CU iBUS (July 2013), CUHK Business School

CU iBUS

Published by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School

July 2013

China Business Knowledge

Situated at the world’s entrance to China, Hong Kong has long been known as the world’s “Gateway to China”. A focus on China business has always been an underlying principle in our business education and this emphasis has never been more relevant than in the 21st century. The professors at CUHK Business School feature cuttingedge researchers, but beyond that many are also successful business practitioners at top companies. Capturing the wealth of all these windows, our brand new web portal, CBK@CUHK endeavors to be a comprehensive archive of China business, covering a wide range of topics from entrepreneurship, stock and finance, marketing to current business-related issues.

Faculty Spotlight Dr. Shirley Kan Spotlight: Career Forum

Also in This Issue 05 Facebook Page for Undergraduates 10 Lightbox - Trip to Shantou 11 Newsroom 13 Column - Matt Ng Click to view the full issue

From the Editor Business School

Message from the editor Due to our favorable geographic location and history, it is logical that Hong Kong has become a natural bridge between China and the world. Talented individuals able to capitalize on opportunities on the Mainland are in great demand, hence the focus on China business has always been an essential part of CUHK Business School. In this issue, we will look at what CUHK is doing to enhance our students’ understanding of business in China.

August

7

“What’s Next…”

Luncheon Talk Series: Consulting: What do management consultants really do?

Over the past fifty years, the rise of the Asian Century has made business expansion to China from a profitable sideline to a strategic imperative. It is in this context that we present the official launch of CBK@ CUHK (CBK is short for ‘China Business Knowledge’).

Some of the most knowledgeable and insightful China business specialists make our School their professional home as professors and researchers. In this issue, we will explore how CBK@CUHK aims to leverage the expertise of these specialists to benefit the greater business community.

Also covered in this issue is a career forum jointly organized by CUHK Business School and ACCA Hong Kong titled “Be a Complete Professional through Lifetime Learning”. Another way to achieve lifetime learning is through traveling as our columnist Matt Ng has shown us every month since last September.

Matt’s journey continues in this issue, a follow up to last month’s column about the FluteArte project in Brazil, this time writing about one of FluteArte’s founders, the artist Nico.

Dr. Susanna Kwok Editor-in-chief, CU iBUS

cu iBUS July 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)

Joseph Tong

Address Room 616, Cheng Yu Tung Building, 12 Chak Cheung Street, Shatin, N.T.

Members Carol Ho Isadora Ho Elaine Leung

Telephone 3943 7746 Email bba@cuhk.edu.hk

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ituated at the world’s entrance to China, Hong Kong has long been known as the world’s “Gateway to China”. A focus on China business has always been an underlying principle in our business education and this emphasis has never been more relevant than in the 21st century. Courses on China business are offered to provide strategic and policy insights to our students. Complementing classroom learning are study tours and exchange programs to enhance a better, more personal understanding of Chinese culture.

The professors at CUHK Business School feature cutting-edge researchers, but beyond that many are also successful business practitioners at top companies who share their extensive commercial experience with students. Our extensive network of alumni, among which are many who have become pillars of the local and global business communities, are also among our most valuable assets.

With so much knowledge generated from “within our walls and in our invisible network of experts and

alumni,” noted Prof. T. J. Wong, Dean of CUHK Business School, the only question is how best to disseminate this knowledge so it can be leveraged by the general business community. The China Business Knowledge @ CUHK website is our response. In the form of a brand new web portal, CBK@CUHK endeavors to be a comprehensive archive of China business, covering a wide range of topics from entrepreneurship, stock and finance, marketing to current business-related issues.

Also, the wisdom developed by our alumni involved in expanding their own companies into China has been collected and is made available as case studies.

In this issue, CU iBUS invited Lise Fraissinet, Project Manager and Louisa Wah Hansen, Senior Writer and Editor, two of the key people behind the newly launched web portal to share with us the mission and vision of CBK@CUHK and the hurdles they overcame to make this portal a reality.

Prof. T.J. Wong

Dean of CUHK Business School

"It is the Dean, Prof. T.J. Wong’s vision to take the knowledge we have developed at CUHK and share it more broadly."

- Lise Fraissinet, Project Manager

DID YOU KNOW? Courses on China business at CUHK Business School include China Business, Marketing in China, China Finance and Chinese Legal Environment for Business among others.

China Business Knowledge@CUHK --- what is it?

Lise: It is the Dean, Prof. T.J. Wong’s vision to take the knowledge we have developed at CUHK and share it more broadly. We aim to bridge the academic and the practical worlds by being relevant in two ways at the same time. These are to achieve a high standard of academic research while providing practical knowledge to business in practice, in fact to strike a fine balance between them. Our model is something close to the style of the Economist magazine, technical yet practical, thus all the featured articles present a business perspective.

Louisa: Our featured articles aim to present summaries of up-to-date research papers, written in a way that is relevant to practitioners, laypeople and in general the broader business community. We identified many top-notch research papers which when summarized would highlight an angle that makes it interesting to a broader audience. We would add value by bringing in additional elements such as other interviewees and sources to complement the summary content from the research papers.

What role does China play for CUHK? Lise: Prof. T. J. Wong looked at other top tier universities worldwide that have knowledge sharing platforms that are already professional and comprehensive. Of course we need to find our own niche, hence the decision to focus on China. In addition, the Business School has many professors who already focus on China business. They have an understanding of how Western countries would perceive business in China and how Chinese companies would respond to globalization. Because Hong Kong is strategically located between the West and China, the Dean's objective was to use all this research and find a way to promote it, positioning CUHK as a bridge between academia and business, and between China and the world.

Louisa: CUHK has this unique position of producing quality research emphasizing China. A focus on China business has always been the central direction of the school since Day One. The founding Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, Dr. Choh-Ming Li, was a professor of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, so he had a business background yet he also placed a strong emphasis on Chinese culture.

Research with a strong Chinese character is the thread that runs through the history of CUHK Business School.

To this day, we as a school continue to maintain that heritage. CBK is a direct recipient of this heritage and serves as a gateway showcasing the richness of research at the School.

CBK@CUHK + Undergraduate students = ?

Lise: CBK has something for everyone! For undergraduate students, it is a tool to gain experience about the business world. For example, the sections ‘Feature Articles’ and ‘A Closer Look’ are similar to articles one would find in business journals, while ‘Hot Topics’ give a depth of information on current affairs that is similar to what is found in newspapers with greater emphasis on opinions.

Another feature is the ‘Research Library’, which offers advanced materials and is useful for those students who appreciate academic writing. They can access completed research produced by the business school and glimpse at research currently being conducted.

In fact students can learn a great deal just by reading the abstracts and summaries of the selected research papers. Students can also propose content or projects.

This would help us and the professors understand how to fill gaps in the material.

Louisa: We keep the writing at a specific level of sophistication, because our main readership draws from the wider business community. I also feel that it is a very good way for undergraduate students to learn, comprehend and eventually be able to write in this way. And if there is anything they don’t understand about a particular issue or an article, they can always comment and ask questions. There will always be someone to interact with and to respond to them.

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The future of CBK@CUHK? Lise: One question that comes up quite often is the language of the website. It is currently in English, yet CUHK Business School offers an EMBA in Chinese.

There are a lot of alumni from Mainland China who prefer using Chinese as the main language. Definitely one of our future objectives is to develop bilingual content that is more than a direct translation.

The other objective is to find different ways of generating knowledge. So far what we have done is to use existing knowledge that resides internally. But we also want to generate knowledge by drawing on external publications and knowledge exchanges. One such exchange would include round table discussions.

A recent talk discussed “Where do foreign companies establish their Asian regional headquarters?”, generating some interesting insights. A summary of the discussion and video will be published in September. So CBK is more than a website. The idea is to link all the knowledge available and then develop this knowledge one step further.

Louisa: Yes, the vision is to build a community in which participating stakeholders feel comfortable and motivated to share their knowledge. For example, within the Business School, the professors and academics will have this platform to see what everyone else is doing. Perhaps this can lead to some synergies in their work. The students who are studying and eventually graduate from the school also have a place to come back to and share their experiences with one another. I think it can be a very exciting and awesome community – something we already got a sense of during the round-table discussion. We saw the excitement on everyone’s faces, and I think it is a friendly environment for mingling and exchanging knowledge.

Jimmy Tsong Louisa Wah Hansen Senior Writer and Editor

"For us the objective is to develop knowledge. So if you have any comments on our existing contents or fresh ideas for new projects (it can be at any level), we really welcome your suggestions. By all means, talk to us, we would be very happy to work together with you."

- Lise Fraissinet, Project Manager

Student Reporter

Lise Fraissinet Project Manager

Phone: 3943 5939 Email: lise@baf.cuhk.edu.hk Website: http://www.baf.cuhk.edu.hk/faculty/cbk/index.aspx

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CBK EDITOR’S PICK [Editor’s note: following are two condensed summaries originally written by Louisa Wah Hansen that may be found in full on the CBK@CUHK website.]

The Chinese Profile of Success This article examines the traits and qualities of Chinese entrepreneurs. While research on Western entrepreneurship is quite rich, the parallel subject of Chinese entrepreneurship is relatively underexplored. A research paper by Prof. Kevin Au of the CUHK Business School in collaboration with other academics titled “Entrepreneurial Career Success from a Chinese perspective: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Validation” reveals that there are mainly two forces that motivate Chinese entrepreneurs in their quest for success. The wish for autonomy and social esteem causes successful Chinese entrepreneurs to be dissatisfied when working for others. Being the boss not only gives the most control over an enterprise but also higher social status.

The research also features observations from real life, either with successful cases or by lessons learnt, detailing elements that make for a successful entrepreneur in Chinese communities. A solid educational background was found to be an important factor on which success is built, a finding consistent with traditional Chinese beliefs. A successful entrepreneur also possesses an eye for opportunities – specific entrepreneurial traits such as insights and senses that are essential to distinguish opportunities from threats. While these characteristics are fairly common to successful entrepreneurs either Chinese or Western, what follows is rather unique in the Chinese context.

The research found that in order to be a successful entrepreneur in the Chinese community, it is very important to observe the social code of giving face. Excelling at the “game of mianzi” is a great advantage when climbing up the ladder of success.

Also, given the Chinese patriarchal social framework, successful entrepreneurs are mostly married fiftyyear old (or above) males. The research further discusses the differences between Chinese and Western approaches towards entrepreneurship.

For the full article, please visit: http://www.baf.cuhk. edu.hk/faculty/cbk/article.aspx?id=C436A9AB1A2

Would ‘Dressing as Foreign’ Get You Farther?

The article assesses the effect of product foreignness on consumer appeal. Traditionally products with western origins are more highly valued than those with a local origin. For this reason marketers targeting the Chinese consumer market brand their goods with a touch of foreignness such as by using foreign-sounding names, images, symbols and languages. The aim is to emulate the “coolness”, authority and superior quality associated with foreign brands. While this type of imitation generally causes confusion among consumers, it is tolerated as long as the quality that the consumers are led to believe it possesses is delivered. However, if the facade of foreignness is not supported by the high quality expected from foreign products, the result is disastrous.

While brands that “dress themselves as foreign” fare better in the market, confusion caused by ambiguous labeling of origin generates negative perception among consumers. On the other hand, citing Li-Ning sportswear, Tsingtao beer and Lenovo computers as examples of successful Chinese brands that have made good use of international appeal through clever sourcing and package design, the researchers advise brands to reinforce consumers’ perception of the brand origin in order to enhance the attractiveness of foreignness.

For the full article, please visit: http://www.baf.cuhk. edu.hk/faculty/cbk/article.aspx?id=65D2F3187654

Advertisement 05

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Shirley Kan Co-Director, Professional Accountancy (PACC) Program | Serving CUHK since 1999 | Teaching Taxation and Taxes and Business Strategy | Birthday: August 30 | Affiliated to United College

By Michael So, Student Reporter

About your profession

About yourself

Why did you choose accounting as your profession?

There aren’t many careers as diverse as accountancy.

Not only could graduates be trained in business, public sector, practice or banking, but once qualified, accountants could be found working in high level jobs in different sectors. Accountants also enjoy a more stable career than other finance professionals as the industry is buoyant even in recession.

What was the craziest thing you have ever done?

Accountants are known for being prudent so what I consider the craziest thing may not seem so crazy to others. I went on a two-month backpacking trip in Mainland China with a friend but she had to go home after a few weeks, so I was completely on my own from that point onwards. It was something I had never done before and I didn’t even dare tell my mother.

Are there any common characteristics for accountants?

How are these characteristics different from those for accounting teachers?

I think accountants need to be motivated, organized, and capable of meeting tough deadlines and work commitments. Most importantly accountants need to be able to exercise professional judgment and pay great attention to detail. On the other hand, I feel being a teacher requires an engaging personality and a passion for teaching.

Could you share with us one of your most sentimental moments?

I have watched many of my old students graduate over the years, but when it came to attending the graduation ceremony of my eldest daughter who is also an accounting major, it was one of the most sentimental moments of my life. I felt really proud. It felt like I passed my knowledge down to my daughter, and I could start considering my retirement.

About CUHK Is there any interesting course outside the Business School that you would like to recommend?

I would recommend history because it requires students to digest and assimilate vast amounts of information, develop compelling arguments, and learn from past experiences which will also offer students new perspectives on recurring and new issues. As accounting is a people-oriented profession, it is also important to have a broad knowledge in order to build rapport with clients.

What is your favorite corner at CUHK? I like to have breakfast in the outdoor area of Chung Chi Tang beside Lake Ad Excellentiam. The view of the lake is beautiful and calming, and it is as relaxing as what you find in luxurious hotels. You can grab a book or go deep in thought; either refreshes your mind.

What is the most unacceptable student behavior that you have come across?

Students who plagiarize or cheat on assignments, and deny any dishonest behavior even though they were found doing such things. I see integrity and honesty as important values.

If you could meet your idol, dead or alive, who would it be?

Roger Federer – he demonstrates such great sportsmanship both on and off the court. I am impressed and inspired by his quote from John Cassis: “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice”. And he put these words into action. At Olympics 2012, Federer was made the flag bearer for Switzerland for the third time in history. But he gave the honor to Stanislas Wawrinka, his fellow tennis player and a close friend. His selflessness really impressed me.

Would you recommend a movie to our students?

I would recommend Echoes of the Rainbow («歲月 神偷»). It depicts the tough times that our parents’ generations had, and I hope today’s young people will appreciate and cherish what they have. One line from the movie demonstrates the central message of faith which touches me deeply. 「做人總要信。」: ‘Better times will come no matter how desperate your situation is'. Another line is just as inspiring. (「鞋字半邊難：一 步難，一步佳。」): ‘Half of “shoe” stands for “woe”, or hard times; but the other half of “shoe” stands for “shine”, so good times.’

What do you usually do for relaxation?

I enjoy watching tennis. The fast-paced nature, momentum and strategies of the players make the game exciting. I also like reading novels and practising yoga and Tai Chi.

Spotlight 07

Career Forum: Be a Complete Professional through Lifetime Learning From left to right: Prof. Waiman Cheung, Ms. Caroline Wan, Ms. Jennifer Tan, Mr. Micky Lo, Prof. Chak Wong and Mr. Fergus Wong

Date: July 6, 2013

By Myra Zhang, Student Reporter

How do we build a successful career path? How does

learning contribute to our careers? Where can we get opportunities to network with business leaders?

Those struggling with these questions would have found our recent event: Career Forum: Be a Complete Professional through Lifetime Learning especially valuable.

Co-organized by the Alumni and Corporate Affairs Office of the CUHK Business School and ACCA Hong Kong, the Career Forum celebrates the Business School’s Fiftieth Anniversary. The Career Forum took place on July 6, 2013, with opening speeches from Prof. Waiman Cheung, the Chairman of the Department of Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, and Mr. Fergus Wong, Co-chairman, Tax Sub-committee of ACCA. Following them industry experts Ms. Caroline Wan from energy infrastructure, Mr. Micky Lo from IT, and Ms. Jennifer Tan representing telecommunications shared their insights and experiences to the audience via presentations and a discussion panel moderated by Prof. Chak Wong, the Director of MSc in Finance Program, CUHK Business School. The event ended with a networking session in which students and alumni interacted closely with the guest speakers.

Ms. Caroline Wan

After I graduated with a Bachelor of Finance Degree, I started working at one of the big Four accounting firms, Ernest & Young. Months later, I found the Financial Management Program of General Electric on the internet, so I wrote a cold email to express my interest and ask about recruitment. I was called to an interview a few months later and got the job. Working on both the capital arm and industrial arm of the business nurtured my business abilities, professional foundation and technical skills. Moreover, I gained regional exposure working in different parts of the world. I worked for GE for the next twelve years until now, during which time my role changed from capital business to tangible business such as energy.

Senior Controller of GE Global Growth and Operations

“There are three channels of learning: learning in classrooms, learning from others (mentors, professional network etc.), and learning on the job.

The last channel is the most important. After you start working, try to get more value from what you learn from real jobs.”

Mr. Micky Lo Managing Director and Head of APAC Information Risk Management at BNY Mellon

“There are three aspect of learning: academic, career and personal interest. Many people ask me how I can divide my time, my answer would always be: passion.

If you want to do it, you will find the time to do it.

Lastly, I want to give you five words: Listen, Evaluate, Act, Reflect, and Nourish. These five words formed the essence of learning in my mind. ”

I am always a risk taker. When I graduated from high school, I chose to study computer science although I had no idea what computer science was. After graduation, I worked as a system programmer for Cathay Pacific but started to get bored after three years. One day I saw an anonymous job post in the South China Morning Post asking: “Are you bored as a system engineer”? I applied immediately. The firm I applied to turned out to be Citibank, and I got the job as an IT auditor, having no clue what audit, finance, or banking was. After working at this job for seven years, I went to the US as an IT Architect for IBM for three years. Upon returning to Hong Kong, I entered the field of information risk management, in which I also have no prior knowledge. In total, I worked for Citibank for 13 years, and then JP Morgan for 12 years.

And now, after working for Deutsche Bank for nearly three years, I will be starting my new job at Bank of New York in a week. I change responsibilities every three or four years, so that I can update my skills continually.

Ms. Jennifer Tan Managing Director of Hutchison Global Communications

I joined one of the big Eight upon graduation with an accounting major and chose to specify in auditing. I was always assigned to do first time full audit with no prior working paper for reference and so I have to develop every set by myself. After four years, one of my clients invited me to join his company, so I switched to commercial firms working as an assistant controller. Five years later I joined Hutchison where I have been working for the past sixteen years to today. At first, my ability was questioned because I had no prior telecommunication knowledge and experience, but I soon proved my capability of becoming an expert in this area.

“One’s everyday job is an important learning platform.

Even auditors and accountants should not always be sitting in the office; everyone with a job should learn about the operations of the company, no matter what your position is. Also, passion is important. Lastly, in order to become complete professionals, we should always live a balanced life. Besides my work, I have been practicing Chinese brush painting for many years.

Hobbies not only bring us joy but also serve to bond family members closer together.”

Spotlight 09 J: Jennifer Tan C: Caroline Wan M: Mickey Lo

What should we do if we get stuck in a rut while working for a company? How do we know whether or not we should give up?

Based on your experiences as interviewers, how can we learn to be a better interviewee?

J: You should ask yourself whether you really love the job. If you don’t love the job, then quit. If on the other hand you love the job, do a SWOT analysis on yourself to find ways to improve.

J: First, when you step into the room, it is important to immediately demonstrate your confidence: Hold out your hand to shake hands, and don’t feel uneasy. Also, make sure you have very good eye contact with the interviewer. This shows how sincere and confident you are. Second, you should do some research to prepare for the interview, such as knowing something about the company. But remember, do not over-prepare. Reciting standard answers is not what we want to hear.

C: Be well prepared about the company, and show why you want to work there. Be confident, but not over-confident. Even though your technical skills may be pretty high, you should always be humble and always keep learning like a sponge. In a word, attitude is the key factor to consider.

M: We ask about your failures, and the interviewer is always trying to challenge the interviewee. Those who can withstand the challenges will win.

When you are confronted by hard times such as a financial crisis, how do you keep on learning and keep on motivating yourself?

J: We all cannot avoid hard times, but we can equip ourselves well and make sure we are a valuable asset to the company. Also, it is important to make sure that you have multiple skills sets instead of only specializing in one single skill.

M: As for me, I always look five years beyond today, and constantly assess and improve myself according to the environment.

As for someone working for you, what are the criteria for getting him/her promoted?

C: First, he or she has to have the right attitude.

Second, for multinational corporations like GE, he or she has to be flexible when working with different teams in different geographic areas, and be open to different cultures and different thought processes.

M: Listen to your own heart, and ask yourself when entering the front door of the company if you still feel the same passion and drive now as you did on your first day.

C: If you don’t know whether or not you love the job, a practical response is to give yourself some time to adapt and accommodate. Set a deadline for yourself. If you still don’t feel better after you’ve reached the deadline, it’s time to change jobs.

What about handling peer relationship management? How can we be friends with those who at the same time are our direct competitors?

M: First, measurement in investment banks is based on teamwork. When you feel that you are being pushed by your peers, be confident enough to say you don’t like it, and ask him or her to stop.

Also, discussing the problems directly with your managers is helpful. Finally, you should let everyone in the team know that each individual has different skill sets and plays an important role in the team.

How should we deal with negative feedback?

C: First, calm down, and do not reply with something negative at that moment. Also, you may ask the person who gives you negative feedback for examples of why he or she thinks that you are not good. If the feedback is true, accept it.

J: Focus on the constructive value of negative feedback: think about how you can improve so you can switch a weakness into an advantage.

M: After getting feedback, I always skip the positive and directly deal with the negative, which is much more valuable.

Lightbox

June

2-8

Trip to Shantou

Organized by the Undergraduate Office of CUHK Business School, this study tour aimed to bring together our students (both local and international) with their counterparts from Shantou University and to enhance their leadership skills.

Students posing as Kung Fu fighters in front of a pavilion.

Game time with Shantou University students at a student activity center. Activities available at this center include video games, rock climbing and gymnastics.

Local lore says that one more statue will appear at Twelve Bronze Statues at midnight, but the students will have to come back late at night to confirm if this is indeed the case or just an urban legend.

Students visiting a local plastic recycling firm and learning about the stages in recycling plastic from sorting, shredding, and finally extruding.

The Shantou University Business School offers five business programs, namely Business Administration, Marketing, Accounting, International Economics & Trade and Finance.

Newsroom 11

CUHK Business Elite Camp 2013 Date: July 3-6, 2013

By Jimmy Tsong, Student Reporter

In order to provide a platform for secondary school students to experience university life in CUHK Business School, a four-day residential education program, CUHK Business Elite Camp 2013, was launched.

The camp comprised a series of seminars and lectures from a number of professors, providing the participants not just a glimpse but the essence of the various programs and subjects offered by CUHK Business School. “After experiencing the interactive and inspiring lectures from the professors, I have learnt that business theories are not just confined to black and white words in textbooks, but are always related to daily real-life situations,” reflected participant Anson Wan. To help participants to perform well in interviews, a workshop named Interview Clinic was included. Here students experienced a mock interview conducted

by Business School professors. It was hoped that the genuine and valuable feedback from the professors could help the students do better when they interview for real.

Another highlight of the camp was the synergy and team effectiveness workshops conducted by current business school students. During the workshop, participating students were required to construct as many paper cylinders as possible within a given time. The final products had to withstand quality tests; only those that passed were counted. In order to outperform their counterparts, different tactics and division of labor were seen among the groups.

This coincided with one of the aims of the camp: To enhance the participants’ problem-solving skills.

The Business Case Analysis Competition, considered the highlight of all the events, took place on the last day (July 6) of the camp. Given the topic “Urban Renewal of Wan Chai: A Collision of People and Policy”, the students (five in a group) were to draft a comprehensive proposal on the urban renewal of Hong Kong, and to take into consideration the needs of all the stakeholders involved. Teams used different cases and evidence ranging from local to overseas to support their positions.

Success! Students smiling happily after completing a task in the Synergy workshop.

“I was extremely grateful that we cooperated with each other well and that we solved the case together by applying knowledge and skills gained from different lectures,” said Tiffany Tsang, a member of the winning team. Besides the application of the knowledge learnt, maintaining appropriate mental attitudes among the members was equally important.

Another member, Angel Chan added, “I remembered clearly that our group was super relaxed throughout the whole competition, as we all knew being nervous would only ruin everything”.

Students practicing the skills they learned from Prof. Eliza Tse’s Dining Etiquette seminar.

Dr. Andrew Yuen sharing tips for interview and social etiquette while students listen raptly not wanting to miss a single word.

Newsroom

HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition1 Date: June 5-6, 2013

A team of four students, Tang Yilun Sherry (IBCE, Year 2), Li Yingshu (QFIN, Year 2), Yang Qinfei and Chen Kaiqi (both QFRM, Year 2) won the second runner up prize in the HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition. Organized by the Asia Case Research Centre, Faculty of Business and Economics, HKU and sponsored by HSBC, the competition took place over two days.

1

The competition was divided into four rounds.

Teams were required to prepare a twenty minute presentation for each of the three preliminary rounds and a twenty five minute presentation for the final round. For each round they were given two and a half hours to prepare. For their presentations, teams were directed to use hand drawn transparencies displayed with overhead projectors instead of PowerPoint.

Amidst fierce competition from twenty four top universities from the Asia Pacific region, as second runner up winners our students were awarded a cash prize of HK$10,000.

2

CIMA Global Business Challenge 20132 Date: June 15, 2013

CUHK students shine again in case competition, winning first place in the regional final of the CIMA Global Business Challenge 2013. Organized by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in partnership with Barclays, this year’s regional CIMA Global Business Challenge took place on June 15, 2013.

Representing CUHK, a team of four Global Business Studies students, Fong Ho Man, Eric (Year 3), Li Kwan Yee, Queenie (Year 3), Cheung Chun Ki, Alex (Year 1) and Lam Kai Shing, Isaac (Year 1) submitted a 3000 word report based on the GBC challenge material.

From this report, the team was shortlisted to present their ideas in the regional final. They won the regional championship as well as a place in the global final.

Representing Hong Kong, they will set out for South Africa in late August to compete in the GBC 2013 championship against 100 participants from twenty four top universities worldwide.

3

Outreach efforts— admission talks3 Date

School / Event

Speaker

Jul 6

Regional Admission Talk for Secondary School students and their parents

Dr. Joyce Iun

Jul 8

Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College

Mr. C. W. Chau

Jul 17

Getting to Know the CUHK Business School

Dr. Andrew Yuen

Column 13

Matt Ng

Alumnus, Quantitative Finance, Class of 2012

Nico – The Mural Vision

L

ast month I wrote about the artists I met in Rio de Janeiro who created the FlutuArte, a charitable art project. They were from all over the world, each taking their own unique path in life. Nicolina Johnson (or Nico, for short), one of the founders of FlutuArte, shared her vision with me at the foot of the Christ the Redeemer statue, a major landmark in Rio de Janeiro.

Nico didn't have a solid answer. But at that moment she decided that she was going to make a living as an artist and dropped out of the real estate school. She started painting children’s faces in Central Park for five dollars a face. Then people started to ask her to go to birthday parties, Halloween parties. Then one day, from out of the blue a guy dropped by and asked whether she could paint the window of his shop. "Sure.

Nico has the Mural Vision – “a blessing and a curse”, in Why not?”, she thought to herself. Painting walls and her own words. She wants to paint whatever she sees. windows was what she wanted to do and had done when she was a kid. So she did it, Nico painted her From the time she was a child, Nico has loved painting. first shop window in New York. And soon it spread like, as she described it, a happy virus. The owner from Whenever she found marker or painting pens in the shop next door asked whether she could paint his the house, she just drew on the wall, through the corridors, around the kitchen, run all the way down window, and then the lady from another shop… the stairs, even inside her parents’ shoes.

When Nico finally finished all of them, she looked at Of course Nico’s parents found this a problem, but the her pieces - "This is exactly what I wanted to do". good thing is, they didn't punish her. Instead they told Life is short. And it is counting down every single day, her, "You can paint in your own room, make it pretty, but nothing else in the house." So she started painting hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.

Even a single second, is too precious to waste. out her life. On the wall of her room are all the trails and marks of her childhood. Lines, circles, cartoon characters, secret codes. But when she grew up, these Nicolina - Bio paintings remained behind.

Later Nico moved to New York and tried her luck with several jobs to make a living, waitressing, being an assistant. She eventually enrolled in a real estate school as she found she was pretty good at sales and the real estate industry offers a brighter prospect. But she wasn’t really happy. She just didn’t feel right. So Nico imagined her future and thought to herself, “what sort of person will I be if I keep doing this until I get old? And what will I think when I’m 70 and look back on my life? What if, starting right here right now, I will just do exactly what I want to do and live a life?”

Nicolina maintains a home-base in New York City's East Village and travels often, spreading her art around the world. She specializes in guerrilla street art, vibrant murals, collaborative painting projects and interactive performance-art spectacles. Hearts of the World, her ongoing international art project, brings art to underprivileged children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

She is an artist in residence at the L.E.S Girls Club of Manhattan and is also the founder of the Free Art Society, an East Village based arts organization in New York City that explores the degree to which art in public spaces can transform the community that owns it.

Source: http://www.nicolinaart.com/page/art-projects 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. Most recently Matt 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.