Business Administration

This course covers the concepts, theories, and techniques of ecological innovation: Innovation within the context of the environment in which we live and are interconnected. The course is both theoretical and practical. It begins with a study of innovation. The idea of ecological innovation is explored and critiqued. Systems innovation is addressed as a core innovation process for ecological innovation, but other methods of innovation are also relevant. The latter part of the course is a group project applying an innovation methodology in a business context.  

This course focuses on important aspects of international financial management including the main characteristics of the international finance economics environment, the organization of foreign exchange markets, the role of various derivative instruments, and the origin and evolution of the current financial turmoil. 

This course introduces students to two key aspects of management in the external and internal environment. The first part, Understanding the Business Environment, analyses changes in key environmental forces, the impact of such changes on the objectives and structural form of organizations, and the implications on performance and for management. The second part, People and Organizations, looks at theoretical perspectives and practical problems in understanding people and work and how they are managed.

This course teaches theory and policies related to international transactions of goods and services. Lectures will be given on both the positive theory of the international division of labor that analyzes the pattern of international trade and the normative theory of trade-related policies that examines economic effects and welfare implication of government policies.

This course is designed to introduce students to classical and new topics in international trade from theoretical and empirical perspectives. It covers standard and academic materials commonly studied by economists in academia as well as international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. After successfully completing this course, students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of academic studies on international trade.

This course introduces students to consumer psychology, an area of psychology that examines how our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions affect how and what we purchase. Why do consumers select certain products over others? What makes one partake in impulsive purchasing? Is there any cultural difference in consumer behavior? 

As society becomes global, marketers need to consider global as well as glocal (globally local) strategies. To succeed in globalizing markets, how consumers perceive standardized or customized products and services must be studied. In this course, students are expected to learn about consumers' needs and/or motivations as well as effective approaches to cater to these needs/motivations. 

Two group presentations will be required in this course. 

Note: The courses provided in Spring and Fall are identical and hence students are allowed to register only for the Spring or Fall course, not both. 

Entrepreneurs who seize new business opportunities and launch startups have diverse backgrounds and motivations. This course consists of special lectures where senior entrepreneurs with various majors and active in various business fields are invited to interact with students. The entrepreneurs will talk about how their experiences in the university inspired them to start a business, what challenges and problems they faced during the startup process, and how they are solving them. It is not a formal entrepreneurial lecture, but a class where senior entrepreneurs who have studied in the same place as you and faced the same problems before you talk about how to seize and explore entrepreneurial opportunities. Through networking with senior entrepreneurs, students will be able to connect with the startup ecosystem. 

Topics in this financial management course include: capital budgeting; risk and return in long-term investments; financial investments and portfolio management.

This course introduces students to and explores the purpose, nature, and operation of the financial accounting function within businesses, particularly limited liability companies in the UK. It reveals, illustrates and explores how the financial accounting systems operate when tasked with measuring and recording the financial value of the transactions, events, and activities of a business. In so doing, it examines the nature and scope of financial accounting and the underlying conceptual framework of accounting conventions and standards. It further looks at the ratio analysis and associated interpretation of published financial statements from the perspectives of a range of differing users of financial accounting information. Accordingly, the course seeks to equip students with the knowledge, understanding, and skills to enable them to identify and record the financial value of business transactions, events and activities, and to generate financial information through the construction of balance sheets, income statements (profit statements) and cash flow statements, and through the use of financial ratios.

In this course, students learn to develop and present a business plan for a commercial or social enterprise within the creative economy. The course equips students with the tools and entrepreneurial skill to rigorously plan, resource, and deliver their own proposal or product launch, as well as articulate and communicate its relevance in a rapidly changing landscape. Students gain a range of sought-after hard and soft skills, across five key areas: market analysis, product or service design, branding, assessing resources, and an in-depth financial forecasting. Regular group and project-based activities help to foster an inclusive and entrepreneurial learning environment. Lectures, seminars, and panels led by specialists and leaders drawn from the commercial art, finance, and startup sectors also help students to generate entrepreneurial sparks to resolve some of the issues facing the contemporary art world. This course culminates in a “shark tank” event, where students present a unique idea to a panel of experts, offering opportunities for networking, advice, and potential investment.