Business Administration

The course focuses on the role of banks and other financial institutions. The course discusses (1) the main types of financial institutions and the risks they face; (2) banks’ liquidity management and systemic risk; (3) the regulatory framework, with particular emphasis on capital requirements and the resolution framework, and the relationship with accounting; (4) executive compensation; and (5) the challenges for the financial industry due to the low interest rate environment and the Covid-19 crisis. Particular attention is devoted to the European banking industry throughout the course. The course discusses topics including commercial and investment banks: Activities and challenges; financial risks; liquidity and systemic risk; interconnectedness between banks and mutual funds and hedge funds: implications for systemic risk; executive compensation; capital, liquidity, and macro-prudential regulation; the relationship between accounting and prudential regulation; bank resolution framework and state aid; low interest rate environment (LIRE); and post Covid-19: main events and the future of banking.

This course provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of audit and assurance practices, in relation to the regulatory framework. It discusses the role, principles, and limits of audit and assurance, and students learn to assess internal controls and apply the audit procedures for detecting material misstatements or fraud in financial statements. Students also discuss the professional values of auditing and learn to apply them to specific cases. Students demonstrate problem solving skills and develop reasoned arguments by applying concepts and frameworks to case studies.

Dynamics in the Chinese financial markets has attracted much international attention. This course provides an understanding of how the Chinese financial markets originated and developed, what reforms have been done, the difficulties in future reforms, and possible steps the government would take in the next five years. Starting with a comprehensive introduction, the course covers the major financial markets in China, including the central bank and the banking system, the stock market, the bond market and the foreign exchange market. Each market is an individual topic, for which the course first reviews the fundamental concepts and theories, explains the history and facts in China, presents examples and cases, and talks about the future reforms. 

This course examines cities rich in cultural heritages and develops a theoretical framework to understand the development of city culture for city destinations. Through field trips to the main cultural attractions in a city, students are required to analyze the development plans and marketing strategies for these destinations. This course will be Integrating current concepts, research findings and several best-practice case studies, students will gain an understanding of the highly broad and complex web of the culture resources in China. 

One of the important trends of modern business is globalization. Organizations, particularly multinational corporations, are continuously expanding across national borders. This course focuses on multinational corporations as a context in which issues in managing the globalization of an organization are examined. It covers both the macro and the micro aspect of global business management. The macro aspect involves the considerations of the various contexts of the host nation, including the legal, economic and cultural. The micro aspect involves the internal operating environment of the organization, including organizational culture and structure, staffing and training needs, and dealing with business partners across national borders. Regional examples are emphasized. 

The International Internship course develops vital business skills employers are actively seeking in job candidates. This course is comprised of two parts: an internship, and a hybrid academic seminar. Students are placed in an internship within a sector related to their professional ambitions. The hybrid academic seminar, conducted both online and in-person, analyzes and evaluates the workplace culture and the daily working environment students experience. The course is divided into eight career readiness competency modules as set out by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which guide the course’s learning objectives. During the academic seminar, students reflect weekly on their internship experience within the context of their host culture by comparing and contrasting their experiences with their global internship placement with that of their home culture. Students reflect on their experiences in their internship, the role they have played in the evolution of their experience in their internship placement, and the experiences of their peers in their internship placements. Students develop a greater awareness of their strengths relative to the career readiness competencies, the subtleties and complexities of integrating into a cross-cultural work environment, and how to build and maintain a career search portfolio.

This course examines brand management from a corporate and commercial perspective. It is a study of the historical evolution of brands, their main components, how they are managed and built, and how they communicate. This course also analyzes the primary models of brand evaluation.