Business Administration

The world has evolved into a “new normal” after COVID-19. In this rapidly changing environment, how do multinationals deal with the changes and how are they being sustainable? 

This course provides a tool to evaluate the core values of international business activities based on the various dimensions of factors, thereby fostering individual perspectives to analyze the implications of corporate internationalization activities in this changing environment. Further, the course explores the significance of sustainable management and discusses how firms should pursue sustainability in line with environmental changes. 

The first half of the course discusses theory and concepts related to international business, providing analytical background to enhance the understanding of the global business environment. The topics cover the external environment, including national differences, the global financial market, and governmental policy. This approach enables one to understand why multinational firms operate “differently” in the globally integrated world economy. 

The second half of the course studies the strategies of multinationals. Building upon the conceptual knowledge of the external environment, the course specifically focuses on how global firms plan and implement their firm-level and function-level international business strategy. 

This course aims to equip future managers with the tools of economics that can help them think strategically and make better decisions. The entire course is divided into two parts. 

Part 1: The Basics

The first part of the course covers building blocks of managerial economics: supply & demand, theory of the firm, costs and cost curves, profit maximization, firm’s pricing and market structure (perfect competition, monopoly, and oligopoly). It also introduces tools to analyze the welfare associated with market outcomes. 

Part 2: Economics of Strategy 

The second part of the course discusses a firm’s strategic interactions with rivals in the face of various market structures and market imperfections. It starts with basic game theory to give an insight to the strategic interactions between rival companies in oligopolistic settings. The conditions under which cooperation can take place are also discussed. Then, it moves on to topics related to information economics where information asymmetry plays a key role. Topics include the insurance market where adverse selection is a big problem, and managerial compensation where moral hazard is a major issue. The course concludes with a discussion of firm’s external environment in the current macro-economy.

This course draws upon an understanding of organizational behavior to examine the techniques and practice of human resource management (HRM). It identifies the difference between personnel and HRM, describes the major functional areas within HRM, articulates the importance of a strategic HR perspective, identifies some of the key skills required for current HRM practice, explains how HR initiatives can add value to the bottom line, and teaches critical thinking when presented with current HR issues. Topics include the strategic role of HRM, job analysis and the legal environment in Hong Kong, HR planning and recruitment, employee testing and selection, interviewing, training and development, performance management and appraisal, career development, compensation and benefits, labor relations and disciplining, and employee safety and health. Assessment: class participation (20%), group project and presentation (50%), individual assignments and end-of-term test (30%).

This course analyzes advanced management practices in complex business environments and offers a comprehensive introduction to Lean Management, a model derived from the diffusion of the principles and tools originally developed at the Toyota Motor Company. The course emphasizes the organizational, managerial, and human aspects of Lean Thinking and illustrates its adoption in a variety of industries and business functions. It analyzes how firms should design and implement lean systems and offers a framework to undertake and sustain lean transformations. It illustrates how the adoption of Lean Thinking principles and tools affect managerial decision making and problem solving, eliminating waste and variability. It also elaborates on recent trends such as the application of lean thinking to innovation (Lean Product and Process Development), to entrepreneurship (Lean Startup Method), to sustainability (Lean & Green), as well as its connection to the Agile movement.

The course covers essential parts of Human Resources Management, including leadership and culture, recruitment, learning, performance management, rewards, and employee engagement. In addition, it includes latest Human Resources Management trends such as Technology in HR, Employee Experience, DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), and ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance). Future of Work is also discussed in depth. 

This course focuses on understanding the field of new product development and innovation from a marketing perspective. It is designed to gain an understanding of the important theories and conceptual frameworks for new product marketing as well as the tools and techniques to prepare a logical and reliable marketing plan for a new product.
 

This course takes an applied approach and focuses on applying conceptual learning to cases and projects. It will be taught through a combination of interactive lectures, class discussions, interactive activities and seminars, case studies, and team projects. 

This course examines topics pertaining to the music industry and developing a career in music, including: business models, budgeting and financial planning, accounting and taxation, agents, representatives and consultants, contracts and agreements, licensing, rights and rights management, managing human resources, building and working with teams.

This course provides students with a knowledge of the legal framework that supports employment relations. Topics covered include: sources of labor law; (union) representation of workers; collective bargaining; concept and characteristics of labor contracts; labor provisions; termination; labor administration and jurisdiction; the Spanish social security system; protections and benefits of social security.

This course is an introduction to the strategic management of modern diversified firms. It studies how the firm’s portfolio of products and its internal organization can be designed to maximize corporate performance. The focus of this course is on the strategic plan for managing a diversified firm. It studies how the firm portfolio of products and its internal organization can be designed to maximize corporate performance. It combines in a unified framework the study of two separate but complementary issues: the opportunities and challenges afforded by the firm’s external environment, and the resources and capabilities arising from the firm’s internal environment.