Business Bridge - Issue 34

HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Issue No.34, Aug 2016 第34期,2016年8月

HomeTaste feeding the finicky tourists with homely meals Dr. Michael Chan Yue-kwong conferred Honoree of HKBU Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma Society Five generations of alumni come home to celebrate Diamond Jubilee Celebration

Vision, Mission and Core Values Our Vision We aspire to be a leader in whole-person business education and a centre of excellence in business research in selected strategic areas, with a view to inspiring business practice, creating values for stakeholders, and enhancing social and economic growth and development.

Our Mission Through internationally recognised business education programmes and research achievements, our School seeks to nurture visionary and ethical business leaders who make a difference to their organisations and industry, and to the evolving needs of Hong Kong, mainland China and the global community.

Our Core Values • Quality • Integrity • Professionalism • Innovation • Global Perspectives • Teamwork • Social Responsibility

Student Reporters School of Business Blair Au Yeung A BBA student majoring in Economics, Blair embraces the world with an open heart and grit. Reading and travelling are two of her greatest passions in life, for she believes: either body or soul, there must be one on the road.

Sincere Kwan An explorer by nature, Sincere has an innate sense of curiosity that only the life of a journalist can keep her happy, excited and inspired. Sincere has internship experiences with Sing Tao News Group and China National Radio (Beijing) prior to joining the team.

Anny Liu Literary, musical and athletic. Anny has an eclectic range of interests and never ceases to challenge herself. Being a BBA student majoring in Finance, she has an insider’s knowledge about life at the School of Business and brings us more news bits from beyond.

Howard Zhang With contrasting traits of being serious but playful, Howard believes in living his life to the fullest and never shies away from any opportunities.

Business Bridge is published by the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University. All rights reserved. For subscription or reproduction of any parts, articles and/or photographs in this publication, please contact the School at 3411 5558.

To change your personal information, please e-mail to bus@hkbu.edu.hk or fax to 3411 5588.

The information provided will be restricted for permitted use as defined by the University.

Contents Issue No. 34

Aug 2016

2 - 6 | Features The 6th Induction Ceremony of the HKBU Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma Society Cuisine is the way to bridge cultural divides and conquer the world

7 - 9 | Research Excellence Emerald Literati Award 2016 Outstanding Paper: Building brand loyalty through user engagement in online brand communities in social networking sites Earnings performance of major customers and bank loan contracting with suppliers Reducing job insecurity and increasing performance ratings: Does impression management matter?

10 -12 | Global Engagement MBA students’ extensive footprints set in world-renowned European companies ISEM students showcase business talent in an international IT case competition 2016 IIBD International Case Competition’s finale to be staged in the Netherlands

13 -17 | School News 18 -20 | Alumni Corner Five generations of alumni of the School of Business come back home to celebrate HKBU’s 60th anniversary

Features

Business Bridge

Features The 6th Induction Ceremony of the HKBU Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma Society

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Mrs. Anita Chan and Dr. Michael Chan (holding frame) enjoy the moment with Dr. Amen Lee, President of Legacy Academy (first from left) and Ms. Lucia Cheung, Director of Corporate Affairs, Legacy Academy (second from right).

The Hong Kong Baptist University (“HKBU”) Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma Society (“BGS”) inducted 68 new members at its 6th Induction Ceremony on 18 May. At the ceremony, the School of Business conferred upon Dr. Michael Chan Yue-kwong, Director and Former Chairman of Café de Coral Holdings Limited, the Beta Gamma Sigma Honoree Award in honour of his significant accomplishments in both business and the community.

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HKBU students become members of BGS’s 750,000 community

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Professor Ed Snape, Dean of School of Business, mentioned in his welcome remarks that the School has been recently reaccredited by the European Quality Improvement System (“EQUIS”) and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (“AACSB”), winning particular accolades for its commitment to excellence in whole-person education. He reiterated that the BGS Chapter at HKBU was established to recognise the outstanding academic achievement of students, and he encouraged new members to benefit from the vast global network of BGS. Dr. Michael Chan, the recipient of the Chapter Honoree award this year, spearheaded Café de Coral Holdings Limited for more than 30 years before his retirement. During his leadership, Café r Dr. Michael Chan shares his 3Cs in life de Coral expanded from 40 branches to over 500 worldwide. His excellence in management has been widely recognised, and he has received awards including the the way people live. It is time to seize the opportunity and to coveted Stars of Asia Award and the prestigious Bauhinia Cup adjust our education systems and business models to meet the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. Dr. Chan is also active in the changes of our times. community. He is currently a member of the advisory committee of HKBU School of Business, Honorary Chairman of the Hong Giving advice to graduates, he emphasized the importance of Kong Institutes of Marketing and Legacy Academy, and the having a “can-do attitude”. Despite a possible economic downturn, Chairman of the Business Enterprise Management Centre of the he believes that it is still a good time to start a business, if one has the courage and the perseverance.

Hong Kong Management Association.

Advancing his career from city planner to chairman of a group of companies, Dr. Chan shared the secrets of his success. “In the business world, the underlying commitment to change is the driving force in the constant search for excellence,” he said.

“There are 3Cs in life: choices, chances and change. One must make a choice, to take a chance, to change things for the life,” said Dr. Chan. He also mentioned that the coming of the 4th industrial revolution and the age of the millennials will fundamentally alter

Beta Gamma Sigma Society, founded in the US in 1913, is an international honour society accredited by the AACSB International. Only AACSB accredited institutions are eligible to establish collegiate chapters. BGS now has inducted over 750,000 members in more than 160 countries and territories.

Having received AACSB accreditation in 2010, the School of Business established its HKBU Chapter, aiming at recognising students and faculty for their excellent performance, and encouraging its members to uphold the core values of ‘Beta’ (honour), ‘Gamma’ (wisdom) and ‘Sigma’ (earnestness).

Check out the rising statistical trend of Cafe de Coral in social media after its new promotional campaign launch in May http : / / w w w. s o c i a l b a ker s . co m / statistics/facebook/pages/ detail/108390502597117-cafe-de-coral

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Cuisine is the way to bridge cultural divides and conquer An interview with the founders of the Enactus award-winning project “HomeTaste”

You are a culture lover. You love in-depth travelling. You want to taste homemade food. You want to go to local homes of the region you visit and talk to the people living there. So you take out your smartphone, open an app, and find a local family to stay with for an evening to have dinner and to get a taste of local culture.

This whole idea comes from a group of fourteen students of the interest club Enactus, nine of them from the BBA programme.

They developed this idea into a project called “HomeTaste”, which brought them the championship of Enactus China Regional Competition (Hong Kong Region), and the Enactus Hong Kong Social Business Super Bowl.

We interviewed six of the them – Ming Kong, Annie Lai, Verna Leung, Tracy Liu, Kelvin So and Aquila Tam – to find out how they come up with this award-winning idea.

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Enactus Competitions are a showcase of how students are transforming lives and enabling progress through entrepreneurial action

To be connected around dining tables “ ‘HomeTaste’ is an online platform that connects travelers to local citizens in Hong Kong,” said Ming Kong, Year 2 student majoring in Human Resources Management (HRM).

It enables tourists to get access to local host families and to have a home-meal with them for a fee.

It all started with observations of the social needs of people around the community.

“Surveys show that there are around 660,000 stay-at-home housewives in Hong Kong. Many of them want to work, but are unable to find jobs as they have to take care of their families,” she said. “And we also observed that in-depth travelling is the growing trend, especially among young travelers.”

Inspired by the success of mobile apps like Uber and Airbnb, the team decided to tap into the rise of sharing economy, and developed a platform to link up the two parties in need.

“This platform can help housewives, especially those from low-income families, to earn extra income by offering unique homemade meals to travelers. At the same time, visitors can get a chance to get in touch with authentic local cuisine and culture through direct interaction with citizens,” said Aquila, Year 4 student of the HRM concentration. “We aim at bringing about social impacts and facilitating cultural exchange.”

“We hope to connect people through this platform,” Ming added. Growing up in the era of the Internet, the group found that distance between people is getting further.

“I used to grow up in public housing estates with close neighborhood relationships.

Now I moved to newer estates, neighbours seldom talk to each other,” said Ming.

“We hope that this platform could make a difference by offering a chance to connect people around the world.”

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the world

More than just a meal Every new project faces a range of difficulties. For “HomeTaste”, the most difficult part when it comes to execution, the team revealed, is to attract local host families.

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Kelvin (right) fully utilizes the commercial knowledge learnt from his e-business management study

“Many families worry that their little flats are not good enough to receive guests, and they do not speak English well enough to communicate with travelers,” Kelvin, Year 2 student from Information Systems and e-Business Management concentration, analysed.

“Chinese people tend to be less open and more passive when it comes to meeting new people and receiving guests,” said Tracy, Year 2 student of HRM concentration. She also shared with us her experience of being a host. “It was special,” she said. She interacted with travelers from different parts of the world, cooked them local food, and guided them to pass through the community she was living in, making the whole experience more than just a meal. r

To motivate local hosts to participate in the project, the team has come up with a wide range of strategies, from a conceptual framework, such as brand building and culture creation, to implementing strategies like referral programme and member identity verification procedure.

A photo of team member Ming taken at the national level competition in Shanghai

“We need to build a positive brand image,” said Kelvin. “We have to build trust.

It is more than just service and money. It enables you to meet new friends and facilitates cultural exchange.”

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The team scoops a number of awards at the Enactus competitions with their creative business plans

Challenges that come along innovation Converting an idea into a successful business model is never easy.

“HomeTaste” is the only idea that survived among a bunch of ideas the team came up with. Among them, there were also ideas like wedding photo taking services for ethnic groups and distributing unsold food to charities, for instance.

Yet, just like other sharing economy companies that prosper in recent years, “HomeTaste” is facing a variety of challenges – payment method, taxation, food safety, security, legal issues and more. The student team is tackling these a step at a time: providing food safety guidelines and paying visits to host families to ensure security and food safety; limiting the number of times each host receives guests to avoid abuse of the platform, and they are even actively seeking advices from legal professionals via our alumni and School’s network.

“Our courage and confidence are all that matters. It is all we have.”

Entrepreneurial spirit also glows at http://www.entfund.org/ in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In the U.S., AOL debuts a startup incubator Area 51 to nurture startups created by AOL employees and fresh college graduates, read more from http://fortune. com/2016/06/02/aol-startup-incubator/

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Research Excellence Building brand loyalty through user engagement in online brand communities in social networking sites * An Emerald 2016 Literati Award Outstanding Paper Xiabing Zheng, Christy M. K. Cheung, Matthew K.O. Lee, Liang Liang. Information Technology & People, Vol. 28 No.1, 90-106 (2015)

How to make your customers engagingly loyal off-line and on-line?

influences brand loyalty directly and indirectly through user commitment.

We are all aware of the importance of social media for brands. How else can we explain the inordinate amount of time we devote to discussing the craftsmanship of our favourite handbag, the technical prowess of our sound system or the feel of a new pair of skis?

The spontaneous emergence of social networking sites (“SNS”) and other social tools as a result of users’ passion for brands presents organisations with a clear opportunity to directly engage with their most fervent fans. But how?

The research model was empirically tested with Facebook users.

Based on these results, the authors conclude that marketers should seek to encourage users’ engagement in online communities, in order to foster brand loyalty. Rewarding participants with gifts, coupons or special prizes is particularly effective in encouraging participation.

Marketers should also strive to create a harmonious online experience, as it helps in reducing users’ perceived costs of engaging in online communities.

Academics Christy M.K. Cheung, Xiabing Zheng, Matthew K.O. Lee and Liang Liang explored the concept of user engagement within brand communities. Their goal was to identify specific strategies brands can use to build brand loyalty through online communities in SNS. The authors began by surveying 185 Hong Kong-based Facebook users, 78 per cent of them aged between 17 and 25.

Interestingly, promotion seems to further trump up participation. SNS members appear keen to promote the platform to others even in the absence of direct benefits to themselves, provided that costs involved, like the amount of time, are perceived as low. Marketers need to constantly pay attention to the interplay between perceived benefits, perceived costs and engagement behaviours in order to drive brand loyalty.

Building on social exchange theory and the relationship marketing literature, perceived benefit (e.g. rewards) and perceived cost (e.g. time or effort) were identified as the key antecedents of user engagement in online brand communities, while user engagement

To see the implication of the latest acquisition of one of the bellwethers, LinkedIn, on the future of social media, please see : http://www.inc.com/jeff-bercovici/microsoftlinkedin-social.html

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Research Excellence

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Earnings performance of major customers and bank loan contracting with suppliers Jeong-Bon Kim, Byron Y. Song, Yue Zhang. Journal of Banking & Finance, 59, 384-398 (2015)

An umbrella for a sunny day Business people worldwide had a hunch that Mark Twain was right when he described a banker as: “a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” Academics Byron Y. Song, Jeong-Bon Kim and Yue Zhang validated Twain’s early insight into the psyche of bankers in this paper. This research uses a sample of 3,725 loanfacilities financial data collected over 17 years to shed a light on how commercial lenders adjust credit terms based on the earnings performance of supplier firms’ customers.

In the past two decades, the banking sector has undergone dramatic changes that has made corporate finance managers’ life less easy. Debt financing could be a headache. Readers who would find this research interesting are financial controllers and corporate finance managers of mid- to small capital listed companies, who have to deal with banks for financing.

The relationship between suppliers and their customers is intricate throughout the supply chain. As many suppliers tend to rely heavily on a few customers, their economic survival often depends on the performance of their customers. The study finds that strong earnings performance of major customers (as expressed by a superior return on assets level) is indeed associated with favourable terms on credit extended to suppliers. When their customers do well, suppliers can expect lower interest rates and more lenient non-price covenants.

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Moreover, relationships matter. When the relationship between a supplier and its bank is new, the bank is going to impose more stringent credit terms on the supplier whose customers do not perform well. This is especially true for suppliers relying on a few customers in a highly concentrated industry in the product market.

Suppliers can alleviate this risk by developing better banking relationships. When a bank has been doing business with a supplier firm for a long time, it develops a level of comfort with the customer’s operations, business and industry. This often tempers the stringency of the loan credit terms pointing to deteriorating trading conditions of the supplier firm’s customers.

Therefore, along the whole value chain, suppliers are not without bargaining power when asking for loan facilities.

Take your career to the next level by understanding how credit risk control works: http://www.garp.org/#!/home

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Research Excellence

Reducing job insecurity and increasing performance ratings: does impression management matter?

Huang, G. H., Zhao, H. H., Niu, X. Y., Ashford, S. J., & Lee, C . Journal of Applied Psychology, 98.5, 852-862 (2013)

When in self-doubt, do something!

The recent massive layoffs in Hong Kong rings an alarm bell for all workers. In the modern economy, job insecurity reigns supreme. Job insecurity as a chronic, ambiguous threat to employees has been found to negatively influence wellbeing, job attitude and performance.

What would employees do when feeling insecure in their jobs? How would bosses react?

Academics Emily Huang Guo-hua, Helen Hailin Zhao, Xiong-ying Niu, Susan J. Ashford and Cynthia Lee took a different approach in this research. They conducted three rounds of interviews over a period of 18 months with 271 Chinese employees and supervisors of a construction company and a manufacturing firm, both being stateowned enterprises in China. The research sought to determine how job insecurity affects employee workplace behaviour. They also examined how these behavioural changes affect employees’ perception of job insecurity and management’s reaction to such changes.

Job insecurity can prompt employees to adopt new standards of behaviour. Employees have two aims. First, they want to increase their chances of keeping their jobs. They also want to reduce their feelings of insecurity. By proposing new initiatives or embracing new tasks, employees seek to influence the perception of others. The study suggests that impression management is indeed effective in reducing feelings of job insecurity. One important caveat: management must have liked the employee in the first place for impression management to be effective.

But how do management react to suddenly zealous employees?

Supervisors are not dupes. Impression management’s effectiveness is tempered by how supervisors perceive these changes. The study suggests that supervisors who believe an employee is acting in good faith will tend to rate such employee’s performance higher. When supervisors believe an employee’s new attitude is self-serving, they will not change their views of the employee’s performance. The study concludes that management motives’ attribution does little to alleviate employees’ job insecurity. A possible explanation is that employees might not know what management thinks.

So, what can an employee do? Workers should try to make additional efforts to help their organisations. This approach leads to better job appraisals, thus possibly lowering the chances of being sacked.

As for employers, they need to better communicate with their staff. Job security can lead to enhanced productivity. Managers should nudge employees towards adopting behaviours that are beneficial to their organisations.

An array of survival kits for managers are available at : http://www.businessnewsdaily. com/latest?subsection=managing

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Global Engagement MBA students’ extensive footprints set in world-renowned European companies With an emphasis on live learning, the School’s MBA programme covers a Business Field Study module, offering students the opportunity to visit Europe. Students took part in seminars and presentations given by distinguished scholars and academics of three universities located in Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in the two months starting from late April to May. There were three classes travelling in three separate trips to have international exposure across diverse industries.

They visited international retail brands and private banks, and one of the world’s busiest stock exchanges, The London Stock Exchange.

The MBA students’ footprints reached five companies in each country. The five-day field trip to Germany from 25 to 29 April

was hosted by Berlin School of Economics and Law. Automotive industry is the jewel in the crown of the German economy. The students joined a guided tour in BMW’s Berlin plant to visit their motorcycle assembly unit. Some of them were enthusiastic to ride on different models of motorcycles displayed at the showroom. The tour formed an impression to the students that BMW motorcycles were far from mere transportation means, but luxuries. The group also visited Glaserne Manufaktur Dresden, the carmaker Volkswagen.

The students were deeply amazed by the latest models of electric vehicles, sports cars as well as antique models of sedans from the 1930s. Other topical seminars on German consumer lifestyle and economic recovery were held. These let the students have a better understanding of the uniqueness of the local economy.

Germany

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Volkswagen displays a number of antique cars and a model of the r w future city with environmental friendly e-mobility infrastructure v s Students enjoy their visit to Science and Technology Park in Adlershof and BMW

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Global Engagement

Switzerland

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Prof. Allan Chan (second from left) and a number of students examine the watch components of H. Moser & Cie

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Representatives from H. Moser & Cie (back row) take a group photo with the students

United Kingdom

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MTS is an electronic platform of The London Stock Exchange, handling fixed income trading and providing fixed income market data.

Hosted by ZHAW School of Management and Law, the students visited Zurich, Switzerland from 16 to 20 May. The country has a number of luxury brands in premium watches. One of the company visits during the field study was conducted at H. Moser & Cie. The company is the leading watchmaker producing Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Baume & Mercier, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Longines, Omega, Piaget and a long list of other famous brands of watches. The students could take a very close look at the high-precision production processes of these premium watches.

The students also visited the headquarters of Roche, the world’s largest biotech company founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland.

Roche has been recognised as the group leader in sustainability within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry seven years in a row by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. The students had the golden opportunity to meet Mr. Urs Jaisli, Roche’s Chief Compliance Officer, to share Roche’s story of success in business sustainability and corporate responsibility.

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Students from Zhuhai wear chi-pao and zhong-shan outfits as a warm gesture in cultural exchange

The field study in the U.K. conducted from 23 to 27 May was equally exciting, especially when all of the students entered The London Stock Exchange for the first time in their lives. The local partner, Kent Business School, invited a number of professors and practitioners to share their views on international business strategy, product innovation and intercultural management.

Kent is known as the “Garden of England”. Against this backdrop, the field study focused on the economic regeneration through cultural and leisure industries. The students visited Turner Contemporary Gallery and Cummins Power Generation.

The most important learning outcome from these field studies was that the students could take a new perspective on product innovation in an international context.

Prompted by a sudden impulse to study in Europe for free? Check this out: http://www.topuniversities.com/studentinfo/studying-abroad/where-can-you-studyabroad-free

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ISEM students showcase business talent in an international IT case competition Three students from our Information Systems and e-Business Management (“ISEM”) concentration participated in the CaseIT competition held in Vancouver from 10 to 13 February 2016. Organised

by Simon Fraser University, CaseIT is an annual global case competition for undergraduate business students with a strong MIS focus.

Our ISEM team, Charley Chung, Jasmine Che, and Joel Tse, led by the team coaches Dr. Christy Cheung and Dr. Dimple Thadani from the Department of Finance and Decision Sciences, was one of the 20 invited finalist teams from across the globe. Other participating universities included Copenhagen Business School, Indiana University, Queen’s University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Participants were given 24 hours to solve a case and a day to present their team’s solution to a judging panel consisting of industry professionals. The students found the journey fruitful and inspiring.

They met and mingled with elite students from top universities around the world. “It was a wonderful experience and we exchanged ideas and got to know each other,” said Charley.

The team also had the chance to meet with managers of the world’s largest technology companies and founders of local digital start-ups.

“It was definitely a great experience in my university life,” said Jasmine, who was excited to explore the Canadian culture. “It led me to look

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Dr. Christy Cheung (second left) and Dr. Dimple Thadani (third left) with their mentees at the competition

beyond the e-commerce industry of our own city and take heed of the global market.”

“Although we did not win the competition, what I had learnt can never be measured by the medal,” remarked Joel.

Established in 2008, the competition serves as a platform to gather students from various backgrounds of IT and business to showcase their skills in areas such as teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking.

2016 IIBD International Case Competition’s finale to be staged in the Netherlands After the application deadline at the end of May, contestants have to analyze the first-round case being assigned to them.

They have only ten days to finish it, in order to meet the next deadline on 30 June. So this summer will be a busy one for our contestants!

The IIBD competition enters its 11th anniversary, with this year’s competition jointly organised with Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The theme of this year’s Competition is “Creating Value through Internationlisation”. Finalists can have the opportunity to compete at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences during the final round to be held on 18 November 2016.

IIBD International Case Competition is a competition for IIBD member and non-member universities worldwide. The purpose of the Competition is to strengthen internationalisation through the enhancement of student and faculty networks, both social as well as professional.

Every year, business student teams from IIBD member and nonmember universities compete on solving a specific business problem encountered by a real firm, and are required to make recommendations. Contestants need to deal with constraints such as tight deadlines and incomplete information.

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Timeline 30 June - Deadline for submission of analysis of “first-round” case 16 Sept - Finalists chosen by Organising Committee 18 Nov - Final round More information on the 2016 IIBD International Case Competition is available at http://iibd.hkbu.edu.hk/CC2016.

School News Centre for Human Resources Strategy and Development organises public forum on MPF offsetting mechanism In his welcoming speech, Mr. Cheng Yan-kee said HKBU is committed to nurturing students with the interest and ability to explore and discuss on a diverse range of social issues, underpinned by HKBU’s ethos of whole person education. Through the forum, the University hopes to encourage open and rational dialogue among different sectors of the community on the MPF offsetting mechanism, and provide constructive ideas to the HKSAR Government for reference during the consultation period on this topical issue.

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Mr. Matthew Cheung gathers public opinion on how to address the MPF offsetting issue through an open discussion at the forum

A public forum entitled “MPF Offsetting Mechanism: Abolish? Maintain?

Where to go from here?” was held on 2 June as part of the initiatives taken by the School of Business’s Centre for Human Resources Strategy and Development to celebrate the University’s 60th anniversary. The forum aimed at providing a platform for representatives from major trade associations, social service and education sectors to hold a constructive discussion on the MPF offsetting mechanism. Some 350 participants including members of the public, employers, employees and practitioners from the labour sector attended to exchange ideas on the topical issue.

Officiating at the opening ceremony were Mr. Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the HKSAR Government (second from right); Mr. William Leung, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Hung Kai Financial Limited (second from left); Mr. Cheng Yankee, Chairman of the Council and the Court, HKBU (third from right); Professor Roland Chin, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Edward Snape, Dean of the School of Business; and Professor Randy Chiu, Director of the Centre for Human Resources Strategy and Development, School of Business, HKBU.

At the forum, Mr. Matthew Cheung expressed his gratitude to HKBU for organising such a forum in celebration of the University’s 60th anniversary. He encouraged the participants to hold more thorough and in-depth discussions on the MPF offsetting mechanism at the forum.

Four veteran professionals and experts in related areas were invited to deliver a keynote speech at the forum. They included Mr. Matthew Cheung, who spoke on the topic “Retirement Protection Forging Ahead”; the late Dr. Stanley Lau, Honorary President of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Mr. Stanley Ng, Chairman of The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions; and Professor Raymond So, Dean of Business of Hang Seng Management College.

When taking a regional perspective, the Singaporean Government uses a life events illustration to educate their nationals to plan ahead for their retirement https://www. areyouready.sg/Pages/default.aspx To peep into how their CPF functions, see basic facts here: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/members/faq/ schemes/retirement/cpf-life

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Outstanding School of Business staff recognised for their excellence On 2 February 2016, the School of Business was pleased to present awards to five faculty members in recognition of their outstanding performance in 2015.

Teaching Award – Dr. Glos Ho, Department of Marketing Dr. Ho’s teaching pedagogy has been highly appreciated by her students over the years. Comments by her students showed that her interactive teaching style has been well received with polished public speaking skills.

With her well-designed class activities, Dr. Ho has effectively engaged her students. She has successfully developed “Sports Marketing” for the Department and “Seminar in Contemporary Marketing Issues”.

Winner of both President’s Award and School Award for Outstanding Performance

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Dr. Daniel Ho, Dr. Amy Chen, Professor Ed Snape, Mr. Simon So, Dr. Glos Ho and Mr. Man Ko (from left).

Teaching Award – Dr. Daniel Ho, Department of Accountancy and Law In the lecture room, Dr. Ho invites experienced tax partners of the Big4 accounting firms to carry across technical skills in China Taxation with highly practical examples and illustrations. He uses teaching techniques, which are commonly adopted by professional accounting bodies, like Hong Kong Institute of CPAs’ Qualification Programme (QP), to develop students’ technical skills. The interactive small group discussion of QP-style workshops helps to stimulate students’ thinking process.

Dr. Glos Ho was also awarded the HKBU President’s Award for Outstanding Performance 2015-16. In recognition of her contribution in teaching, Dr. Ho shared her secret of success: to give her students freedom. In her day to day classes, Dr. Ho always sets the framework and guides the students towards the learning outcome, and lets them loose from there.

While she was their teacher, she was also a student in her own class. In a random class of her own, her students came up with a discussion in analysing “what is learning?”, which Dr. Ho later framed as EMR³ (Engagement, Meaningful, Real-world, Relevance and Relatedness). It caught on so much that Dr. Ho applied this approach in her later classes since then. “In the ever evolving world of digital marketing, it is important to keep an open mind”, said Dr. Ho. In another instance, Dr. Ho instructed her students to take on “mission impossible” in one of her course assignments: to

School of Business successfully re-accredited AACSB and EQUIS On 17 February 2016, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (“AACSB International”) officially announced that the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University has been re-accredited for another five years. AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, achieved by fewer than five percent of the world’s business schools. The HKBU School of Business obtained its Initial Accreditation in 2010.

AACSB requires member business schools to uphold its mission and core values to advance the interests of global management education, and to maintain high standards together with AACSB’s community of leading business schools. The re-accreditation process ensures that the schools engage in continuous quality improvement in management education through engagement, innovation, and impact.

The AACSB Peer Review Team was impressed by the good work that the School of Business has done to address students’ professional development needs. The Team recognised the School of Business’s commitment to applied and experiential learning, and its strong network with the business community, and it affirmed that the focus on whole-person business education is well aligned with Hong Kong Baptist University’s mission and values.

Meanwhile, the School of Business has also been successfully re-accredited by EQUIS - European Foundation for Management Development’s Quality Improvement System - for another three-year period.

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The EQUIS reviewers visited the School earlier this year, and looked into all aspects of teaching, research and school management as a

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School News

aggression has been published in Academy of Management Journal. Another top-tier paper discussing workplace incivility was published in Academy of Management Journal in 2013. During her PhD study, Amy conducted some strategic studies, which had been widely adopted in academic journals in management.

Since 2010, Dr. Chen has published numerous quality articles.

Among these papers, the one published in Asia Pacific Journal of Management has been cited more than 120 times.

Service Award – Mr. Simon So, Department of Management

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Encouraging the autonomous learning of students is Dr. Glos Ho’s teaching philosophy

grind results in a social media campaign that the students had no prior experience. During the project she refrained herself from giving any guidance but only encouragement, and made the students sweat it out. In the end, the students created a social media campaign producing 12 micro movies to promote animal adoption. Eventually, one of the projects was so well received in the Hong Kong community that it recorded a viewership of 48,000 in just a month. What mattered the most was the way her students had undergone transformation, and needless to say, she developed a truly rewarding relationship with them in the process.

Research Award – Dr. Amy Chen, Department of Management Dr. Chen’s research areas of interest cover the dark side of organisational behavior. Her paper analysing workplace

Mr. So spearheads the formation of the new Entrepreneurship Concentration. He has also taken up the post as Associate Director of the Institute for Enterprise Development and has served a pivotal role in establishing the newly proposed Entrepreneurship Centre.

Prior to this, Mr. So had been HRM Concentration coordinator for six years, and within the period, the HRM Concentration was chosen as the most preferred choice and was selected as the best HR program in Hong Kong by mainland students. Simon is also the Founding Director of Shanghai Institute of Business and Management and Centre of Human Resources and Strategy Development, HKBU.

Service Award – Mr. Man Ko, Department of Accountancy and Law Since joining HKBU in 2010, Mr. Ko has taught a wide range of courses at associate degree, undergraduate degree and postgraduate levels and he has been in charge of ACLW student internship programme that has successfully helped more than 500 BBA and BCom Accountancy major undergraduate students find internship placements from 2010 to 2015. Externally, he has been serving the accounting professionals and community by participating in the Textbook committee panel of the Education Bureau and being a HKICPA QP examination advisor, ACCA and HKICPA mentor and external examiner of other tertiary institutes. He was a member of the Board of Review (IRO) Panel.

whole. The Peer Review Team was impressed with the School’s teaching excellence and its growing research output and quality.

Their feedback was positive and in particular the report commended the School for its strong commitment to teaching quality and care for students, underpinned by the whole-person education philosophy.

The School first received EQUIS accreditation in 2013. Since then, the School has become one of the few business schools worldwide to hold accreditations from the three major business management education associations: the European Foundation for Management Development’s EQUIS system, the US-based AACSB the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and the Association of MBAs. This multiple accreditation status reflects a high level of international benchmarking, and represents the School’s commitment to excellence.

To know more, check out the background of AACSB International at http://www.aacsb.edu/ and European Foundation for Management Development’s EQUIS system at https://www.efmd.org/accreditation-main/equis

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School News

Business Bridge

Wai Yuen Tong’s Thomas Chan reiterates that change is most decisive in any sustainable business empire The fifth seminar of the Entrepreneurship Seminar Series held on 13 April 2016, having the theme of “CEO, the ability to change”, was conducted by one of the youngest CEOs in Hong Kong, Mr. Thomas Chan, Managing Director of Wai Yuen Tong Medicine Holdings Ltd. and attracted over 200 important guests, alumni and students. This time, the seminar was especially star-studded, with nearly 100 senior managers from the private sector among the audience.

The 3rd International Corporate Governance Conference The Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy organised the 3rd International Corporate Governance conference on 16 and 17 June 2016. Themed on sustainability, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and corruption, the event started with a talk on the latest developments about Hong Kong Competitiveness by Christos Cabolis (first from right), Chief Economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, with an attendance of over 70, including academics from overseas.

Renowned stock analyst predicts slowing growth looms over global economy

MScBM students raise money in Operation Santa Claus 2015 Inter-school MBA Charity Challenge

On 15 March, the School of Business invited Mr. Francis Kwok, Executive Director of Bright Smart Securities Group, as the speaker of the Executive Seminar Series. He focused his analysis on the stock market fluctuations over the past two years, attributing the market turmoil to falling oil prices. The seminar attracted nearly 180 HKBU students and drew a large audience from the public.

The “2E” team, formed by six students from the Master of Science in Business Management programme, (from left) Hugh Chen Yu-chun, George Gao Yuan, Miko Mo Xiao-juan, Diana Fu Jia-li, Anita Fu Hui-juan and Jane Jia Yua-ya, took part in the challenge and proposed to organise a Colorful Silk Stockings Party, an online platform Life Swap and a toy carnival. They received seed capital of HK$5,000, the third highest among the teams.

Thirteen BBA students to participate in pilot Marketing Internship Programme at EEG With the support from our Department of Marketing and HKBU Alumni Affairs Office, thirteen undergraduate students will be heavily involved in both the planning and execution of the album launch for Angela Hui, a project organised by Emperor Entertainment Group (“EEG”) and guided by a star-studded panel of tutors and mentors from EEG. The panel includes artist Hins Cheung, composer Mr. Eric Kwok, lyrics writer Mr. Poon Yuen-leung, producer Mr. Harry Ng, director Mr. Wilson Chin, and industry veteran CEO Mr. Ng Yu from EEG. 16

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Dr. Henry Fock, Angela Hui, Dr. Connie Li and Dr. Candy Ho (back row first four from left) cheer the thirteen interns.

Business Bridge

School News

Dr. Christy Cheung wins Emerald Literati Award

BBA student wins HCMS Scholarship 2015/2016

The paper of Dr. Christy Cheung, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance and Decision Sciences, related to online brand communities in social networking was chosen as an Outstanding Paper at the Emerald 2016 Literati Award. Dr. Cheung thanked the University for offering support through the Faculty Research Grant when receiving the award.

Miss Renee Wong Sze-wing (BBA Human Resources Management, Year 4) was selected 2nd Runner-up for the Human Capital Management Society Scholarship and awarded a cash prize of HK$1,000.

Mr. James S. Tsien gives career advice from multiple perspectives

BBA HRM Mentoring Programme 2015 closing and 2016 kick-off ceremony

The School of Business invited Mr. James S. Tsien, the School’s Honorary Professor to speak at a career planning seminar under the Distinguished Speaker Series held on 23 February 2016.

Having a proven track record in mentoring, he tipped students about the merit of joining large companies.

The 2015 closing ceremony and 2016 opening ceremony for the BBA HRM Mentoring Programme was held on 7 March and was attended by over 200 people. The programme was jointly launched by the Hong Kong People Management Association and the Department of Management of HKBU.

Masters students visit Global Sources trade show

Speak Up: business students Public Speaking Contest 2016

As an initiative from Dr. Neale O’Connor, Associate Professor of the Department of Accountancy and Law, around 50 students from the Master of Accountancy programme visited the Global Sources Electronic Components Show and Global Sources Gifts and Premium Show from 11 to 21 April 2016.

This annual signature public speaking contest was held on 5 April 2016. Five finalists spoke up in front of around 50 attendants on the theme “Globalisation and Innovation”. To stimulate innovative ideas, three keynote speakers were invited to give the students some tips on surviving in a society that thrives on technology and change.

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Alumni Corner

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The bright smiles of alumni are the greatest reward of the night (from left) Mr. Stephen Tang , Mr. Harrison Ho, Mr. Tyrone Siu; Prof. Roland Chin, President and Vice-Chancellor; Mr. Raymond Hayat; Mr. Dickson Shang, Hon. University Fellow and Mr. Franklin Fong.

Five generations of alumni of come back home to celebrate

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Both Mr. David Lee (right) and Mr. James Tsien enjoy the Gala Dinner

Over 150 alumni, guests and students of the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University came back to their alma mater on 30 April to celebrate the 60th anniversary of HKBU. This celebratory event, with the theme “we are 60 years young!�, comprised a CrossCampus Run held in the afternoon followed by a Gala Dinner.

The Cross-Campus Run was the first-of-its-kind at HKBU, attracting over 40 alumni and faculty staff to complete a run totaling 3.5 k.m. The run routed through both Ho Sin Hang and Shaw Campus, bringing alumni along some new infrastructural developments at the University.

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Business Bridge

Alumni Corner

the School of Business HKBU’s 60th anniversary When addressing the runners at the starting point of the run, Professor Frank Fu, Associate Vice-President of HKBU and Chairman of the Organising Committee on Alumni Events of HKBU 60th Anniversary, said that “we wish to bring out the philosophy of whole person education, and foster a healthy growth, both physically and intellectually”. He also believed that the run would bring back to the alumni their campus memories.

Later in the night, over 150 guests and alumni from different generations gathered at Madam Kwok Chung Bo Fun Sports and Cultural Centre for the 60th Anniversary School of Business Alumni Gala Dinner. Speaking at the opening remarks, Professor Roland T. Chin, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU commended that it was the largest alumni event that he had attended so far at HKBU, and wished to draw support from our alumni in working towards the goal of becoming the region’s premier research-led liberal arts university.

Echoing Professor Chin’s remarks, Professor Ed Snape, Dean of the School of Business, thanked all participating alumni and faculty members and encouraged them to further engage with the school. Prof. Snape highlighted that alumni, as part of the school’s family, are one of the key stakeholders of the HKBU School of Business, and the school should further develop its strengths in this area to help the competitiveness of our graduates and young alumni.

Alumni from various eras shared their funny moments, which brought the atmosphere to an all-night high. Sharing alumni included Mr. Philip Kan, Mr. Sunny Wong, Ms. Joanna Kwok, Mr. Ricky Ng and Ms Ivy Ku, who represented different decades of graduates from the seventies through to the current millennium.

Year 2016 is the 60th anniversary of Hong Kong Baptist University. Starting from June onwards, the School of Business is going to host a number of topical forums and conferences

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Countless thumbs up throughout the night!

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Adjunct Professor Lau Puiking enjoys the alumni sharing

for business elites from different sectors. To get the latest information on the School’s events, click http://bus.hkbu.edu.hk/ eng/bus/news-and-events/event-calendar/Event The Alumni Affairs Office of HKBU, the co-organiser of the School of Business Alumni Cross-Campus Run and Gala Dinner, is active in embracing alumni from all Faculties and Schools. Their year-round activities can be found at http://aao.hkbu.edu.hk/en/ home/index.php

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Mr. Ricky Ng, alumnus of 1992 retraces his campus memory with his wife Esther.

To let fond memories stay vivid, we captured all the happy moments here:

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Angela Hui, the emerging singer of EEG, performs at the dinner right before her final-year examination.

Our footprints and smiles are also available here at https://www.instagram. com/hkbubus/ and facebook.com/hkbu.sob Share more to connect!

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Alumni Corner

Business Bridge

Alumni share invaluable insights into career in financial sector On 3 March 2016, the HKBU Alumni Affairs Office organised an alumni sharing forum titled “Investing in yourself: listen to what the experts say”. School of Business Advisory Committee Chairman Mr. William Leung, School alumna Ms. Agnes Wong and HKBU alumna Ms. Janet Chong shared with students valuable insights of their life in the financial industry.

William Leung, Chief Executive Officer in Sun Hung Kai Financial Limited, landed his first job in HSBC and worked from the bottom all the way up to Executive Director. He shared his secret of success. “Don’t sell yourself short.

Trust your capability. Try everything. Anything is possible.” Agnes Wong, currently Premier Senior District Director of AIA International Limited, shared, “I don’t like stable office work; I like talking and meeting different people, and at the same time, I am very independent, that’s why I decided to join the insurance industry.” Giving advice to graduates, Agnes said that one should understand one’s personal values, goals of life, expertise, and capabilities, in order to find the most ideal career.

Janet Chong, Chief Operation Officer of DBS Bank (HK) Limited, shared her tips on job hunting in the financial sector. “Get certifications like CFA, and get to know the industry as much as you can, it’s important to show the interviewer your passion and commitment.”

Banking veterans share how to enter and navigate in the industry On 25 May, the School of Business Alumni Association invited two guests to deliver a talk on investment banking to students who are motivated to develop their career in the banking industry. The sharing was conducted in the office of BNP Paribas.

Mr. Martin Wong, Executive Director of Exchange Traded Solutions at BNP Paribas (first from right), who also works as a part-time lecturer in HKBU, was one of the main organisers of the event. He walked the students through the functions of front, middle, and back office of investment banks, and their respective candidate preferences. Another guest, Mr. Alvin Li, Exchange Traded Fund

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Specialist in COSP Asset Management, introduced the passive and active funds, and the different skill sets these funds look for in job candidates.

Ten students got the chance to attend the Joint-university MBA Networking after the sharing. The event began with a talk by Martin on the butterfly effect of the American interest rate rise, and continued with free-style mingling and networking. It was attended by over 170 alumni from City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and HKBU.

Institute of

Creativity Chair Professorship Inaugural Lecture Speaker : Professor Ed Snape (施立培教授) Dean, School of Business, HKBU Chair Professor, Department of Management, HKBU Date : 13 September 2016, Tuesday Time : 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue : Room 109, The Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies Shaw Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong

onferment of C Honorary

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Hong Kong Baptist University

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Anniversary Gala Dinner

Professorship

Speaker : Mr. James Tsien (錢乃駿先生) Independent Non-Executive Director, Bank of Shanghai (HK) Limited Former Group Executive Director, Hutchison Port Holdings Limited Date : 6 October 2016, Thursday Time : 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Venue : Room 109, The Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies Shaw Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong

HKBU 60th Anniversary hun Hing Distinguished Lecture Series

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Speaker : Professor Justin Lin (林毅夫教授) Former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank Date : 8 November 2016, Tuesday Time : 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue : Room 103, The Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies Shaw Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong

Interested parties can register for all three seminars in one go via https://goo.gl/V2Cym8

Date

: 4 October 2016, Tuesday

Time

: 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Venue : Grand Hall, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

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Contact us School of Business Hong Kong Baptist University The Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies 34 Renfrew Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China Tel : (+852) 3411 5223 Fax : (+852) 3411 5588 Email : bus@hkbu.edu.hk Website : bus.hkbu.edu.hk