn the essence of entrepreneurship and develop their respective business models. They were given a framework which provided them with a “hands on” tool to create a business plan by refining ideas, developing the opportunity and planning, as well as delivering business venture. In a stimulating and informative setting, participants were asked to construct a prototype on a business and present their ideas to potential customers to find out their needs through feedback on the product. Concepts on financial management to better understand the capital requirements of a company and dealing with investors were also discussed. Participants were allocated time to conduct interviews with potential customers and have oral presentation practice to engage their audience.

Exchange with entrepreneurs of large and small companies: Participants had visited four companies in San Francisco, namely New Avenue, Autodesk, QB3 and Google Glass. They were excited to learn about the business model of each company, sharing their experience, and tryingout the newly developed Google Glass to test its functions. At the same time, participants had also met with a panel of entrepreneurs to discuss their experiences in starting and running their ventures. While they found the conversation fruitful and constructive, they also discussed the difficulties panel members were facing. Lastly, a panel of four judges, experienced entrepreneurs in town, attended the final sharing / ‘deliverable’ by participants before providing valuable comments and feedback to them that might be of help when launching a business in the future.

NeIssue 1 - December 2014

The first Residential Trip beyond China for CityU MBA programme was well-received by participants who enjoyed their learning at UC Berkeley, the organization of the programme and undoubtedly, the invaluable sharing of experienced entrepreneurs who have survived the ups and down in the running of a business.

5

Innovative Management for Global Business

It is the 7th Summer that CityU had offered the 5-day advanced management programme in collaboration with the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Participants from MBA, EMBA, DBA and a few taught postgraduate participants from the College of Business, gathered in the Executive Education Seminar Room, were all excited to meet and learn from faculties from Haas. The programme focused on Innovation and Marketing which provided participants with the ideas, knowledge, and practical tools in building a better business in general. Led by Faculty Director, Professor Lynn Upshaw, the programme started with the emphasis on global marketplace and market strategies.

Global strategies, innovation and entrepreneurship were then introduced to the group before company visits to Google and Intel. Participants were delighted to have a chance to visit the world famous corporations in Silicon Valley and learn about the corporate culture and development of the companies in their headquarters. In sunny California, participants posed for photographs with classmates outside the companies and explored the surrounding environment.

Participants were also engaged in the beer game, a stimulation game which enabled participants to understand the key principles and advantages of taking an integrated approach to supply chain management. Pricing in the global marketplace and brand marketing were also introduced. The programme concluded with participants’ presentation and a summing up by Professor Upshaw.

Participants were pleased with the well-structured programme which provides them with practical business skills and field specific knowledge.

NeIssue 1 - December 2014

A group of 54 participants, consisting 47 of CityU MBAs and 7 participants from Indiana University, decided to take up the challenge of completing the in-company diagnostic project within 10 days. The group that departed from Hong Kong on 15 June 2014, flew to “Lianyungang”, a city in the north-eastern Jiangsu province of China. The group, including MBA participants, trip leader and academic and industry supervisors, was well received by a their host company, “Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Ltd” upon arrival. Hengrui Medicine is a national pharmaceutical giant listed under the Shanghai Stock Exchange (600276) with offices located in various cities of China and New Jersey, United States.

6

Business in Practice – MBA Enterprise Diagnostic Residential Trip

Team Up and Preparation Work

The in-company diagnostic project comprised two major topics. Prior to departure from Hong Kong, CityU participants formed teams to discuss, analyse, and provide recommendations for two major topics that were Operations Management and Human Resources.

With the aim of equipping our participants with core consultancy and investigative skills, and providing an opportunity for an in-depth exploration of business or management problems, participants had performed a detailed industry analysis as a pre-trip preparation exercise. The industry analysis aimed to strengthen participants’ understanding of key factors for success and defining the criteria to evaluate the company. Based on the main topic and targeted functional area, they had speculated a list of business operation problems that the host company’s management team might be going through.

Interview and Investigation

Upon arriving in Lianyungang, participants started interviewing a wide range of internal stakeholders in Hengrui’s Medicine, including selected employees, team leaders, department heads, and members of the management team. While interviewing the large group of key players, participants were required to perform a 360-degree examination on the company’s operation by identifying their strengths, key issues for improvements and potential development opportunities. Through the processes of information and data collection, non-stop discussions on findings and comprehensive analysis of issues and problems, under the guidance provided of academic and industry supervisors, there were many opportunities for participants to apply for a wide spectrum of academic knowledge and understanding of key business concepts and strategies in practical context. A recognition banquet dinner was organized on the first day with the aim of expressing our sincere appreciation to Hengrui Medicine. At the banquet, participants also seized the opportunity to network with Henguri’ staff members, learn more about their views on daily operations and vision on company’s development.

NeIssue 1 - December 2014

7

What Our MBAs have Achieved

After a 3-day intensive interview and investigation process that entailed working closely with team members, participants recommended ways for solving issues or capturing opportunities as well as implementing specific plans based on the recommendations. After several days and nights of hard work, a preliminary proposal was prepared and presented to each team’s supervisor. Our academic and industry supervisors had contributed significantly in guiding participants to craft the project scope, providing insights on cutting edge management practice throughout the process. The final presentation with strategic recommendations and concrete implementation plans with the aim of helping Henguri Medicine in accelerating their strategic priorities was presented to their top management team on 23 June 2014. Henguri Medicine was very responsive to the inspiring ideas and the set of recommendations and implementation plans generated by our MBA participants.

The Adventure of LeadershipExecutive Discovery & Network, aims to provide participants with a platform to rejuvenate themselves, update and expand their business knowledge. Business practitioners and renowned speakers were invited to share their real-life experience and perspectives on today’s business world. Participants were given opportunities to interview the renowned speakers not only on how to build a career, but also how to thrive in it, as well as the secret for their great achievement. Starting from September 2014, there are 7 Executive & Discovery Network sessions to be organised. Stay tune with us and we will provide more updates soon.

Energise your CareerDefining career vision and being energised all the time are keys to success in a career. Throughout MBA programme, a range of career services and resources will be provided to help participants to refine their goals. A series of workshops, rolled out in 2014, covers topics such as strategic career development, financial industry outlook, communication and networking strategies, resume writing and interview skills. These workshops aim to facilitate participants who are completing their studies and particularly, full time participants who are planning to re-enter the workforce.

Campus Life – Establishment of Student ClubsBeing involved in alumni association and student clubs is a great way to establish connection with MBA participants and alumni to build leadership skills, enable meeting with more people and having fun. In 2014, two new Student Clubs have established, they are Marketing Club and Sports Club. The Marketing Club aims to provides participants including current students and alumni to share their news and knowledge in terms of business marketing and branding and the Sports Club aims to connect participants via various sport activities, in order to create more and more networking opportunities. Both Marketing Club and Sports Club have organised a number of activities including company visits, industry sharing sessions, sports and networking events. Joining the alumni association and student club is the best way for meeting people who share your interests and reaching out to members of the CityU MBA community.

NeIssue 1 - December 2014

A celebratory atmosphere filled the campus of the City University of Hong Kong on 13 November for the 2014 Congregation. Guests, colleagues, alumni, MBA graduates and families have attended the congregation which was hosted by the Dean of College of Business, Professor Houmin Yan. Professor Yan has addressed to the congregation, he first expressed sincere congratulations to the graduates, recognising their outstanding achievement in completing the MBA degree, encouraged our graduates to be committed and optimistic in their careers, followed by a themed talk “The 21st century, whether we are living at a tipping points, a time when there is to be a new dawn of civilization”. The 2014 Congregation was a special event celebrated the hard work and dedication students have shown during their studies, but also a first event as an alumni of the City University of Hong Kong. MBA graduates received the official degree certificate, celebrated and pictured down the best moments at every corner of the campus with their friends and family.

Here are some of the graduates pictured with the MBA Programme Director, Professor Kevin Chiang and at the congregation.

Congregation of MBA Participants

We wish the 2014 graduates every success in their careers. There are great reasons to continue the CityU experience by joining our alumni network, stay connected with us!!

www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/mba

8

14/F, Academic 3,City University of Hong Kong

Tel: 3442-5909 Fax: 3442-0151E-mail: mba@cityu.edu.hk

MBA OfficeCollege of Business