SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
Marketing is an activity that facilitates exchange. As such, the success of an organisation (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) often depends on the effectiveness of its marketing efforts. Therefore, marketing includes strategy decisions about the product or service to offer, advertising and promotional methods for communication, prices to charge, and the distribution system to utilise for delivery. Central to marketing is consumer behaviour (since consumers are why organisations exist) and marketing research (since it provides an informational link between consumers and the decision makers within an organisation). Courses cover all aspects of marketing and provide students with knowledge of the analytical tools to understand marketing problems and the skills to solve practical problems they will encounter in the profession.
School of Business and Management
First Year Fall Semester
ACCT 101 C Financial Accounting ACCT 122 C Managerial Accounting (1) ECON 111 C Microeconomics
(2) LANG 001 Language Skills Enhancement I (3) MATH 001 R Beginning Calculus
OR MATH 005 R Algebra and Calculus l MGMT 11 1 C Business Statistics
18 credits Spring Semester
BlNF 101 C Introduction to Information Systems ECON 112 C Macroeconomics
FlNA 11 1 C Financial Management LANG 101 R Business Communication (4) MATH 002 R Intermediate Calculus
E Humanities and Social Science Elective C Organisational Behaviour
E Business and Management Elective
17 credits
E Humanities and Social Science Elective
17 credits
School of Business and Management
H&SS E Humanities and Social Science Elective [3-0-0:3]
16 credits
Spring Semester
MARK 321 C Strategic Marketing [4-0-0:4]
FREE E Free Elective [3-0-0:3]
FREE E Free Elective [3-0-0:3]
H&SS E Humanities and Social Science Elective [3-0-0131 13 credits
(1) Students entering with a grade of B or above in AL Economics take ECON 191.
Students entering with a grade of C in AL Economics, or C or above in AL Mathematics, will take ECON 11 1. All other students will take ECON 11 0.
(2) Students entering with an acceptablegrade in AS Use of English will be exempted from this course by the Language Centre.
(3) Students entering with an acceptable grade in AL Pure Mathematics will replace MATH 001 with either MATH 101 or 11 1. Students entering with HKCEE Mathematics only or did not score an acceptable grade in Additional Mathematics in HKCEE will take MATH 005.
(4) Students who have taken MATH 101 or 11 1 in the Fall Semester will replace MATH 002 with an approved Science elective. Those who have taken MATH 005 in the Fall Semester will take MATH 006.
A minimum of 100 credits is required for the BBA programme in Marketing. A student's choice of electives may result in this minimum being exceeded.
I Postgraduate Programmes
The School of Business and Management offers postgraduate programmes leading to the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA), in both full-time and part-time formats. The PhD programme in Business Administration, oriented towards those planning to undertake research or university teaching careers, and has a global perspective with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
School of Business and Management
Full-time MBA Programme
At HKUST, management education is designed to provide students with the management skills and tools necessary to direct and manage organisations, whether large or small, public or private, domestic or international, for-profit or not-for-profit, and with a means for envisioning the future and realising objectives.
The MBA Programme cultivates the student's ability to deal successfully with the challenges and opportunities presented by continued technological development and globalisation. While providing students with skills and knowledge to operate successfully in today's environment, the Programme also prepares them to cope with the challenges of the future. The approach utilised is designed to meet Hong Kong's needs in the transition from a labour-intensive to a technology-based economy. As a professional School, the School of Business and ~ a n a ~ e m e n t is building and maintaining a close relationship with the professional management community to prepare strongly motivated individuals for highly skilled managerial roles.
Designed to provide a balance between theory and practice and between individual and team approaches to management questions, the MBA Programme is structured to provide a broad base of general management skills on which specialised skills may be developed. Thus, both generalists and specialists can meet their individual career preparation goals. Students not only develop analytical and conceptual tools for innovative problem solving, but also build confidence and interpersonal skills to interact effectively in difficult and complex situations. Various teaching techniques and methods, such as lectures, computer simulations, case discussions, and individual and group projects, are employed to provide students with an intellectual as well as an experiential background.
Admission
Applicants for admission to the MBA Programme are expected to have completed a bachelor's degree from a university or approved institution or have obtained qualifications considered by the School to be equivalent to a first degree. For applicants who are employed, their employment history will play a critical role in the admissions process. Demonstrated proficiency in the English language is important for successful completion of the Programme.
Applicants to the MBA Programme must submit the following
(a) a completed application form, including a one-page essay covering the student's study plan and career goals;
(b) two letters of recommendation mailed directly to the Director of Admissions, Registration and Records Office;
(c) an original or officially certified academic transcript of undergraduate studies (and postgraduate studies, if any);
School o f Business and M a n a ~ e n z e n t
School of Business and Management (d) a copy of a bank pay-in slip confirming that the non-refundable application fee
of $1 20 has been paid into the bank account of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology;
(e) the score obtained on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) (applicants should instruct the Educational Testing Service to send the score to the School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Code Number 0369); and
the score obtained in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) (only for appli- cants who attended educational instiitions where the language of instruction was not English and whose first language is not English).
For overseas applicants, if official transcripts are in a language other than English or Chinese, acertified translation into English must be provided. In lieu of the bank pay-in slip confirming payment of application fee, overseas applicants may submit with the completed application form a bank draft or certified bank cheque for an amount equivalent to $1 20.
Fees
The tuition fee for full-time students admitted for the academic year 1993-94 is
$17,000 per annum. It is expected that full-time MBA students will be charged approximately $3,000 per year to cover the costs of residential seminar lodging and meals, photocopying materials and other sundry expenses. The fee may be paid at the beginning of the academic year at registration or in equal instalments at the beginning of each semester. In addition, each new student is required to pay a deposit of $300 as caution money on first registration. Charges will be made against this deposit if there are any unpaid claims against the student, such as outstanding library dues. Except for caution money, all fees are non-refundable.
As a programme of professional management education, the MBA curriculum requires rigorous study, creativity and imagination, analytical thinking, problem diagnosis and solution, and teamwork. The MBA Programme aims to provide an environment in which students develop competence in functional management disciplines such as finance, marketing, operations and technology management, accounting, human re- source management; general management perspectives and an ability to approach situations from the perspedve of the entire organisation; a comprehensive understand- ing of organisations and the skills essential to managing and working effectively with people; sophisticated awareness of the complex global, technological, industrial, and governmental environments in which organisations operate; and sensitivity to the economic and social responsibilities of management. Full-time students are expected to complete the Programme in two years.
The carefully designed curriculum is so structured that students proceed through the required courses in a sequence, to building upon skills and concepts presented in earlier courses. The MBA curriculum has three main components : MBA core, advanced electives, and field study. Below is a typical outline of a full-time
~ccounting for Management and Financial Decisions
MGMT 545 Managerial Communication
18 credits
[2-0-0:2]
2 credits Spring Semester
ACCT 552 Legal Environment of Business [2-0-0:2]
ECON 512 Managerial Macroeconomics [3-0-0131
FlNA 512 Corporate Finance 13-0-0:3]
MGMT 523 Management of Organisations [3-0-0:3]
MGMT 562 Operations and Technology Management [3-0-0:3]
FREE Electives [2 credits]
16 credits
Second Year Fall Semester
MGMT 541 Management Policy
(2) FREE Electives
[3-0-0:3]
[ I 0 credits]
13 credits
School o f Btcsiness and Manaaement
Winter Session
School of Business and Management
Advanced Electives
Total core course credits : 42 Total credits : 64
(1) This course is normally held in the week prior to the start of the Fall Semester.
(2) Electives may be two- to four-credit courses. Two-credit courses allow students to enrol in a greater number of elective topics in specialised areas.
(3) Students choose one of the departmental field study courses: ACCT, BINF, ECON, FINA, MARK or MGMT 588,589.
The MBA Core
The MBA core provides basic knowledge of management functions that every manager must understand, and builds a foundation for advanced study in selected areas.
Classroom educabon is balanced by opportunities for practical appliition using the Hong Kong business community as a I.- Sixteen required core courses provide students with both the functional field and basic conceptual and analykal tools needed to address management problems.
The MBA core must be taken in a prescribed sequence. Students are assigned to a section of approximately 30 students each semester and take the required core courses for that semester with their assigned section, thus creating a closely integrated, supportive learning community.
In addition to core courses, special courses and career development pro- grammesare offered, such as management communication, company internships, career planning, managerial image, and field study orientation, during the Winter Session in both the first and second years. In particular, the School has instituted a Management Communication Programme to enhance students' oral and wriien skills. This includes topics such as audience analysis, case analysis, cognitive and writing processes, cross- cultural communication, group and individual oral presentations, persuasive strategies, and the visual display of quantitative information.
Advanced electives, selected from course offerings in several curriculum areas, comprise about a quarter of the MBA Programme. They allow students to develop in-depth expertise in accounting, business economics, finance, human resource manage- ment, information management, international business, marketing, management policy, management science, and operations and technology management. Students can choose to concentrate in accounting, business information systems, economics, finance, management or marketing.
Accounting plays an important role in financial communication and control within an enterprise, and between the enterprise and the investor. It also provides an essential tool with which society and government evaluate and control economic behav- iour. Students may choose to follow a public accounting stream and pursue a career in auditing, taxes, or administrative consulting services; or the managementlcorporate accounting stream, where they focus on internal audits, and systems and procedures studies. Whichever path they choose, MBA graduates with an accounting emphasis are likely to enter careers in high-level management in corporations, accountancy firms, government, and not-for-profit organisations. .
Problem-solving in the practice of business management requires a firm theoretical base in economics. In private firms, managers are guided by economic principles in making decisions on almost all aspects of their business such as production, investment, employment, budget forecast, and marketing choices. In public agencies, managers likewise rely on economic analyses in their design, determination, and assessment of public policies. MBA graduates who choose the economics emphasis will serve both the private and public sectors in a wide range of management positions.
Finance provides a study of issues in corporate finance investments, financial markets and institutions and the international financial system. Applications in this area of study include the functioning of the securities market, portfolio management, manage- ment of banks and insurance companies, and multinational finance. MBA graduates in finance are equipped to work in corporate financial divisions, commercial banks, invest- ment houses, and private and public research institutions.
The marketingfunction is crucial to the health and survival of any organisation.
With basic concepts of marketing operations and strategic planning, managers can help an organisation to decide which consumer groups it should serve, which products or services it should produce, as well as the levels of promotional effort, pricing and other considerations in sales promotion. MBA graduates in marketing assume positions in brand management, product management, new product development, sales force management, advertising and marketing research.
Information systems play a central role in integrating the communication, data processing and information processing across all functions in an organisation. They not only support the current application requirements, but also enable the transformation of organisation work and human organisation to meet the ever-changing demands of the marketplace. Managing this process requires a broad range of skills from the highly technical to the strategically business-oriented. Students who choose information
School o f Business and Manaaement School o f Business and Mananement
systems as their concentration will be prepared to enter careers involving the develop- ment and marketing of information products and services, as corporate managers, entrepreneurs, or management consultants.
Management covers a wide spectrum of fields of studies including organisa- tional behaviour and management policy, human resource management, management science, operations and technology management and international business. MBA graduates with emphasis on management will be equipped to serve in both private and public sectors in a variety of managerial positions such as private management consult- ing, personnel management, production management, research and administration. A description of the various fields of study in management is given below:
(1 Human resource management provides the theoretical framework and practi- cal tools for achieving an effective management of human resources in different organi- sational environments. Areasof study include: human resource management, job design, manpower planning, training and development, labour relations, compensation adminis- tration.
(2) Management science plays an important role in managerial decision making by applying the formal scientific methods of analysis and synthesis. Areas of study include model building, probability theory, simulation and optimisation methods. Students may either choose a theoretical orientation or apply the concepts to aparlicular areaof interest such as finance. .
(3) Operations and technology management emphasises managerial decision making in production or operations and its inter-relationships with other organisational activities such as strategy planning, inventory management, and project management and control.
(4) International business focuses on the international environment and its effects on various organisational functions such as organisational control, financial planning, management strategies and marketing activities.
(5) Organisational behaviour and management policy focuses on personality and individual differences, leadership, motivation, communications, conflict, power, and issues relating to the interaction.between an organisation and its environment, which include policy and strategy formulation and implementation, organisational analysis, corporate planning and control, and the social context of business decisions.
Field Study
As the capstone requirement of the MBA Programme, second-year full-time students and third-year part-time students participate in a field study. The study provides students with an opportunity to integrate and apply their accumulated skills in a profes- sional setting outside the classroom. Working in teams under the guidance of faculty advisors, students conduct a thorough study of a client organisation, including the diagnosis, evaluation, and solution of some of its most critical management problems.
Each field study team submits a written report summarising its work and also presents its findings orally to the client. The field study report satisfies the comprehensive examination requirement for the MBA degree. Field study performance is evaluated in accordance with the standards of professional consulting.
Concentrations
The School provides students with the option of studying for a general MBA programme or a concentration in any of the departments. For the latter, in addition to completing the MBA core courses, a minimum of 10 credits specified by the relevant department arerequired. Those who do not meetthe requirementsof specificdepartments may declare Management as their concentration. All students are required to satisfy a distribution requirement.
Part-time MBA Programme
The Part-time MBA Programme is designed to meet the specialised needs of working professionals and managers. The programme enrols participants from diverse organisations who are responsible for a diversity of functions within their organisations.
Participants are expected to have been assigned significant responsibility and evidenced significant achievements in their organisations. They are expected to be targeted for complex assignments and career advancement.
Curriculum
The curriculum for the Part-time MBA Programme is similar to the full-time MBA. All of the core courses are required, butfourfewercredits of electives are necessary to meet the requirement for graduation. Participants are expected to share the benefit of their past and on-going work experience with one another while in the Programme, and to bring this experience to bear on class discussions and assignments. The educational environment is thereby enriched and part-time MBA students obtain skills and perspec- tives that extend well beyond theoretical and textbook applications. Below is a typical outline of a part-time programme.
School o f Business and Mana~ement School o f Business and Mana~ement
Spring Semester Part-time MBA Curriculum
ECON 512 Managerial Macroeconomics [3-0-0131
MGMT 523 Management of Organisations [3-0-0131
(2) FREE Elective(s) [2 credits]
First Year Fall Semester
ACCT 500 Accounting Foundations [2-0-0:2]
ACCT 501 Accounting for Management and [2-0-0:2]
Financial Decisions
MGMT 501 Introductory Statistics for Business [3-0-0:3]
(1) MGMT 521 Managerial Problem Solving [2-0-0:2]
8 credits Summer Session
MGMT 541 Management Policy [3-0-0131
9 credits 3 credits
Winter Session
Third Year Fall Semester
MGMT 545 Managerial Communication
2 credits (2) FREE Elective(s) [8 credits]
Spring Semester 8 credits
[2-0-0:2]
Legal Environment of Business Highlights in Management Information
Systems
Managerial Microeconomics ACCT 552
BINF 512 Winter Session
(3) SB&M 588 Field Study I ECON 511
2 credits 7 credits
Spring Semester Summer Session
FINA 512 (3) SB&M 589 Field Study II
(2) FREE Elective(s)
[3-0-0131 [4 credits]
Corporate Finance
7 credits 3 credits
Second Year Total core course credits : 42
Total credits : 56 Fall Semester
MARK 512 MGMT 562
Marketing Strategy and Policy Operations and Technology
Management
(1) This course is normally held in the week prior to the start of the Fall Semester.
(2) Electives may be two- to four-credit courses.
(3) Students choose one of the departmental field study courses: ACCT, BINF, ECON, FINA, MARK or MGMT 588,589.
6 credits Winter Session
MGMT 544 International Business Game
1 credit
School o f Business and Mana~ement
Concentrations
The School provides students with the option of studying for a general MBA Programme or a concentration in any of the departments. For the latter, in addition to completing the MBA core courses, a minimum of 10 credits specified by the relevant department are required. Those who do not meet the requirements of specific depart- ments may declare Management as their concentration.
Fonnat and Schedule
The format and schedule of the Part-time MBA is designed to be compatible with the work demands of responsible, busy professionals. Classes are held in both Semesters and the Summer Session on the University campus on Saturdays beginning at 9 am and ending at 5 pm. Typically, two courses are scheduled for each Semester- one course session to be conducted on Saturday mornings and the second scheduled for Saturday afternoons. During the Summer Session, students enrol in one course only.
To enrich the learning experiences and widen the perspectives of the students, business executives and spokespersons, political leaders, and faculty experts will be frequently invited to provide luncheon presentations.
Part-time MBA students are also required to attend a fiveday residential
Part-time MBA students are also required to attend a fiveday residential