HKUST Business School [SBM] Newsletter (Issue 21)

Abstract

[evdate 2004-05-15] HKUST Business School HKUST Business School Newsletter Issue 21 From the Dean

As most of you know the Business School has just announced that it would explore the idea of a deep collaboration with the business school of the University of Hong Kong. The intention of this collaboration is to combine the forces of both schools to establish a world-class business education brand for Hong Kong. The two business schools have begun work in putting together a joint working group that will have representatives from both the faculty and students to study the concept. The group will complete its report by the end of the year. Since the news announcement, we have received many views and suggestions. We are encouraged by the positive feedback, as reported in the media, to the concept of establishing a Hong Kong Business School that would combine the strength of both institutions and play a significant role in fulfilling Hong Kong"s aspiration in becoming a major regional educational hub. The working group will certainly take into account the views and concerns which have been expressed. Your continual support and advice will be crucial to us in exploring the idea. As always, we welcome your input and will keep you posted on the progress of this initiative. K.C. Chan Dean May 2004

Laureate"s World of Opportunity Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith (inset) had a message of hope for his audience at a luncheon held at the Marriott Hotel to mark the Center for Experimental Business Research"s second Asian conference. But he also sounded a warning about what might happen if the world fails to work together. Prof Smith believes strongly in the benefits of exchange and markets, especially in a global context. Without them, we cannot engage in task and knowledge specialization, he said. With them, the future looks bright. 'It is this specialization that is the secret of all wealth creation. There is no other sustainable source of human betterment. We all function simultaneously in more than one world of exchange,' Prof Smith told guests. 'Those worlds overlap, as we live first in a world of personal exchange - trading favors and friendship and of building reputations based on trust and trustworthiness in small groups and families and, second, in a world of impersonal exchange - where communication and cooperation gradually emerged in trade with strangers - through markets.' Prof Smith, who was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize for Economics, divided these into commodity and service markets, giving examples of how both benefit society through the diversity of their makeup and functions. 'The power of diversity to be extended and to serve human betterment depends vitally on exchange, both personal exchange, in our intimate groupings, and impersonal exchange through markets,' he said. He had no doubts about their importance. 'Without markets we would indeed be poor, miserable, brutish and ignorant; if some were less poor it would be because of conquest, theft, taking without giving in return, which can be sustained only for as long as there are others to conquer,' Prof Smith said. The professor"s warning came at the conclusion of his speech. After emphasizing that globalization is nothing new, rather a modern word describing ancient human movement - 'a word for humankind"s search for betterment, and the worldwide expansion of resource specialization, which is determined by the extent of market development' - he ended by quoting another famous thinker. 'It [globalization] is a good word - a peaceful word. In the wise pronouncement of the great French economist, Bastiat; "If goods don"t cross borders, soldiers will

HKUST Business School Dean: K.C. Chan Associate Deans: Gary Biddle, Steve DeKrey, Kar Yan Tam Newsletter Editors: Elaine Chu, May Hung Sub-editor: Patrick Megan Writers: Charles Anderson, Kathy Griffin

Contact us: bmpr@ust.hk Fax: (852) 2358 1467 Website: www.bm.ust.hk ? 2004 by the HKUST Business School. All rights reserved.

Conference Call for Researchers Thirty-two top-class researchers from around the world gave their audience at the second Asian conference, organized by the Center for Experimental Business Research (cEBR), ample proof of the relevance of their innovative work to firms, corporations and government agencies. Over four days at HKUST in December, they offered to share their experience and conclusions in a wide variety of areas - most with an economic, management or marketing focus - which have resulted from the kind of experimental methodology that is gaining increasing global recognition through their use in company strategies. Nobel Laureate Professor Vernon Smith of George Mason University, who inaugurated the Center in 1998, gave the keynote address at this second event, offering his views on Innovative Markets: Managing Economies to Organizing States. The aim was to catalyze the development and use of laboratory methods to business and government in Hong Kong, Mainland China and beyond, said cEBR Director Professor Rami Zwick.

2 News New International Scholarly Journal on Management A new journal on organizational management focusing on firms in China has been launched with joint sponsorship from HKUST and Peking University. Management and Organization Review is intended to provide an outlet for the growing body of research into the diverse and rapidly changing business environment of this emerging powerhouse economy. 'The complexity of China"s economy, geography, and legal, social, and cultural institutions may force us to rethink fundamental questions about the nature of organizations and their management, including how enterprises adapt to rapidly changing, complex, and turbulent environments and how they simultaneously manage relationships with government, compete ferociously at home, and develop the capabilities needed to compete globally,' the editors write in their introduction. The journal will publish high-quality academic research that delves into these questions, as well as general issues about management and organization, according to the editor-in-chief, Professor Anne Tsui. 'As a developing global economy, there is a great need for more systematic scientific research about business management in China,' she says.'We need the knowledge from high quality scientific research to educate the future business leaders of China and to advance management practices.' The journal is the official outlet of The International Association for Chinese Management Research, set up two years ago to promote research in this area. The association"s inaugural conference will be held in June in Beijing, and the first issue of the journal will be published to coincide with that event. The conference is co-sponsored by HKUST, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University and the National Natural Science Foundation. Management and Organization Review will be published by Blackwell Publishing and feature five high quality English-language papers per issue. Anne Tsui

Outsiders on the Inside Talk about pulling power. When the Business School launched a recruitment drive to attract more undergraduates from outside Hong Kong, it met with an overwhelming response. Hundreds of qualified students replied, many from Mainland China, and the School may try to increase its quota of non-Hong Kong students, Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Programs, Professor Kar Yan Tam, says. The government this year raised the quota of students allowed from outside Hong Kong to eight per cent, from four per cent in previous years. About 650-700 new undergraduates are admitted to the Business School each year, so there would be places available for 50 to 60 outsiders. 'The advantages for these students is that they can have a modern business management education in Hong Kong and enjoy a lot of opportunities. A number of Mainland students find jobs here and after a few years become Hong Kong citizens, which is good for Hong Kong. These students are the very best from China and we want to retain their talents here,' he says. 'The advantages for HKUST is that admitting these students helps to increase the diversity in the student body.' A key objective of the School is to have an international student body, which is already evident at the MBA and EMBA level. Now the focus is on the undergraduate student body, where non-local student numbers are low, Professor Tam says. Applications from the Mainland have been received in small numbers over the past two years, but this is the first year a full-scale recruitment drive has been launched. Information sessions were held earlier this spring in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen and were well-attended. Professor Tam and Professor Thomas Wong, Director of China Program Development, also held information sessions in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, where the numbers were smaller but the quality of students very high. Representatives will be sent to an education exposition in Denmark to promote the School"s undergraduate programs.

'Admitting these students helps to increase the diversity in the student body.'

At Your Service Undergraduate students donned the costumes of favorite cartoon characters and took to the streets to raise money for a charity that supports blind people in China. Forty undergraduates from the Business School volunteered to help ORBIS in its major annual fundraiser, the ORBIS-Merrill Lynch Walk for Sight 2004 held in February. The students helped with registration, traffic control, manning check points and other aspects of the event. ORBIS is using the funds to train Mainland doctors in surgical techniques that can restore sight, as well as provide on-going care to patients. Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Programs, Professor Kar Yan Tam, says the Business School encourages students to participate in events like the ORBIS fund-raiser to enrich their education and serve the community. 'We also recommend our students to join these events to develop a sense of belonging to the community,' he added.

School Sets Up Training Center in Beijing The School, in collaboration with the Finance Street Holding Company Ltd, and the Beijing International Finance Training Center, will set up an institute in Beijing to provide education and development programs for financial professionals working there. The institute will also serve to enhance the "software structure" of the Finance Street and raise its profile globally. Billed as the "Wall Street of China", the Beijing Finance Street is the national center of financial management, financing and clearing, and financial information. To date, over 500 top-notch financial corporations and enterprises operate on Finance Street.

Winners at the Pumps The topic was gas stations and associated convenience stores and four of the five participating HKUST MBA students had never visited a large-scale Western one before. But that didn"t stop them from winning the Marshall MBA Global Consulting Challenge held in Los Angeles in January, against student teams from top American and British universities. This was the first time HKUST, or any Asian university, had won the challenge. Students were asked to analyze British Petroleum"s gas station convenience stores and develop strategies to increase short- and long-term profitability. The HKUST team proposed an LCD interactive display at the gas pump that calls customers by name when they wave their cards at it and entertains them while they fill their tanks with a selection of advertising, movie trailers, news, and weather and traffic reports tailored to their interests. The display also invites them inside the store to take advantage of discounts and services.

The team had to present their proposal to three panels of judges and underwent rigorous questioning and examination. More importantly, they needed to learn to work together very quickly. The students came from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Canada and from different industries. They had not worked together until they were selected for the team through an internal competition at HKUST. 'We had great team spirit and I think this was the key to our success in the competition,' team member Jenny Xu says. Another team member, Madhu Motwani, says although three members gave up part of their family Lunar New Year celebrations to participate, no one wavered in their commitment to do well. 'I have never experienced such commitment in any other teams I have worked in, and it fueled all of us. Each of us wanted to make this work, and seeing that other team members were willing to put in just as much effort impressed and drove us further,' she says. The judges were highly impressed by their quality, according to Professor Stephen Nason, advisor to the team. 'Several of the judges mentioned privately to me how exceptional they found each individual member of the team. In fact the senior judge from BP sought out the team members and asked each to consider applying to BP,' he says. 'This is a tremendous accomplishment as they faced some tough competition.'

HKUST Business School The winning team: (from left) Camel Luo, Jerry Zhao, Guillaume Boisset, Madhu Motwani and Jenny Xu.

School Recognized for Good Teaching The Business School professors received six of the ten awards for the university-wide Top 10 Best Lecturers this year. Winners included Professors Jong Hag Choi and K P Ramaswamy of Accounting, Tridip Ray of Economics, and Garvin Percy Dias, Inchi Hu and Mike So of ISMT. The virtual ballot is organized by the Vertex House II Students" Association and this was the eighth year of the contest. This year, 5,750 undergraduates cast their votes. At the same time, another five professors were awarded the HKUST Business School Franklin Prize for Teaching Excellence. Professors Hongtao Zhang, Yan Xu, Kar Yan Tam and James Thong of ISMT were winners of the Franklin Prize Spring 2003, along with Prof Kevin Chen of Accounting Mike So (far left), Garvin Percy Dias (second left), Jong Hag Choi (5th from right), K P Ramaswamy (3rd from right) and Tridip Ray (far right) toasting at the Best Lecturers Award Ceremony with President Paul Chu (center left) and Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs Peter Dobson (center right).

On Top of the World Four Global Business students outperformed their counterparts from top overseas universities to win the top prize in the McGill Management International Case Competition.

The annual challenge was won by Year 3 students Hannafew Hang Ting Chan, Vishaal Prem Lalwani, Brian Ho-kei Lee, and Mandy Man Kuen Lee, who earned praise for their analysis, recommendations and professionalism. The judges included academics and senior executives from sponsor companies.

The students were given 24 hours to come up with a proposal for a small biotechnology firm manufacturing a single product for medical use that wanted to expand.

The HKUST students recommended two strategies, first to expand use of the product and attract different customers and second to address the poor state of its finances and marketing strategy. By taking on board those priorities, the firm could then look for venture capital, apply for a patent for their product, develop a new product and eventually team up with a larger firm to distribute them both.

The students took top prize over first runner-up Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania and

second runner-up, the University of Washington. There were eight other competitors from North

America, Europe, Asia and South Africa. Dean K.C. Chan said: 'The HKUST team was competing against cream of the crop students

from top global schools and they came through with flying colors. It is a big boost to the morale

of our students, faculty and also Hong Kong. We are very proud of them.'

'The HKUST team was competing against cream of the crop students from top global schools and they came through with flying colors.' Stephen Nason (center), advisor to both winning teams, poses with (from left) Vishaal Prem Lalwani, Mandy Lee, Hannafew Chan and Brian Lee. 3

News MIT Professor Talk Attracts Full House Professor Nicholas Negroponte, Wiesner Professor of Media Technology at the Massachusetts of Technology (MIT) and founding Chairman of MIT"s Media Laboratory, gave a talk on 'The Future of Telecommunications' on campus in April. The talk attracted a full house at the Tin Ka Ping Hall. In the one-hour talk, Professor Negroponte shared his insights on hot topics such as 3G mobile services potential, the telecommunications development in the Asia-Pacific region and also the industry environment in China. Professor Negroponte has been an MIT faculty member since 1966. He was the founder of MIT"s pioneering Architecture Machine Group, a combination lab and think tank responsible for many radically new approaches to the human-computer interface. He also serves on the board of directors for Motorola, Inc, and as a special general partner in a venture capital firm focusing on technologies for information and entertainment. Negroponte (center) poses with (left) Ronnie Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Group and President Paul Chu. 'Fascinating insights on the future of telecommunications from a pioneer in human-computer interfaces.' Leaders Talk Business and community leaders from Hong Kong and Asia are giving lectures at HKUST, as part of a course to introduce students to the challenges of the 21st century. The Friday afternoon sessions, which began in February, focus in particular on issues facing the economy, such as innovation, leadership and globalization. The first speaker was K C Kwong, Managing Director of Hsin Chong International Holdings Ltd, who appeared in February. He has been followed by Paul Chow, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, Jonathan Choi, President of Sun Wah Group, and Peter Wong, Director of Standard Chartered Bank. Community leaders include Marina Mahathir, President of the Malaysia AIDS Council and daughter of the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Rosanna Wong, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and Audrey Eu, the Hong Kong Legislative Council member. Lively question and answer sessions have been encouraged and students are also given the opportunity to attend informal receptions for the speakers, so they can speak more directly with them. A Company Contributes Career and job search counseling for MBA students have recently been enhanced with mock interview workshops conducted by a human resources professional from the business sector. Vanessa Ribes, Regional Human Resources Manager at LVMH Asia Pacific, has given a number of her precious Saturdays to work with our full-time MBA students on interviewing skills, and providing feedback on how they are coming across in an interview situation. 'The idea here is to get an industry person involved in doing the coaching, so the situation is more real and the structure of the workshop is such that students have a chance to improve right away,' the Senior Advisor (MBA Career Services), Mei Kwong, says. 'The goal is not to get the students to do something different, but to get the best out of what they"ve got. Many students arrive with little interviewing experience and having someone like Vanessa helps them to know what to expect.' The students each attend 45-minute sessions over three consecutive Saturdays, bringing along job advertisements that they would like to apply for. Ms Ribes interviews them as if she were the company in question and videotapes the interview. She then goes through the tape with the students, highlighting such issues as their body language and whether they look at her when she speaks. Having students attend three sessions means they can build on her feedback and improve their skills. Ms Ribes earlier ran a group-format session on interviewing skills at the Business School, but both sides felt one-on-one sessions could provide even greater benefits. 'It"s a unique chance for students to receive feedback, since in normal situations candidates walk out of interview rooms without any comment on their interviewing skills,' Ms Ribes says. 'I"ve found that the workshops increase students" confidence so the next time they do a real interview, they will feel more prepared and relaxed.' Ms Ribes volunteers up to 12 hours each time in conducting the interview workshops, with the full support of her boss at LVMH. She completed one set in February and another set in April. Apart from giving her an opportunity to help students, the sessions also enable her to practise her coaching skills, she says. 'Personally, I give as well as receive a lot from the students. It is a rewarding experience because it allows me to use my professional expertise to contribute to the community,' she says. Ms Kwong would like to duplicate this model with other industry professionals, such as from management consulting and financial services, so students can gain exposure to different interviewing situations before the real interviews begin. 'We are very fortunate to have global companies like LVMH so supportive and interested in enhancing the communication skills of this future workforce.'

'Ms Vanessa Ribes gave us very constructive and extremely insightful feedback on issues ranging from structuring an interview response to body language to self-confidence. Even more importantly, she made us take a step back, organize our thoughts, and think about our short- and long-term career goals. I very much recommend this seminar to all students who wish to better themselves.' Guillaume Boisset 'The workshop was interesting and instructive and it came at an important moment when we were working hard to land summer internship opportunities. The mock interviews, during which I was asked tricky questions, videotaped and given instant feedback, helped me to realize the areas I need to further improve in order to effectively handle face-to-face interviews with potential employers.' Helen Zhou

Helen Zhou Guillaume Boisset Vanessa Ribes 4

Research

Learning from a Partner How a firm learns and accumulates new skills and capabilities is a key issue in strategic management. Any company wanting to progress needs to acquire more knowledge. Some kinds, however, are easier to get hold of than others. Specific information can be codified, programmed and passed on from one company to another. But that is not possible with the 'tacit' variety, such as managerial techniques and marketing expertise, that comes from experience and is rooted in action. No manager can offer a formula that deals with the idiosyncrasies he handles on a daily basis - his intuition can"t be quantified. It must be transferred in a different way. Cooperative ventures differ in this area. Equity joint ventures (EJV) have long been thought a better conduit for tacit knowledge than non-equity joint ventures (NEJV) because their parent companies replicate their organizations in the new set-up. NEJVs, on the other hand, with their technology transfer agreements and contractual deals, do not. Until recently, however, there had been no actual proof that EJVs are favored, especially by the local partner, in an international joint venture (IJV). Jiatao Li and Oded Shenkar put this right by delving into the highly fertile field of research presented by the explosive growth in IJVs in China which, they say, presents a challenging opportunity for the study of such set-ups in a transitional economy. The academics went to considerable trouble to confirm this thinking, first going back to the time when IJVs were being planned and later picking up on their progress. To start with, they took data from 90 proposed IJV projects seeking foreign partners in the Shanghai region in 1988. Then they tracked the joint ventures" formation and mode of governance from that time to 1998, bolstering their insight through field and phone interviews. It was, they say, the first such study of IJVs in transitional economies to go into this kind of depth and the first to confirm the assumption that the EJV is the vehicle of choice for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Going into further detail, Li and Shenkar also showed that local firms wanting to increase their skills plump for EJVs when there is little overlap in knowledge between the partners which means the two sides can only learn from each other through governance mechanisms. This also held true when the Chinese company had a significant knowledge base of its own and, surprisingly in the academics" eyes, when it lacked such a base altogether. 'This latter finding can be explained in that the local firm who lacks a knowledge base is seeking an EJV in the hope that it will compensate for its knowledge deficiency,' they write. 'These local firms, not IJV experienced and not knowledgeable about the manufacturing process and the product, apparently believed that the co-habitation with a foreign firm would be sufficient to generate knowledge diffusion.' They also lack much of the ability necessary to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it and apply it to commercial ends, possibly the primary reason for forming the venture in the first place. Companies with some knowledge base, it seems, were not so naive, even though they still favored EJVs because they were convinced they could benefit from the learning opportunities. '[They] were more realistic about their ability to absorb knowledge by virtue of governance alone,' Li and Shenkar say.

These firms also know that they can protect their local knowledge while learning from an overseas partner. Superior monitoring and creation of incentives for the companies to support common rather than individual benefits under such setups are added protections.

In their paper, the researchers spell out why knowledge that can"t be quantified is sought after by firms, especially those in a growing economy such as China"s.

In transitional economies, what local firms learn tends to relate to skills in management, marketing and decision-making. 'While explicit knowledge can be codified and programmed, tacit knowledge is experiential and nonprogrammable, rooted in action and in an idiosyncratic context,' they write. 'Embedded in a firm"s context, tacit knowledge is unique and inimitable, and thus of greater strategic value.

'Because it cannot be represented as a set of easily communicated rules and blueprints, tacit knowledge cannot be readily packaged and transmitted via contractual channels and is difficult to acquire, analyze and disseminate.'

'Equity joint ventures (EJV) have long been thought a better conduit because their parent companies replicate their organizations in the new set-up.'

The hierarchical nature of EJVs helps when it comes to transferring tacit knowledge, as does the synergy between the two companies. Managerial and technical personnel from foreign and local firms interact and learn together with

someone often acting as a mentor. In China in particular this is seen as a very valuable process. 'It is typical of such transitional economies that local firms seek new technology,

capital, and management and marketing skills from foreign partners,' Li and Shenkar write. 'Lagging behind developed country standards, such firms nevertheless possess reasonable capabilities in using intermediate technologies,

enjoying modest success in manufacturing some export-quality goods and benefiting from superior understanding of local markets and their institutions.' The academics chose Shanghai as their area of study because it is China"s leading manufacturing base and was home to almost 10% of all China-based IJVs in 1988. Survey data was obtained from project listings of local firms seeking foreign partners and published by the Foreign Investment Development Agency (FIDA) in 1988 through a questionnaire it passed on to industrial bureaus for distribution to individual firms. Jiaotao Li, Associate Professor, Management of Organizations

'It is typical of such economies that local firms seek new technology, capital, and management and marketing skills from foreign partners.'

In 1994-95, the senior author of this study conducted site visits in which he interviewed FIDA officials, industry bureau representatives and executives of about one-third of the firms. By doing this, he confirmed the accuracy of the earlier information and made a realistic assessment of the companies" contributions to the proposed IJV.

Then, in 1998, a follow-up survey tracked the 90 proposed projects, building up event histories and confirming details of each IJV. Ten were no longer in existence, having either closed or gone bankrupt. General managers or senior managers from the remaining 80 were interviewed by phone.

In their results, Li and Shenkar found that it is not only local firms that hope EJVs will bring them new knowledge. A foreign company sees EJVs as a protection from the uncertainty caused by operating with a party that has different skills. The outsider may also believe it can beat its local partner in the 'race to learn' by developing the assets the relationship brings.

The academics believe overseas companies want to learn as well and do not believe a knowledgeable local company is a threat. 'The results in this study suggest that the foreign firm may be looking for a local partner with sufficient professional skills to enable effective learning,' they write. Rather, foreign firms see this as a prerequisite for the efficient operation of the IJV which in turn protects the interests of the foreign investor from serious harm.

From Knowledge Search and Governance Choice: International Joint Ventures in the People"s Republic of China ? Management International Review ? Vol 43, 2003

Jiaotao Li ? Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ? Oded Shenkar ? Ohio State University

5 EMBA

The Ride is Over for 6th EMBA Class It has been a rollercoaster of a year, but for students in the sixth EMBA class, the ride has finally come to an end. The outbreak of SARS represented the low point, but that was more than balanced late last year with the announcement that the Business School was ranked ninth in the world by the Financial Times. 'Your learning took place during a unique period of time,' Dean K.C. Chan says in his message to the graduating class. 'We will all remember the fifth anniversary dinner [of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program] and the world number nine ranking celebration with Hong Kong"s Chief Executive at Government House in 2003. 'We will also remember the learning by webcast and teleconferencing during the difficult SARS period. Advanced technology created the infrastructure for classes to go on but it was determination that really saw us through the difficulties.' More than one-quarter of the sixth EMBA class flew into Hong Kong to attend classes and all students had to balance tough jobs with the demands of the EMBA program. One of the attractions of the program is its student diversity. More than 80 per cent of the 48 students in the sixth class were not Hong Kong passport holders; they counted 13 nationalities among their numbers, from Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. All of that adds up to a useful network of contacts, as the Dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Professor Dipak Jain, says in his message to the graduating class. HKUST launched its EMBA program with the Kellogg School in 1998.

'It has been our experience at the Kellogg School that the bonds formed in intensive learning sessions, such as the program you have just completed, provide a lifetime of contacts and networks,' he says. The graduation ceremony for the sixth EMBA class was held in April. Marjorie Yang, Chairman and CEO of Esquel Group, was the keynote speaker. The students voted Professor Brian Uzzi,

Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at Kellogg, as Best Professor in the program.

Graduates pose with Marjorie Yang ( 6th from left, front row ) and professors and other senior administrators from Kellogg and HKUST

Leading Lights in Speaker Series Top business and community leaders have been invited to share their insights and ideas with the EMBA students. The series, called The Social Environment of Management, this year featured such local business luminaries as Vincent Lo, Chairman of the Shui On Group, Sir Gordon Wu, Chairman and Managing Director of Hopewell Holdings, and Andy Xie, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific for Morgan Stanley. Peter Clarke, Deputy Chairman of Pictet, Asia Ltd, Tadahiro Yoshida, President of YKK Corporation and Professor Donald Jacobs, Dean Emeritus of Kellogg School of Management, were among the other speakers associated with the business world. Two high-profile community leaders also spoke; Anson Chan, the former Chief Secretary for Administration for the HKSAR Government, and Martin Lee, legislator and former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong.

Strength in Diversity The opportunity to network with other executives is a key attraction of EMBA programs. But the Kellogg- HKUST EMBA takes that advantage several steps further, by offering the chance to study in an international environment. The 48 students in the 7th class comprise 13 nationalities, ranging from American, British and Mainland Chinese to Norwegian, Czech and Indian. Forty-two per cent of students are based elsewhere and fly in to attend classes, a figure that has risen steadily since the EMBA program began in 1998, when 20 per cent came from outside. This year"s intake come from Mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore and Japan. Hong Kong has by far the most international student body associated with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, which also runs joint EMBA programs in Canada, Germany and Israel. 'It"s gratifying to see the regional representation broaden,' says Professor Steve DeKrey, Associate Dean and Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program. 'The level of our students is another one of our strengths. Not only are we getting more people, the ratio of people at more senior levels is also getting higher.' The students in the 7th class have worked for an average 14 years. One student, Akihiko Katayama, Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific Consumer Credit Risk at HSBC, welcomes the opportunity to interact with other experienced executives to help him identify management solutions for his rapidly-growing team. 'There"s 500 years of people experience in the classroom. So you can simulate a lot of team changes and understand the impact of your decisions on staff before initiating changes at work,' he says. 'I wanted formal education on management and greater access to different ideas in order to help me resolve the problems I am facing.' Henrietta Tsui, Team Head and Vice President at Citigroup, welcomes the opportunity to be exposed to different approaches to problem solving. 'I have come to a point where I basically use a certain set of values and tools in my thinking processes to come to conclusions or devise strategies. I felt that I could pick up more "tools" through an EMBA course and broaden my thinking through a structured managerial program. I also like meeting more people from different cultures and backgrounds to learn how they solve problems or formulate plans,' she says. Gregory Gilligan, General Manager of McDonald"s Restaurants in Southeast China, says the strong academic standards of the program were another attraction. HKUST Business School EMBA program was ranked ninth in the world by the Financial Times last fall and the Kellogg School has an outstanding reputation. 'Each one of us has certain strengths and experiences we bring into the program, but individual strengths simply can"t compare to the learning available in the curriculum, and in the cooperative mode of study among classmates,' he says. 6 IEMBA They Heard It on the Grapevine

synthesize ideas not just from teachers but from other students. They work late, work together and discuss a lot among themselves, and it keeps the class dynamic,' Ms Chan says. Some 15 percent of students from Hong Kong help to add another dimension to the mix because they bring a different perspective compared to students based in China, which is something appreciated by the Mainland participants, she says. The opportunity to network is a major attraction for students in EMBA programs. Most IEMBA students are working at vice-president level or above and they have an average 17 years of working experience. 'When students come to our classes, the networking element is expected and they are happy with it. What exceeds their expectations is the learning,' Ms Chan says. 'Other EMBAs in the Mainland are also good for networking, but I was told by our students that they don"t compare to us in terms of academic rigor. The combination of academic rigor and a rich networking environment is unique.'

Calling All Friends in China Chinese - speaking students, alumni and participants in non-degree programs are being offered a special deal to learn more about the Business School in their native language. Members of the UST Friends in China program receive regular Chinese-language reports on our programs, activities and accomplishments - as well as a gift of a 12-issue subscription to the Harvard Business Review in Chinese. 'We are an English-speaking institution but in China there is a lot of interest in us, so we organized this club for people who read Chinese,' the Director of Executive Programs and External Development, Kitty Chan (inset), says. 'We want people who are interested in management education to join us.' For the RMB380 joining fee, members receive the Harvard Business Review China subscription, regular reports about programs and activities, publications by the Business School such as faculty research summaries, and priority in joining HKUST activities in China. The School will also hold information sessions and other activities on the Mainland. Invitations to join will be sent to students, alumni and friends of HKUST.

HKUST Business School Kevin Chen Kui Dun Huang

7 Hard-Working Executives Find Time to Study

IEMBA students must hold senior positions in their organization and have worked for at least 10 years - which means many of them bring rich experiences to the classroom. Hubert Chan, Chairman of HKC International Holdings Ltd, a listed company in Hong Kong, has 22 years working experience, but was advised by a friend in the first IEMBA intake that there was a thing or two he could learn through the program. 'I joined this program because it provides me with a chance to work with executives in the Mainland and enrich my understanding of their mentality. The culture is quite different since I was born and raised in Hong Kong, so this is a very useful and invaluable experience,' he said, adding: 'I find the program very interesting and inspiring. There is practical application one way or another after each module.' Kevin Chen Kui from Beijing was also keen to learn more about working with people from other cultures. He is Vice General Manager of Beijing Founder Import and Export Co Ltd and is in charge of handling overseas business. 'I want to learn more about how people overseas think and solve problems. This course can also help me to know more about how famous companies succeed and fail, and what we should do and not do. This can save time and money,' he said. Similarly, Dun Huang, who now works in Shenzhen as Deputy General Manager of China United Telecommunications Co Ltd, wanted to learn from overseas examples. Dun has a scientific background and worked for a while as a college lecturer and with the Ministry of Railways before joining the company. 'I felt I was deficient in knowledge of systematic management theory. Since I joined the IEMBA at HKUST, every module has been very helpful to me. I was rather weak in financial management, but after a few months I have made great progress in this area. I have also found ways to help market the business of my company. Analyzing the cases of other companies has provided valuable insights that I can apply to my business,' he said. Hubert Chan

Students & Alumni Company Benefits of a Shenzhen MBA Cassian Cheung Alice Wu Eddy Chan

MBA programs are usually filled with people seeking to advance their careers. But the Shenzhen MBA program, launched two years ago, has also caught the attention of employers who see an opportunity to develop the talents of their staff, to the company"s benefit. The program admitted its second intake last August and offers a mirror image of HKUST"s internationally recognized English-language MBA program in Hong Kong, with the added advantage that it is closer to home for students in Guangdong. EMBA graduate Eddy Chan has enrolled two of his employees in the program. Mr Chan, who completed his EMBA studies in 2002, is Regional Vice President, China and the Mid Pacific region, for Federal Express Asia Pacific Division. 'FedEx is expanding very rapidly in China. We need to develop management talent who have a global perspective to support our growth,' he says. 'The HKUST program matches our objective of developing our staff. It is one of the best business schools in Asia and we would like our employees to learn from the best.' Cassian Cheung, President of Wal-Mart China and a corporate advisor to the Business School, also feels the program can help fill a need for highly-trained managers in a rapidly expanding marketplace. 'We place a very high importance on the development of our talents and making sure they are well-equipped to perform their job and are able to advance their career within Wal-Mart,' he says. 'And we have very high growth rate expectations within our organization in China. To really manage that kind of growth and continue to grow at a strong pace, we need a strong talent base.' The part-time program, which is offered jointly with Peking University, follows a curriculum similar to that of the part-time MBA program offered in Hong Kong. Classes are taught on Saturdays in Shenzhen by HKUST staff - saving students precious time in travelling further afield for their studies. The students themselves have high expectations of the program, fuelled by HKUST"s strong reputation. Alice Wu has been with FedEx for four years and enrolled in the Shenzhen MBA last August. She hopes to graduate with 'a global perspective with a strong Asian focus, thus giving me a solid foundation to perform my duties. 'Also, the formal, comprehensive and advanced training offered in the MBA program, as well as the many experience sharing opportunities, will give me intellectual fulfillment,' she says. In fact, the chance to meet other executives and learn from them is also a motivating factor behind employers" support of the program. Mr Chan says this is one of his goals in enrolling his staff.

'The HKUST program matches our objective of developing our staff. It is one of the best business schools in Asia and we would like our employees to learn from the best.' 'I would like my employees to build good relationships with their classmates so that they can benchmark the best practices in other companies,' he says.

Similarly, Mr Cheung sees contact with other executives as an important benefit for his employees in the program.

'They will have a chance to get to know people from other high-caliber companies and learn about their career challenges and best practices. This is something that you cannot get within one company, even a company such as Wal-Mart,' Mr Cheung says. 'It is one of the benefits of a high-quality MBA program.'

On Course for a Party

More than 100 students, alumni, faculty and staff attended the MBA Alumni Association"s annual dinner this year at the Happy Valley Race Course. The event, held in February, featured dinner, games, entertainment and a lucky draw. Dean K.C. Chan, Associate Dean and Director of the MBA Program, Steve DeKrey, and outgoing MBAAA President Dekai Wu

made speeches. A new President of the association was appointed, Victor Chan of the

part-time 2003 class. 2004 MBAAA Executive Committee members: President Victor Chan (PT03) Vice-President (Communications & PR) Kitty Chong (PT03) Vice-President (External) Alex Hung (PT01) Vice-President (Internal) Sean Lin (PT03) Vice-President (General Affairs) Kenny Yiu (FT04) Vice-President (University Liaison) Joanna Wong (FT03) Treasurer Alvin Au (PT03) General Secretary Daisy Fu (FT04) Social Secretary I Sarah Chan (FT01) Social Secretary II Flora Wai (PT03) Membership Secretary Irene Tse (PT04) Web Master Lieny Hardiman (FT04) 8 People Xueguang Zhou has been appointed Head and Professor of the Department of Management of Organizations. Zhou is an expert in organizations and economics sociology, comparative sociology, social stratification and political sociology. He received his PhD from Stanford and was a Professor in Sociology at Duke University before joining HKUST. Jaeyun Moon has been appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Information and Systems Management. Moon's research interests include voluntary electronic communities, collective action and collaboration over the Internet, open source software development, user/customer adoption of computer-mediated environments and computer-aided text analysis. She has a PhD from New York University.