CU iBUS
Published by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School
April 2013
Consulting industry
at a glance
Photo courtesy:
Michael So Student Reporter
Consulting industry at a glance Flying business class, staying in upscale hotels, meeting with C-suite executives from any number of multinational corporations all year round, these are among our fantasies about consultants— one of the jobs most coveted by business school graduates. In this issue, CU iBUS looks closely at the US$400-billion consulting industry.
Faculty Spotlight Prof. Cheung Waiman I.T - Alternative option or fashion mainstream
Also in This Issue 06 CUHK business students exposed themselves to asset management in a competition 07 Cross cultural interaction between exchange and local students 11 Newsroom 13 Column - Matt Ng Click to download the full issue
From the Editor Business School
Message from the editor
May
This month, come with CU iBUS to have a glimpse of both the consulting and the retail fashion industries.
7th CUHK MBA Corporate Social Responsibility Conference
As the course instructor, I have witnessed the growth of our students participating in this semester’s IBM consulting course. Time flies, and we all enjoyed the sharing from IBM senior executives talking about the consulting mindset and refreshing our understanding of business analytic models used in a practical circumstance. If you missed the course, you really shouldn’t miss this issue’s Cover Story.
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May 22 Workshop CU MBA Workshop
PAGE 01
May 31 Company Visit Airport Authority (Management & Retailing)
Also, our campus is becoming global. Look around, and you’ll see it’s not so uncommon to spot a foreign face. And in this issue our student reporter checks out the interaction between an exchange and a local student.
UNIVERSITY May 11 E-Devices Donation Activity
PAGE 07 Finally, wish you all the best for the final exams!
Dr. Susanna Kwok Editor-in-chief, CU iBUS
cu iBUS April 2013 EDITORIAL
STUDENT EDITORIAL TEAM
CONTRIBUTORS
Contact us
Editor-in-chief Dr. Susanna Kwok
Tiffany Chiang (HTMG Year 2) Lolitta Ho (IBBA Year 2) Adrian Lai (IBBA Year 3) Jeanette Lai (IBBA Year 1) Tiffany Lam (IBBA Year 1) Tumi Ogunsola (IASP) Michael So (PACC Year 4) Jimmy Tsong (IFAA Year 1) Myra Zhang (IBBA Year 1)
Ms. Noren Chan Ms. Celia Ip
Address Room 616, Cheng Yu Tung Building, 12 Chak Cheung Street, Shatin, N.T.
Members Ms. Carol Ho Mr. Joseph Tong Mr. Nan Yi
Telephone 3943 7746 Email bba@cuhk.edu.hk
Cover Story 01
Con s u l t i ng i ndu s t r y at a F g l ance
lying business class, staying in upscale hotels, meeting with C-suite executives from any number of multinational corporations all year round, these are among our fantasies about consultants—one of the jobs most coveted by business school graduates. But what do they actually do? Why do they enjoy their work? And how might you be able to better equip yourself to join this profession? In this issue, CU iBUS looks closely at the US$400-billion consulting industry. Hong Kong is positioned as a regional hub for professional services, consulting being one such service. With around 4,000 regional headquarters and regional offices of multinational corporations established in Hong Kong, the rich client base attracts renowned international consulting firms to set up their presence in Hong Kong. According to the data of Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong is home to over 6,000 firms providing consultancy services with 30,000 persons engaged by the end of 2012.
What do consultants do? As you can see, on average a group of five people can open up a small business and call it a consulting firm. Given the large number of firms and talented people engaged in this industry one can imagine the versatility and wide scope of coverage of consultancy services provided. Consulting is truly diverse in this way. From market entry to downsizing, merger and acquisition to IT services management, clients ask for any of these services. Based on their service offerings, the industry can be broadly classified into four categories (see next page).
Mr. Joseph Wong, Partner & Head of Hong Kong Practice, Global Business Services of IBM
Mr. Chun Yin Mak, Partner, Global Business Services of IBM
The first difference distinguishing strategy consulting from operations management consulting is whether the consultants tend to focus on long-term strategy (“Should CUHK establish a campus in Shenzhen?”) or extracting value from operations change (“How do we enhance the professor-student interaction here at CUHK?”). The second difference is whether or not implementation of recommendations is involved. Strategy consulting typically does not include the execution part.
Advisory Strategy consulting
General advisory services
Work nature
Major companies (in alphabetical order)
Work nature
Major companies (in alphabetical order)
Improving long-term growth prospects
Accenture, Bain & Company, Booz & Company, Boston Consulting Group, IBM, McKinsey & Company
Providing business advice on legal, tax, finance, reporting and risks factors
Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC
Execution Operations management consulting Work nature
Major companies (in alphabetical order)
Providing advice on organizational changes, and implementing operational efficiency changes
Accenture, AT Kearney, Deloitte, IBM, PwC
Consulting on specific area of expertise IT: Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, Deloitte, EMC, IBM, Infosys / Human resources: Aon Hewitt, Hay Group, Mercer, Towers Watson / Marketing and brand management: Interbrand, Landor Associates, Lippincott, Ogilvy & Mather / Public relations: Bell Pottinger Group, Ruder Finn, Weber Shandwick, etc. Source: Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory
If we look at the consulting industry from another angle, it can also be segmented by the industry sectors the consultants serve. Manufacturing, finance and banking, and public sector (including government) are traditionally the top three clientele groups. Believe it or not: CUHK is a big client! In addition, many large corporations like Deutsche Bank and Volkswagen have established their own in-house consulting departments. There is yet another group of consultants who you might have regular interactions with. Surprise—they’re university professors (including some of our own at CUHK)!
Create value and make a better world Clients come to consulting firms for things they cannot do themselves or do not want to bother over. “We have to create value for our clients,” Mr. Joseph Wong, Partner & Head of Hong Kong Practice, Global Business Services of IBM China / Hong Kong (IBM) told CU iBUS. “[But] sometimes we need to make sure that clients understand the value delivered by consulting engagements.” In Hong Kong, IBM mainly deals with either local branches of multinational corporations or locally based clients. “Through local engagements, our clients in fact engage with a virtual global team and benefit greatly from our global expertise, from
R&D to different points of view. That’s our asset and that’s the value we offer.” In a lecture jointly presented by IBM and CUHK Business School this semester, Mr. Chun Yin Mak, Partner of IBM Global Business Services noted, “each small box you remove [from an organization chart] actually represents a group of people losing [their] jobs”. He learned that it is not as simple and straightforward as it seemed the first time he dealt with restructuring organizations and reengineering business flow. “Not only the employees are affected by your decisions, so are their families,” Mr. Mak added. “You need to be careful. As consultants, we reach senior level discussions and have the power to influence something for the client or even society at large. This kind of sense of accomplishment, that’s the part I enjoy. Yet most of all we are here to make a better world. We have to bear in mind the obligations and duty of care when carrying out our jobs.”
What makes a good consultant? Aspiring to make a better world is not enough. What else makes one a good consultant? Solid functional skills like knowledge of accounting standards or coding languages are probably one set of crucial
Cover Story 03
For the first decade of your career, you enhance your technological capabilities and you must translate them into what you will become known for.
Mr. Terry Mezger, Consulting Strategy & Operations Lead Partner of Deloitte Hong Kong
skills. “[But] skills [can] become outdated,” elaborated Joseph. “What we really value is candidates’ learning capability. Consultants need to learn really fast!” The second set of skills needed is consulting skills. This can include data collection capabilities all the way to conducting interviews with client representatives. Surprisingly, all the industry practitioners interviewed by CU iBUS all emphasized one skill as being particularly critical: communication skills. Communication skills are not limited to delivering oral presentations to clients. “For much of the time, we need to jot down meeting notes, draft the interview scripts, and compose the final reports to be submitted to the clients. As you can see, written skills play a, if not more, important role here,” said Mr. Mak. What’s more, to carry out countless interviews with clients, consultants must also be good listeners. Yet this is still not enough. “Here at Deloitte, we examine if the candidates are able to ask the right questions and to raise adequate number of questions,” said Mr. Terry Mezger, Consulting Strategy & Operations Lead Partner of Deloitte Hong Kong. Being proactive in continually asking why and why not is crucial. He later raised another important point about the entire engagement process. It is that “our consultants keep reporting their progress with team leaders / project
DID YOU KNOW? What’s hot in consulting industry? From SoLoMo (an acronym combining social media, location-based service, and mobile technology) to big data, these are the hot topics you can’t afford to ignore in this era. Companies and products like Facebook, Foursquare, Weibo and WeChat have totally changed the way we live and consume. Mr. Joseph Wong with IBM believed that this is even more so for the marketers, observing that “nowadays the technology advancement and digitalization revolutions are changing the landscape where companies conduct their business and how they engage their customers. The focal point has shifted from back-stage optimization like efficient enterprise resources planning to today’s front-office transformation emphasizing extension and improvement of customer engagements from offline to online.” The next challenge facing the industry is how to monetize the user base by switching users from online back to offline.
managers as well as our clients. Sometimes they check-in every half day. If consultants don’t tell you what they are doing as they progress, that can lead to problems with the project further down the road.” Regardless of which type of consulting firm the new graduate joins or what kind of service they offer whether it is strategy to operations or IT to human resources, typically fresh graduates start their career as generalists. But it takes some time before they begin to acquire the third and last set of skills—industry depth. “By being a generalist receiving four to five years of on-the-job training and exposure to enough projects related to a number of varied industries, our juniors master a universally applied consulting toolkit and more importantly accumulate sufficient industry specific experience”, Terry explained. “You can’t be a generalist over a lifetime. In terms of one’s entire career growth, I suggest it be divided into three stages. For the first decade of your career, you enhance your technological capabilities and you must translate them into what you will become known for. You’ve got to find your competencies and build your personal brand—what clients come for. In the second decade, you acquire management skills; an MBA will probably help. And in the third decade, you move on to leadership roles.”
Cover Story EDITOR’S PICK
CUHK business undergraduates present to IBM senior executives
By Tiffany Chiang student reporter
Mr. Samuel Tsang from IBM Photo courtesy (right and above):
Tiffany Lam Student Reporter One of the teams presented to CUHK and IBM panelists. Photo courtesy: Sharon Tam
Forty CUHK business undergraduates were given a valuable opportunity to deliver a presentation to senior IBM executives as their final project for a consulting course launched earlier this semester (click for more). Their presentations impressed the judging panel and were found to be higher than the typical undergraduate standard. Students were advised to develop a critical mindset by expanding the breadth and depth of their learning if they would like to pursue a career in the consulting industry. The 40 students were first divided themselves into seven groups. Each group picked a company and as consultants, identified its key problems and formulated feasible and pragmatic recommendations. On April 13, 2013, each group delivered a 15 minute presentation, followed by a 10 minute Q&A session at IBM Hong Kong headquarters at TaiKoo Place, Quarry Bay. Mr. Samuel Tsang, Strategy and Transformation Leader of IBM and also one of the course instructors stated that the students “had done a good job”, with the quality of their presentation beyond undergraduate level. “Students from CUHK are enthusiastic. Apparently they have devoted adequate time for a thorough preparation,” commented Samuel. Samuel continued to say that a thorough preparation especially comprehensive research on
the topics presented helped students come up with articulate answers in the Q&A section while their good time management reflected a smooth coordination among team members. Students were delighted that in every lesson the lecturers shared with them their depth of expertise and industry knowledge. Peggy Tse (Year 3, Global Business Studies) expressed her excitement about taking the course, noting that “this is indeed a Pandora Box experience to me—uncovering all the unexpected facets of the consulting world and the work and life of consultants.” Another student, Tally Chan (Year 2, Integrated BBA) said what they gained from this class was not only what they should know in order to become a consultant, but also developing an interest and more importantly the passion to learn more about consulting. Samuel further suggested students develop a critical mindset since “consultants should be able to look into details, instead of focusing on solving problems on the façade. Students should not limit themselves; instead they should keep expanding the breadth and depth of their learning.” For consultants, it is crucial to be able to see things beyond the immediate. “I often ask myself ‘After that, what’s next?’”, Samuel noted. He finished by saying “unlike pure operations, consultants do not just tackle the problem, but we discover the fundamental reasons underlying the problem”.
Faculty Spotlight 05
Prof. Cheung Waiman Chairman, Department of Decision Sciences & Managerial Economics Director, Li & Fung Institute of SCM & Logistics Director, Center of Cyber Logistics
| Born on January 14 | Serving CUHK since 1992 | Affiliated to Chung Chi College By Myra Zhang, student reporter
About your profession
You have studied at National Taiwan University (NTU) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In what ways What was your past experience in the industrial world do you find these two universities different from CUHK? before becoming a business educator? CUHK is unique for its independent and beautiful I was a Civil Engineer before entering the Supply Chain campus, while the other two universities both do not & Management Information System industry. My really have one. CUHK is also more practical than the experience in this industry began when I received my other two universities, though this may be the MBA degree, and then a doctorate in Management atmosphere of Hong Kong as a whole. RPI is more Information Systems in the States. After that, I worked technically oriented. Its students are mostly logical, in Silicon Valley in California before joining CUHK. analytical, and engineering minded, while the other two are more liberal and comprehensively focused. What motivated you to choose the field of Decision Sciences & Managerial Economics? What was your first impression about CUHK? Has it At first, I changed to MBA simply driven by the belief changed since then? that the business field could make me more money. My first impression: CUHK is what a university should When technology boomed, I engaged myself in be, a true university. It cares a lot about its students. Information Technology using computer systems to Now, the impression remains except that I find CU is improve the business performance of companies. caring more about ranking as compared to previously. Also, my engineering background provided me with Ranking and teaching are indeed both important, but logical, analytical and quantitative skills that are we should reach a balance. A good suggestion may be indispensable for this field. to let the administrative people deal with the ranking while leaving room for professors and lecturers to What was the topic of your most recent research project? focus on teaching and real research. It was about developing the new technology called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which helps About yourself to make the supply chain visible to all the partners in the chain by giving each product and material its own What was the craziest thing you have ever done? identification code. I’m into it because it is groundWhen I was studying in NTU, my friends and I threw breaking that will greatly save cost while adding value bikes into the lake, swam in the lake naked, and to business. managed to run away from the security guards patrolling on bikes, or call the girls out of the dorm Do you have any advice for students who would like to during their curfew time. These were just normal life pursue a career in the supply chain industry? moments for us at that time. This is also my advice for all students: You should always get out of your comfort zone and take Is there a book you would like to recommend? multitude courses in different disciplines. Only by Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? The book leads exploring different disciplines can you get inspirations us to think about “what is fairness” and “how to make a for innovation. fair choice in a dilemma of life”. The thinking perspective in the book is really different from the utilitarianism of economics and business principles. About CUHK
CUHK business students exposed themselves to asset management in a competition
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our CUHK business students in two separate teams worked with their counterparts from other universities, stealing the limelight in the AllianzGI’s Business Competition in early April by winning the championship. Organized by Allianz Global Investors, an asset management company, this competition highlighted the challenges and managerial dilemmas faced by business leaders in real world and was hoped to develop participating students’ creativity and problem-solving ability.
through more personal interactions. Next, knowing your audience is vital in setting the framework of our presentation. As time is limited, we were more focused on what interests the judges. Most importantly, we began with the final outcome in mind. Keeping the objective in mind is very effective in prioritizing the work,” Oscar recollected, noting how they made good use of the 96 hours to prepare.
“Knowing your teammates is the key to success. Not only can this help by dividing the work based on individual strengths, but also builds team trust
Each member of the two winning teams was awarded with a certificate, trophy and cash award of HK$5,000.
“The Business Competition provided undergraduate students a golden opportunity to know more about Oscar Tsui, a Year 3 Quantitative Finance (QFIN) the asset management industry. Working in teams student from one of the winning teams attributed with students from different universities, students their success to good teamwork and the team’s ability developed their capabilities to partner with others, like to innovate. “It is a team project and teamwork is a real work setting, to tackle real work management always more important than individual ability. I issues. During the entire event, students also had believe our team had a synergy. Everyone was actively opportunities to talk to and learn from our senior engaged and contributed from discussion to managers and even top management, which was a presentation,” Oscar said. “For presentation content, precious and inspiring learning experience,” said it is a must to think out of the box. But at the same Terence Ng, Head of Learning & Development, Asia time, we tried to take a more balanced approach with Pacific, Allianz Global Investors. a more focused idea. Less is more.” Alan Yip (Year 3, GBS) from the other winning team Oscar’s team included Vincent Yip (Year 2, GBS) and echoed Terence’s view that the competition exposed two students from other universities. It is not participating students to the asset management surprising that diversity within a team is a feature of industry. “Instead of looking into some highly this competition. Unlike other case competitions, the sophisticated investment products, the competition grouping of this AllianzGI’s Business Competition was exposed me to a broader and more important assigned by the organizer. Twenty four shortlisted component of the asset management industry, which students, ten of whom were from CUHK, were formed is ‘innovation’, “said Alan. “Managing innovation is into six teams of four and the six teams were divided never easy, as it involves people, products, technology into two groups for two different business cases. They and operations, almost everything in the firm.” were required to formulate feasible and actionoriented recommendations, and then present them, His team also included a CUHK business student, Reks all within 96 hours. Ng (Year 3, QFIN).
Spotlight 07
Cross cultural interaction between exchange and local students In 2012 / 2013, there are 440 exchange students
majoring in business. These incoming exchange students hail from twenty five countries. Topping the country list is the U.S., the Netherlands and Canada. It is not surprising that there are non Chinese students attending business classes. It is also not surprising to see exchange students discussing business projects with their local counterparts. In this issue, Tumi Ogunsola, CU iBUS student reporter, checks out the interaction between an exchange and a local student.
Cherry Tong Sze Ling
Hong Kong International Business and Chinese Enterprise Year 1 Chung Chi College
Photo courtesy:
Tumi Ogunsola Student Reporter
Derek James Champlin
Fenton, Michigan, USA The University of South Carolina International Business and Global Supply Chain Year 2 New Asia College
T: Tumi C: Cherry D: Derek T: How did you get to know each other? D: We met through the IBCE program; I’ll be here for two years while Cherry will go to USC for one year. T: How often do you meet up with each other? Both answer: Once in a while, it depends. C: It’s sometimes class related. D: …and we get together for lunch too. Also, we often communicate via WhatsApp. T: What do you think about studying with exchange / local students? C: In class, I find that the exchange students always try to answer the questions posed by the lecturer. On the other hand the local students keep quiet either because they are shy or because they are afraid of being laughed at. D: There’s much less participation in class, because in the States; people are more likely to get involved in class discussions. Exchange students, like us Americans, are more participatory while local students are auditory. They listen but do not speak. T: Do you think that local students shy away from exchange students and vice versa? If so, why? C: It’s because of the language barrier. Locals are sometimes intimidated by the English language. D: It’s caused by cultural differences. I think it’s because both groups are not initially familiar with the other’s culture. T: What are you both able to learn from one another? C: I learned a lot of English from Derek and have also picked up on the western way of thinking, especially their logical manner. And I admire the bravery of exchange students; they are willing to challenge the lecturer when they have a different opinion about what is being discussed. D: Cherry taught me a lot about Hong Kong and CUHK culture, for example I learned from her about Chinese New Year traditions and the red packets. T: What have been your most memorable shared experiences? (Each nodding in agreement with the other): it was definitely the study trip to Shanghai. We took part in team building exercises during the sessions and one night went clubbing together which was so much fun. We also visited the Bund, a tourist nightscape in Shanghai, in China. Just to be in China is a highlight!
From an alternative option to fashion mainstream Credit: Ming Pao
Hong Kong Brand Series #09 Brought to you by the Department of Marketing, CUHK Business School CU: Prof. Leo Sin, Dr. Susanna Kwok, Department of Marketing I.T: Ms. Deborah Cheng, Vice President, Marketing and International Business, I.T Limited
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he story of I.T all begins with a little shop named Green Peace which was founded by Mr. Sham Kar Wai and his brother Mr. Sham Kin Wai back in 1988 in Causeway Bay. Targeting their peers, the Sham brothers mainly sold Dr. Martens footwear and Levi’s jeans in their shop. They continued acquiring distribution rights of other foreign apparel brands and expanded their network by opening new shops. Their success was soon noticed by the NGO (nongovernmental organization) also called Greenpeace and was forced by the NGO to change their name. Renaming itself I.T, the new name was launched in 1997. At that point I.T began importing fashion brands from Japan while creating a line of their own in-house brands as well. From the then 200-squarefoot fashion distributor to the current day 1.4 millionsquare-foot fashion empire, Ms. Deborah Cheng, Vice President, Marketing and International Business of I.T Limited shares with you what makes I.T a sought-after trend setter.
Multi-layer, multi-brand, multi-channel CU: What’s so unique about I.T’s business model?
(Click here for the full version at University Hall of Branding, Chinese version only)
I.T: Lane Crawford or Harvey Nichols carries only imported labels, while stores like Bauhaus focus on
Front Row 09
DID YOU KNOW?
Ms. Deborah Cheng, Vice President of I.T Limited Credit: Ming Pao
their own apparel brands. Unlike most of the others, I.T sells both imported labels and in-house brands. We call it the “multi-layer, multi-brand, and multi-channel” strategy. We offer a wide range of fashion apparel and accessories with different fashion concepts, sold at varying retail price points and targeted at different customer groups. CU: What are the differences between carrying imported labels and in-house brands? I.T: We have less autonomy over these international designer’s labels and licensed brands. Decisions like when to launch a new season of products, what are the styles, and whether or not to run advertisements are all made by their mother groups. Even fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate pose a risk to our business. We are not affected by these limitations when operating our own in-house brands as we are able to set our own timelines and seek different partners for crossover. However, it’s costly to establish an in-house brand. It takes time, requires higher initial investments and costs more in marketing and PR. But at the end of it, in-house brands contribute higher margins and returns on investment.
To discount or not: that is the question constantly challenging the entire retail fashion industry. If a marketer regularly discounts a brand, the risk is that the brand’s image is degraded over time. On the other hand, persistently refusing to discount risks losing those customers who are price-sensitive and ending up with inventory overstock. One of I.T’s responses is that they created a unique in-house brand :Chocoolate that is never discounted. Instead, to maintain :Chocoolate’s brand image I.T frequently launches varied crossover designs and cross promotions with other well known brands. Thanks to its simple and timeless designs, :Chocoolate’s urban styled products appeal to a group of customers that are less sensitive to fickle fashion trends. With a longer shelf life, :Chocoolate eliminates the pressure to offer discounts in order to clear out-of-season products.
As compared to the imported labels, our in-house brands are positioned closer to the mass market and therefore achieve higher turnover. Yet we are not going to give up imported labels—this was the way that I.T got its start. We will continue to carry both categories since they both are important to our business: imported labels cater to the high-end segment while in-house brands fuel the company especially during economic downturns.
Shaping the fashion scene in Greater China CU: What are the vision and mission of I.T? I.T: Our mission statement “Shaping the fashion scene in Greater China” was set just ahead of our initial public offering in 2005. Last year marked our 10th year of presence in the Mainland market; this year we celebrate I.T’s 25th anniversary. Regardless of changes in the marketplace and consumers’ tastes, our mission has remained unchanged. CU: Can you share with us the background to enter into the Mainland market? What are the differences between running your businesses in Hong Kong compared with on the Mainland?
Front Row
Our mentality is to constantly be on the lookout for something new, something that others would not or would not dare to do.
or 20,000 each? How can they be confident and persuasive in selling something that they themselves cannot afford? Worse still, would they appreciate the value of the products? At an even more basic level, would they even be able to pronounce the brand name accurately?
I.T is to be different CU: How can we summarize the contribution of I.T to Hong Kong’s fashion scene over the past 25 years? I.T: Since day one, I.T was born as an alternative option, which is to make fashion and style an affordable luxury. We have always taken great care to make our products fun and our designs exquisite. Perhaps these are the reasons why I.T has become part of the fashion mainstream.
I.T: Ten years ago we saw a gap in the Mainland contemporary fashion retail market between the luxury foreign brands at one end and the low-end or even counterfeit products at the other. Hence, we decided to fill the gap. Starting then until now, we have set up a total of 300 stores across all of our divisions—international designer labels, licensed brands and in-house brands. But our success on the Mainland did not come overnight. By trial and error we slowly realized what differences there are in running our business across the border. To name a few: down coats (羽絨服) need be sold as early as September in northern China since the winters there are long and freezing. Generally speaking, more color options (for example, Mainlanders don’t necessarily feel that black is the most stylish of colors), slim cutting and larger sizes would be added to cater to their varied tastes. As for the distribution channel, department stores still account for a large share of the Mainland retail industry. However, we have to say that most of the retailers in Hong Kong are weak at managing outlets in department stores. Furthermore, while we adopted the cluster strategy here, the Mainland market is too large for us to cluster physical stores in the same way while still achieving density of market presence comparable with Hong Kong. That’s why we have started to test e-commerce selling in selected cities in the Mainland. Traditionally it’s difficult for fashion retailers to hire new front line staff. This is even more so on the Mainland. Compared to here in Hong Kong the level of education and remuneration is far lower there. Can you imagine frontline sales representatives who earn RMB4,000 a month selling clothes priced at RMB10,000
Once you have become mainstream (in the sense of our large turnover), it’s difficult to try something nonmainstream. In the early days, it was indeed easier for I.T to be different. But conversely, with more cash on hand and a larger buffer, we are in fact able to try different ideas and generate more novel concepts. By sticking to our two core values—be stylish and be different—our mentality is to constantly be on the lookout for something new, something that others would not or would not dare to do. We have staged our fashion shows on roof tops and theaters. What we always try to do is to instill a sense of freshness into Hong Kong’s fashion scene. BEHIND-THE-SCENES
Licensed Brands Through a licensing agreement, the licensee pays the licensing fee and in return acquires the right to manufacture or distribute the product or service within a specified time period or geographical area. Next issue: Epilogue
Newsroom 11
Business students groomed for leadership 1 Date: March 23 and 24, 2013 By Jimmy Tsong, student reporter
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A total of seventeen undergraduate business students now have a deeper understanding of their personalities and have had their leadership skills polished, thanks to the 1.5-day Leadership Foundation Workshop from Cross Boundary Leadership Program (CBLP, click for more). Prior to the workshop held on March 23 and 24, participating students took the MBTIÂŽ Step 1 assessment, which is a psychometric test. Through the explanation given by Andrew Ma, a veteran management trainer and coach, students could identify their strengths and manage their pitfalls with reference to the assessment results. Consistent with the philosophy of experiential learning, participating students also took part in a series of team experiential exercises. These exercises helped students develop their leadership skills including personal confidence, assertiveness and problem-solving techniques. Elements critical to effective business leadership was reinforced during the debriefing with a team review on leadership performance. CBLP is a new experiential learning initiative organized by the Undergraduate Office.
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Research on audience for better presentation 2 Date: March 21, 2013 By Adrian Lai, student reporter
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Around twenty students attended a presentation skills workshop at which they were shown how to deliver a convincing presentation to industry professionals. On top of a comprehensive discussion on the topic of presentation, it was also suggested to participating students that they research the audience’s background and as well as the information they would be interested in learning. It would be a plus if students could anticipate what questions the audience might raise. Another highlight was the effective use of visual aids; attendees learned that using video was said would generally be a good choice. Organized by Undergraduate Office, this presentation
Newsroom skills workshop was held on March 21 by trainer Mr. Christopher Southam, a former lawyer from London. He is now a management trainer, coaching on presentation skills, public speaking and cover letter writing.
Aptitude test completed for this academic year Date: April 17, 2013 By Lolitta Ho, student reporter
The last session for the Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT) for this academic year (2012 / 2013), was held on April 17. However, if you are still at CUHK next year, you might have another chance to take it then. After taking the BAT, students uncovered their strengths on various subjects and gained insight into which areas of business may suit them best. The students that took this test are now better able to position themselves as the report compares their performance against their international peers. They may also expose themselves to more career opportunities as the prospective employers can view the results through Bloomberg’s online platform and contact suitable candidates with openings. A total of five BATs were held in collaboration with Bloomberg and Undergraduate Office this academic year, with a total of around 100 students taking this test. BAT is a multiple choice test consisting of approximately 150 questions related to business, finance and consulting.
GBS students visit top-tier consulting firms 3 / 4 Date: March 8, 2013, and April 12, 2013
A group of Year 2 Global Business Studies students got the opportunity to learn about the consulting industry through two recent firm visits. The visits to McKinsey Greater China Office 3 on March 8 and Deloitte Consulting 4 on April 12 respectively enabled the students to have a glimpse of consulting in Asia and the possible career path in this fascinating industry. Speakers at these two events included Mr. Emmanuel Pitsilis (Director of McKinsey Hong Kong Office) and Mr. Tim Pagett (Partner and Leader for Deloitte Hong Kong Consulting practice), as well as GBS alumni who currently work at the two firms.
See
who’s
hiring now!
Credit Suisse
Monday, May 6, 2013 Summer Intern (Equity Derivatives Trading)
Jebsen & Co.
Saturday, May 11, 2013 Summer Intern (Building Products Division, Beverage Division, Logistics Division)
National Australia Bank (NAB)
Friday, May 17, 2013 Summer Intern (Front Office Banking, Human Resources, Finance, Risk and Compliance)
Philips Electronics Thursday, May 23, 2013 Summer Intern (Marketing, Product Research)
AVISTA Valuation Advisory Limited Monday, May 27, 2013 Assistant Analyst (Business Valuation)
Mandarin Oriental Saturday, June 1, 2013 Food & Beverage Management Trainee
And many more openings now available in CUBA Database. Apply today! Powered by CUBA Database
Column 13
Matt Ng
Alumnus, Quantitative Finance, Class of 2012
The top 10 most useful items when on the road (1)
Do you have all these in your travel pack?
T
here is very limited space in a backpack. Each traveler will have their own list of items to be packed, and will pack according to their own traveling habits and the nature of their journey. A typical list might include army knife, first-aid kit and medicine, and maybe a sleeping bag as well. Below is my personal list of items I brought when I was backpacking. They are all small items that don’t take up a lot of space, but can save you from a lot of unnecessary trouble if you pack them along.
1
Nail Cutter
This is actually the most critical item on my list. No other piece of equipment can do what a nail cutter does. If your nails are broken or if you caught a splinter on your finger, it will be your savior. It can function as a normal cutter under most situations, helping you to open packages, cut string, etc. And it can be brought on board as a check-in baggage.
2
Camping Rope
A 3 to 5 meter thin rope will be strong enough to take the weight of your laundry, and you won’t have to spread your clothes all over the place in the hostel. Other uses are limited only by your own creativity. It can stabilize your backpack on a bumpy truck, or prevent your jeans from slipping down if your belt gets stolen.
3
Bug Spray
I have it with me anywhere I go, jungle or city. There’s always a chance that your hostel is plagued with mosquitoes, or worse, bed bugs in the room!
4
Anti-allergy medicine
If you come down with a fever or diarrhea, you will probably have to stop travelling and rest for a couple days, but to me it really isn’t a big deal. On the other hand if you got bitten by some unknown bugs or have some random allergy, the resulting itchiness can be a real torture.
5
Eye-Shield + Ear Plug + Inflatable Pillow
Helps me to sleep comfortably on the overnight bus, or when I have a snoring / dream-talking / inconsiderate roommate who returns in the wee hours from a late-night party. An inflatable pillow is negligible in size and weight, yet will offer a lot of comfort in return. I will touch on the other five useful items on the next issue. Stay tuned! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Ng took his first backpacking trip to Nepal during the summer of 2009, and ever since then he can’t stop traveling. During his one-year exchange studies in Switzerland, the same backpack saw him through Europe where he experienced all the highs and lows of being (at different times) a hitchhiker, a farmer, a lost and robbed traveler, and a homeless street sleeper. Matt has just returned from a five month adventure traveling through Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. In this column he shares with us stories from his journeys and experiences as a volunteer overseas.