CU iBUS (March 2013), CUHK Business School

CU iBUS

Published by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School

March 2013

Serving in an executive committee is more than just having fun Students are so interested in being an executive committee member that this is said not to be missed during one’s university life. We will look into the benefits of executive committee membership to one’s personal network as well as implications for future career prospects.

Faculty Spotlight Prof. Eliza Tse Tao Heung - The Canteen of Hong Kong

Also in This Issue 05 A structured approach for problem solving 06 A synergy workshop breaks the cultural boundary 07 New Competition to develop policy analysis skills 08 Lightbox - Airport Authority Hong Kong 13 Newsroom 15 Column - Matt Ng Click to download the full issue

From the Editor Business School

Message from the editor This is the month where we feature our lovely BA students front and center! By the time this issue of CU iBUS is published, the BA Festival will have come to an end. From the Dai Tat Dei (大笪地) to the Singing Contest, from the Sports Competitions to the BA Night, did you all enjoy yourselves? Maybe the Mister BA and Miss BA election remains your favorite event!

Apr

5–8 Allianz Business Competition

Our campus, with all these opportunities, is really your stage where you can demonstrate your individuality.

Out-of-classroom co-curricular activities have always been one of the indispensable elements contributing to an enlightening university life. Trust me: you can learn tremendously by organizing and participating in student activities, you will make life-long friends, and moreover it’s a journey of self-discovery. That’s why here we can offer one more possibility—you can make a difference in CU iBUS! Having just recruited a team of nine passionate and enthusiastic BA students, starting from this issue the Student Editorial Team is officially on board. Let’s welcome them and let’s look forward to their masterpieces in CU iBUS!

UNIVERSITY Apr 8 Public Lecture A Dialogue with Grand Master Hsing Yun Apr 10 Public Lecture Lecture Series by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Scholars Apr 13 Conference Nurturing 21st Century Talents—The Way Forward for CUHK & HKU

Got talents? Hide not; in fact, show them off!

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

cu iBUS March 2013 EDITORIAL

STUDENT EDITORIAL TEAM

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)

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

Members Ms. Carol Ho Mr. Joseph Tong Mr. Nan Yi

Telephone 3943 7746 Email bba@cuhk.edu.hk

Cover Story 01

Serving in an

executive committee

is more than

just having fun

At 8:15am on a Monday in early February, you may

be standing listlessly in a cramped train compartment or possibly you may be still in bed… Yet, a group of students dressed in the same clothing chanted slogans with the same rhythm and moved their bodies with the same gestures. They were doing dem-beat (demonstration of beat). These students were from one of the proposed cabinets of a student society under CUHK Business School. Students are so interested in being an executive committee member that this is said to be one of the five things that cannot be missed during one’s university life. In this issue, we will look into the benefits of executive committee membership to one’s personal network as well as implications for future career prospects.

Through March 2013 there are altogether eleven faculty / program / college-based student associations under CUHK Business School. Two are newly established, namely the Global Economics and Finance Society (GEFS) and Business Administration Society of the Lee Woo Sing College. Most of the executive committees consist of twelve to fifteen members.

Each member will usually have opportunities to be the person-in-charge of two to three activities such as the inauguration ceremony, mentorship programs, annual dinner, value added workshops and so on.

CV and soft skills enhanced With days and nights devoted to committee matters, it is not surprising that tremendous bonds develop among the executive committee members. Ivan Lui, a PACC alumnus of Class 2007 and the former recreational officer of Business Administration Society, Chung Chi College (2004-05), shares with CU iBUS that his cabinet members were still in close connection even after having graduated nearly ten years ago.

Apart from the strong social network, Caesar Yeung, a QFIN alumnus of Class 2011 and the former internal vice president of Society of Quantitative Finance (QFiS, 2008-09) affirms that being a member of an executive

committee helps develop his CV portfolio. “With no prior working experience, the interviewer mainly asked me questions related to my ability during an interview for my first job,” Caesar explained. “I could demonstrate my capability with different examples cited from my past exposure gained from organizing activities.”

Caesar also expresses that his experience as an internal vice president of QFiS is also beneficial to his current career, one aspect of which is strengthening his organizing skills. “My job requires me to be highly independent as my boss will ask me to manage a project without saying much in the way of guidance except for the timeline,” remarks Caesar. “I therefore need to write a stakeholder chart listing out what stakeholders will be involved and how to manage them. This is somehow like holding different functions with a good rundown.”

The former internal vice president of QFiS (Caesar) adds that another benefit is well-practiced interpersonal skills. Through interaction with new people during school time like inviting QFiS alumni who were their seniors in the financial industry as the mentors for the mentorship program, Caesar has

Ivan Lui (third left, second row) said a strong bonding was formed among his committee members.

Swani Wu advised students to think out of the box.

grasped better ways how to open a conversation with a new acquaintance which can then be applied to his workplace.

Thinking out of the box Indeed, being a committee member of a student association can help extend one’s network. There are numerous opportunities to exchange name cards with other business peers, professors and even business leaders. These contacts will be a valuable asset in particular when one graduates and gets into the business world. But what is more invaluable is mastering the philosophy of business etiquette. “A network is something you have to make effort to build,” expresses by Swani Wu, an IBBA alumna of Class 2009 and an external vice president of 26th Cabinet of The Society of Business Administration (BASO). “One has to learn how to liaise with business partners and it would be great if he or she knows how to maintain a good relationship.”

The former external vice president of BASO advises that students should not toe the line all the time. If one chooses to follow the same path as the senior fellows by mainly copying what they did and how they organized, the event will not turn into a big blunder.

Yet, this will obviously waste a chance to innovate new initiatives as he or she just stays in his or her own comfort zone. “If you do not give it a go in university, where and when will you make such an attempt?”

Swani questions.

Another advice from Swani is to learn how to tackle conflicts. There is no doubt that committee members will easily run into arguments or conflicts when managing a series of events, not to mention the collaboration with representatives from other universities which one may not have good acquaintance. But Swani suggests to students that they should try to handle conflicts instead of avoiding them. “Committee members tend to be so polite that they are afraid of having conflicts,” Swani remarks.

“Conflicts can actually make the problems even clearer. It provides a platform for committee members to have a better understanding of the questions.”

If you do not give it a go in university, where and when will you make such an attempt?

ABOUT THE JONG Jong (莊)—the pinyin for executive committee in Chinese—is a word most of you should find familiar.

But why is it called Jong? There are different explanations but most are related to the pronunciation. It is once said that forming a group to run for the executive committee is just like laying down piles before constructing a building when pile is read as Jong in Cantonese.

For student associations under CUHK Business School, the proposed cabinet will usually have two weeks for promotion. Banners and table stands are two means to increase exposure. Yet, the best way to gain popularity is through “dem-beat”. With the same clothing, the same gesture and the same rhythm, the proposed cabinet will demonstrate their formation and proposed events or functions with hilarious slogans or even folk songs. “BASO emphasizes uniformity which symbolizes cohesion while the BA societies from colleges will tend to signify full of strength and energy,” explains Francis Cho, president of the 32nd cabinet of BASO. Following the promotion period will be a formal consultation. If the proposed cabinet can secure a certain number of a ‘yes’ vote from its members (the required number varies, depending on the constitution of each society), the proposed cabinet will then get the nod to proceed.

During their term of services, different student associations may organize similar activities, like mentorship program and career enrichment workshops such as CV writing and interview skills. Yet, to differentiate one society from the others, some unique functions are to be held, such as Joint University Business Management Challenge by BASO and the SIFA Festival which covers various actuarial seminars by Society of Insurance, Financial and Actuarial Analysis.

Cover Story 03

Timeout for BA Fest

By Jeanette Lai, student reporter

Jointly organized by BASO and other BA societies, the annual BA Fest kicked off with the opening ceremony on March 13, 2013 at the United College. This year marks the 30th BA Fest of CUHK Business School with a theme of “BeAtific” as the organizing committee hopes to bring BA students many great joys throughout the upcoming series of events.

The ceremony started with a speech from Dr. Andrew Yuen, Assistant Dean of CUHK Business School. “There are three special traits of CUHK BA students: Passionate, Professional and United. These traits make us sought after by employers,” Dr. Yuen remarked. He also hoped that the event could enhance the sense of belongingness and friendship among BA students.

In attendance during the opening ceremony were also Prof. Dennis Fan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies), and Dr. Susanna Kwok, Assistant Dean.

“We hope that all BA students can strive for our best and develop our potential in the BA Fest,” said Kathy Ho, president of the organizing committee for the 30th BA Fest. She also praised the OC team for their passion despite their conflicts during their preparation. “We came from different societies and have different opinions. Through this process of planning and executing the BAFest, we learned to work with our counterparts despite our differences.”

In line with this year’s theme—“BeAtific”, the air was filled with joy at the ceremony by a band show and a magic show. The ribbon and roasted pig cutting by the officiating guests officially marked the launch of this year’s BA Fest. To further boost up the spirit at fever pitch, a catwalk show of the presidents from different BA Societies—a traditional gimmick—was scheduled to introduce each student association.

Dr Susanna Kwok (first left), Prof. Dennis Fan (second left) and Dr. Andrew Yuen (first right) officiated the 30th BA Fest of CUHK Business School Photo courtesy (cover photo and above photo):

Tiffany Lam, Student Reporter

Apart from the opening ceremony, there are plenty of other activities in the BA Fest, including the Sports Competition, the Singing Contest and the Dai Tat Dei. Kathy strongly recommended the BA night to all BA students. “It is the most exciting event as there will be the Mister and Miss BA pageant and performance by all BA societies.”

Faculty Spotlight

Prof. Eliza Tse Director School of Hotel and Tourism Management

| Serving CUHK since 1999 | Teaching HTMG1010 Management of Hospitality Business and HTMG3070 Food and Beverage Management in the second semester | Affiliated to United College

By Tiffany Chiang, student reporter

About your profession Could you share with us your work experience prior to teaching at universities?

I have worked in a restaurant for two years after getting my Bachelor’s degree and two years at a hotel after getting my Master’s degree in the States.

Is this the profession you always dreamed of?

Not really, it is more like a natural outcome of my plan.

Now, I am quite delighted to be an educator especially at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management as it is full of diversity. The students keep me young and by doing research, it keeps me updated. I am quite selfdisciplined and it just suits my personality.

What was the topic of your most recent research project?

My area of research is strategic management. My latest research project is on mergers and acquisitions.

I choose to look into this area, as I want to know more about the life cycle of the hotel industry.

About CUHK Is there an interesting course offered in CUHK you would like to recommend?

I used to teach a wine appreciation course for United College. I am hoping the school can make it as a general education course so more students can take it.

Which canteen and which dish at the university do you enjoy the most and would recommend to our students?

Café 12 at CYT building. It is actually our training café.

Our macaroons are quite nice.

Can you share with us how you came up with the idea of having an herb garden at 7/F office?

My original plan was to have it built at the rooftop for environmental protection reasons. We have made reference to Cornell’s teaching building when

designing the teaching facilities of CYT Building, and there is an herb garden in this top Hotel School’s building. We want students to know more about fresh herbs and had grown some organic ingredients for Café 12 as cooking condiments. Currently, there are some pots of mint and strawberry that are used as decoration at Café 12.

What is the most memorable moment in SHTM, CUHK? There are two. First is the groundbreaking for the CYT building. Second is the graduation ceremony of our first batch of graduates (Class of 2002).

About yourself What was the craziest thing you have ever done?

I traveled alone to the States after F.7 graduation. I knew nothing about American geography and ended up flying from the airport at Oakland to the airport at San Francisco by helicopter because I simply could not find a way to cross the bay and catch my next flight!

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

Having my mother attend my PhD graduation ceremony in the States.

Can you share with our students some tips on how to choose good wine?

My philosophy is that wine-tasting is a pleasure to be enjoyed with friends and is a complement with food, not something to show off. It is not necessary to follow any of the “rules of thumb” on wine drinking.

Choosing a wine is really a matter of personal taste, but knowing how to choose a suitable wine for different occasions is important. There are good quality wines at around $100 for daily drinking. I do recommend to beginners that they start with white wine from New World countries like Australia and New Zealand.

Spotlight 05

A structured approach for problem solving W

hen dealing with a problem is there anything you refer to in order to resolve it? Is it past experience?

Perhaps a recommendation from a colleague or mentor? Or will you simply go with your first instinct?

Around twenty undergraduate business students can now tackle problems using a more structured management approach after attending a training workshop in problem solving that was held in late February.

Jointly organized between the Undergraduate Office of CUHK Business School and Fuji Xerox (Hong Kong) Limited, an information and communications technology provider specializing in document consultancy, this whole day workshop consisted of two sessions. A theoretical classroom presentation on Fuji Xerox’s Problem Solving Process, a problem solving methodology used to enhance quality and productivity in organizations particularly businesses, was presented in the morning session while the afternoon session focused on applying the skills learned to a case. Kelvin Kong, a Year 3 International Business and Chinese Enterprise student, found this workshop fulfilling and enlightening: In the past whenever I did a project and came across a problem, I used to talk directly to my teammates and come up with a solution right away without analyzing the cause of the problem or preparing any contingency plan. After attending the workshop, I have realized the importance of a well-structured problem-solving process from identifying the theme, situation, target, to implementing the solutions and evaluating the results.

We were also given the opportunity to put the theory into practice. We were asked to divide ourselves into two groups. Using a sample given to us as a model each group was to manufacture a targeted number of mini paper cylinders (i.e. 30) within twenty minutes. Our first attempt was not successful, so we reviewed our actions by applying the problem solving steps and identified the key problems, i.e. not paying attention to details and overestimating our efficiency. From this review we developed corrective strategies, successfully nailing down the challenge the second time.

From this exercise, I gained hands-on experience on the structured problem-solving skills which allow me to pinpoint the mistakes we made and formulate strategies for improvement.

DID YOU KNOW? Fuji Xerox’s Problem Solving Process suggests a ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ approach for continuous improvement. Planning refers to the identification of opportunities for improvement; Doing refers to the actual implementation; Checking is about verifying that the proposed changes match with the desired improvement while Action suggests what one may do in order to respond to the effects observed. Specifically, there are eight key problem solving steps: 1) Theme Selection 2) Understanding the current situation 3) Establishing improvement target 4) Analyzing contributing factors 5) Developing countermeasures 6) Implementing countermeasures 7) Verification of results 8) Invoking limits “To facilitate the problem solving process, one can make good use of scientific tools such as Pareto Diagram, Cause-and-effect Diagram, Flow Chart, Gantt Chart, etc to help make problem solving more organised when identifying possible problems and formulating feasible recommendations,” said Eliza Ng, Human Resources Director of Fuji Xerox (Hong Kong) Limited. “Adopting the same analytical tools to solve problem through the ‘Plan-DoCheck-Act’ approach ensures we all speak the same language across teams, departments and countries. This will contribute to a boundaryless workplace.”

Feb

22–24 Pak Tam Chung Holiday Camp, Sai Kung

A synergy workshop breaks the cultural boundary S

kin is peeling off from serious sunburn while muscles are still aching. These are probably what a group of local, Mainland and international students experienced and felt after a synergy workshop. Harsh as the workshop might seem, these students showed no sign of regret in joining in as they met a group of comrades, establishing close and intimate bonds among each other.

Held on February 22–24, this Team Effectiveness Workshop is one of the highlighted workshops in the Cross Boundary Leadership Program. “Cross Boundary Leadership Program is an initiative to integrate students across the cultural boundary through out-ofclassroom activities. New generation leaders will need to respond not only to complex environment but also develop collaborative skills in working with diversity.

It is also hoped that participating students will be groomed into future global business leaders that are comfortable with changes and cultural complexities,” said John Lai, Associate Director of Integrated BBA Program.

Although the fourteen Year 1 and 2 undergraduate business students are originated from different places such as Russia, Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong (including locally-born Indian and students returning from Australia), team spirit started to build among them when they set off from the campsite in Sai Kung to go hiking and rock climbing. “Hiking was tough to me as it was my first time going up the hill,” recalled Zurie Hong, a year 1 IBBA student from Korea,

discussing the three-hour ‘march’ for rock climbing at Pak Tam Shek in Sai Kong. “[But] my teammates were very helpful. They encouraged me to keep up with the pace and not to lose hope. They also gave me the feeling that as we are one team, we can do it!” Zurie added, “by grasping the hand my teammate held out to me, the challenge I faced was bearable.”

They further realized the beauty of their bonding when abseiling from a 30 meter high rock. While one was abseiling from the top of the rock, another among their members was required to hold the end of the safety rope at the bottom for protection. “My entire body weight was relying on a piece of rope and a teammate who was controlling that rope. If I struggled in fear while I was abseiling down, my teammate would have had hard time controlling the safety rope,” Kevin Eum, a Year 2 IBBA student from Korea expressed. “It was only with the trust within the team that brought me safe to the ground. Knowing the fact that there was someone holding the safety rope for me at the bottom of the rock, I could relieve myself from endless fear.”

It was such a crowning achievement when one can successfully clamber over the rock. Yet it is even more rewarding to help one’s comrades in accomplishing the same task. That’s why the students who were successful did not gloat with joy at their success.

Instead, they shared the tricks of the trade with their fellows, like which piece could be a good handle and which crack to avoid. Some even put their support

Spotlight 07

New Competition to develop policy analysis skills O

rganized by the Department of Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, the first Policy Analysis Competition was held on February 2, 2013. into action. As many students got stuck at the beginning of the rock climb, their fellow climbers would help them by forming a stepping block with their bare hands.

“Support from my teammates served as a kind of motivation. They screamed out lots of encouraging and positive words and sometimes suggested me the direction. Without them, I would probably have given up,” Heidi Lau, a local Year 1 IBBA student, remarked.

Other than abseiling and rock climbing, the students separated themselves into two teams. Each team was required to complete different synergistic activities as a group. What made these activities so special was that there was a project leader and an observer from each team for each task. Participating students took turns being either project leader or observer. The project leader would be responsible for relaying all the instructions from the instructor to the team while the observer had to jot down his or her observations.

“Participating students were required to rotate to be the project leaders as we hoped that each of them could learn how to initiate a discussion among the group, how to manage disagreement or even conflicts within the team and how to facilitate the completion of a task. This should be a chance for them to develop their communication, problem solving skills, and practice decision making which will all contribute to the learning curve. The experiences will help students to be skilled in adaptability,” said John.

With aims to develop students’ ability to apply economics to policy analysis, polish their critical thinking capabilities, and enhance their team-building and multi-media presentation skills, this competition required participating students to team up to debate for or against one of the three contentious current issues. These are labor protection, subsidized housing and the individual visa scheme.

The team Oikonomia (composed of Chung Pok Man, Cheung Hiu Man, Cheng Pui Shan, Ho Yu Hin, Tong Yiu Tan and Cheung Lok Chun), was crowned the champion. The winning team is said to have provided a quality analysis in opposing the proposition that the HKSAR government should increase subsidized housing substantially with solid research, appropriate industry data, and detailed analysis of domestic and external economic situations.

This competition was open to CUHK undergraduate business students who took DSME1030 and DSME1031. A total of 204 students (40 teams) have enrolled in the competition. Fourteen teams have been shortlisted for the 2nd round competition to submit an essay and produce a video presentation.

Missed your chance to take part in this competition?

You have another chance with the second round of the Policy Analysis Competition coming up.

Applications close on April 30, 2013. Please refer to its official website, http://www.econ-cuba.net/pa2013/, for details.

Feb

27 Visit to Airport Authority Hong Kong

Credit: Airport Authority Hong Kong

Mr. CK Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations, Airport Authority Hong Kong, shared with the students the four core values of managing Hong Kong International Airport, namely safety, customer service, efficiency and environment.

Lightbox 09 DID YOU KNOW?

70–90

As soon as an incoming aircraft arrives, it has to undergo a full check within 70 to 90 minutes in order to maintain a high level of efficiency.

During the company visit to the Airport Authority Hong Kong on February 27, participating students were given special authorization to visit limited access areas at the airport. This included the Integrated Airport Centre, where students witnessed the real time monitoring of airport operations and airport contingency management.

Tao Heung

The Canteen of Hong Kong Mr. Leung Yiu Chun, CEO of Tao Heung Credit: Ming Pao

Hong Kong Brand Series #08 Brought to you by the Department of Marketing, CUHK Business School CU: Prof. Leo Sin, Dr. Susanna Kwok, Department of Marketing TH: Mr. Leung Yiu Chun, Chief Executive Officer of Tao Heung Holdings Limited (Click here for the full version at University Hall of Branding, Chinese version only)

S

ince Tao Heung Seafood Hotpot Restaurant at Sai Wan was first established back in 1991, Tao Heung has grown into a Chinese cuisine empire encompassing over 100 dining outlets across fourteen different restaurant brands (not including Tai Cheong Bakery in its separate bakery division). Twenty years later, Tao Heung is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with over 8,500 employees and a market value of HK$4.5 billion. Mr. Leung Yiu Chun, CEO of Tao Heung Holdings Limited, was asked to reveal the success factors that drove the rapid growth of Tao Heung.

Growth on a solid foundation CU: Since Tao Heung’s founding, were there any turning points that accelerated your growth and expansion?

TH: We have evolved through four strategic turning points. First, our “One-dollar Chicken” promotion in 1996 was well received by our customers and dramatically boosted consumers’ awareness of our brand. Second was our decision to be both product and service-oriented; this distinguished us from other, more traditional Chinese restaurants. Back in the early days, Chinese restaurants cared only about their food, while totally neglecting the service aspect. To

Front Row 11 FUN FACTS

50/50

The ratio of Hongkongers who dine in one of Tao Heung’s restaurants each month

150–180

The number of Tao Heung restaurants that a single logistics center is able to support

45%

Given the total restaurant business in Hong Kong, this portion is the market share made up of Chinese restaurants. Out of the 45%, Tao Heung takes up around 6% to 7%.

facilitate this change, in 1997 we engaged a professional consultancy firm to enhance our service quality. Third was the revamp of our interior design in 2000, refreshing the look of our dining outlets. We commissioned a renowned hotel interior designer to give us a whole new image. In particular we even adopted the use of booth seating in order to appeal to the younger demographic. Last but not least, the establishment of our first logistics center in 2003 enabled our branches to serve standardized pre-cooked and pre-measured foods that are consistent in product quality. The traditional approach where individual dishes were prepared independently by chefs at different restaurants was totally replaced by the adoption of centralized food processing. By the year 2003, we opened up a total of eighteen restaurants. Since then, we managed to take advantage of the standardized and efficient operation model and grow our restaurant networks to over a hundred.

Growth driven by innovation CU: If Tao Heung were a person, how would you describe his / her personality?

TH: Perseverant, audacious and open-minded. At

Tao Heung, each year we try something new and will refresh ourselves from time to time. It’s this audacious mindset of our staff that ensures our success.

CU: While the entire Chinese restaurant industry has shrunken, Tao Heung contrary to everyone else decided to expand its restaurant networks. What was your reason for doing this and how did you evaluate the risk?

TH: We believe that the desire for Chinese food will never decline. The contraction in many Chinese restaurants’ business possibly resulted from their failure to adapt and better cater to the diners’ needs.

Tao Heung therefore aims to feature something new, something other Chinese restaurants would not offer, to bring back our old customers while attracting new customers to our restaurants. In this way, we distinguish ourselves from the crowd of traditional Chinese restaurants. For example, we learned that the younger generation was increasingly sensitive to food safety and generally aware of the cleanliness of the restaurant. In view of this, we prohibited our chefs from smoking or dressing improperly in the kitchen.

We also imported cockroach traps from Japan. These steps enabled us to improve our restaurant environment and allowed us to create open kitchens in Tao Heung and Chung’s Cuisine branches. At these

To do so, we have to fully exploit the advantages of standardized centralized food processing and get rid of the constraints from relying heavily on any one chef’s personal skills.

locations diners can observe the preparation of Siu Mei (barbeque) and Dim Sum. Before that, open kitchens were rarely seen in traditional Chinese restaurants.

In 2003, Tao Heung established a centralized food processing and logistics center at Fo Tan. Our chefs were initially scared of being fired and replaced by this automated production line approach. Actually, chefs are still critical in Tao Heung, but in another way. We no longer require the chefs to cook, instead we expect them to manage each store’s inventory and to supervise the reheat procedure in the kitchen. In this way, we no longer rely heavily on the chef’s cooking skills. On the one hand, it enables us to maintain a consistent quality of product delivery regardless when a chef might resign or otherwise leave our restaurant.

On the other hand, it eases the chefs’ jobs and creates more opportunities for them to get promoted. Of course we are also aware of the drawback of centralized food processing—it’s expensive building one! Not all restaurants can afford or are willing to invest in a logistics center. With HK$60 million, would you choose to build a logistics center or simply open up ten more dining outlets which could be profitable quickly? At Tao Heung, we understand that it takes time to build up the brand image. It’s not just a business, so it’s not just about short-term earnings or loss. That’s why we aim for the long term. We clearly position ourselves to the mass market and are dedicated to offering value for money Chinese dining.

To do so, we have to fully exploit the advantages of standardized centralized food processing and get rid of the constraints from relying heavily on any one chef’s personal skills.

Growth through diversification CU: There are two directions one can take under the multi-brand strategy: one is that all sub-brands follow the same positioning of the mother brand; the other is that sub-brands all have their own different positioning.

Which strategy has Tao Heung adopted?

TH: Our sub-brands present different cuisines, yet most of them share the same core value of Tao Heung—value for money and our mass market orientation. Chung’s Cuisine and Joyous One are the only two exceptions. Their price level is about two times the other, more typical Tao Heung restaurants.

We all know Hong Kong is a tiny city; it will just take around a couple of hours to get from one end of the city to the other. Even if we managed to open a Tao Heung restaurant in each of Hong Kong’s eighteen districts, that would be eighteen restaurants at most.

That’s why Tao Heung goes for diversification; we adopted the multi-brand strategy. Today we operate over seventy restaurants out of the fourteen sub-brands. Imagine all seventy restaurants in our network are branded as Tao Heung and offer the same type of cuisine. Consumers would get bored eating in the same restaurant every day and every night. Even worse, all our restaurants would then be competing for the same group of diners. Hongkongers are especially crazy about food and new eating experiences. Now, when they think of Chinese dining, they think of Tao Heung.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

Multi-Brand Strategy This is a marketing strategy by a firm to establish and operate two or more unrelated brands. Multibrand caters to the differentiated needs of different consumer segments. In doing so, the firm obtains greater market share.

Next issue: I.T

Front Row 13

DID YOU KNOW? McDonald’s in 1960s Tao Heung adopted the concept of a centralized kitchen, but where did this idea come from? It turns out that the origin of this concept and its most successful application is the fast-food giant McDonald’s. Its core idea of rapidly delivering a consistent, uniform and highquality mix of prepared foods guaranteed its unstoppable success at each individual McDonald’s outlet. Raw materials were carefully pre-packed and pre-measured.

Facilities and equipment were designed to encourage a predetermined cooking and serving procedure. The result was that during the 1960s, McDonald’s sales skyrocketed from US$54 million to US$587 million. To quote Theodore Levitt, the success of McDonald’s originated from its application of “a manufacturing style of thinking to a peopleintensive service situation”. In such a case, nothing is left to chance or to the employee’s discretion.

“One-dollar Chicken” promotion Credit: Ming Pao

Tao Heung’s open kitchen Credit: Ming Pao

Newsroom

IBBA student and graduates in spotlight again 1 Date: February 1–2, 2013

By Tumi Ogunsola, student reporter

1

A team of IBBA student and graduates won the first runner-up in the TiE International Business Plan Competition (Asian Regional Finals) in early February in Delhi, following their success at the local finals.

Vivienne Chau (Year 4, IBBA) and Kaya Chan (2013 IBBA graduate) presenting for the team came under the spotlight after pitching their venture SnapShop, a new mobile e-commerce platform integrating the latest QR code technology. The two-day competition consisted of two rounds, one of which was an elevator pitch requiring competing teams to present their proposal in 60 seconds.

As one of the award-winning teams at the Regional Finals, they will be going to Houston, Texas to compete in the Rice Business Plan Competition taking place between April 11 and 13.

Newsroom

Career preparation: To be a smart job hunter 2 Date: January 25, February 1 and 22, and March 1, 2013

Thanks to a series of career preparation workshops, about 30 undergraduate business students should now be better prepared for their internship or first job in the business world, in terms of their CV writing, interview skills and business etiquette.

2

In collaboration with the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), the Undergraduate Office of CUHK Business School has organized a four-session workshop named “Career Preparation Series: Success Beyond the Classroom” for year 1 and 2 undergraduate business students. With trainers Elsie Christopher, director of the ILC, Yvonne Loong, senior lecturer, and Ray Chau, assistant lecturer, participating students learned how to develop a professional career portfolio including a tailored resume and application letter. They also learnt how to leave a good impression in an interview (both individual and group) and necessary business etiquette in presenting themselves professionally.

Outreach efforts— admission talks Date

School / Event

Speaker

Mar 15 Pentecostal Lam Hon Kwong School

Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

Mar 22 St. Paul’s Secondary School

Mr. John Lai, Associate Director of GBS / IBCE Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

Mar 26 Carmel Divine Grace Mr. CW Chau, Foundation Project Coordinator Secondary School Mar 27 Shek Lei Catholic Secondary School

Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

BT Global Services See who’s

hiring now!

L’Oréal HK

Sony Pictures

Hopewell

UBS

Rabobank

Adidas Group

New World Group

IBM

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Business Management Programme

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Column 15

Matt Ng

Alumnus, Quantitative Finance, Class of 2012

Traveling on a budget (4): Hitchhiking We have touched on different ways to cut cost on

accommodation and meals, but there is still one big expense on the budget—transportation.

There’s a great idea for cutting transportation cost which is easily found online. But let’s skip that for something more advanced—hitchhiking.

My first hitchhiking experience took place in Slovakia. It was, expectedly, a bone-chilling failure. Three hours standing on a cold winter day by the side of the road with my thumb out (the standard hitchhiking signal— thumb pointing in the direction you want to go), and I got totally frozen after fifteen minutes. No one stopped. I ended up taking a bus back to Vienna. But I didn’t give up. I checked the road and tried my luck again.

This time I got lucky. A very nice gentleman who also hitchhiked pointed out a better spot for hitchhiking about five metro stops away. There, I found a student from Czech hitching his way across Austria to meet his parents. After waiting about 30 minutes, we managed to hitch a ride on a little family truck.

On the truck he shared a lot with me about hitchhiking. Back in the 80s, as most people didn’t own cars, the side of the highway was packed with youngsters hitching their way abroad every summer.

But nowadays one sees hitchhikers on the road much less frequently, people have become more skeptical.

(It’s sad to see that the more wealth one has, the less concern or trust they have in others and the less they are willing to share.)

I also hitched rides with a young Belgian entrepreneur (driving a Porsche!), a retired German soldier, a Swiss engineer, etc. Many exchanges could happen in that confined cabin space. You are “hitching” into

someone’s life and it is always fascinating to “read” their stories.

However, although it is a rewarding way of travel, it is not the easiest nor comfortable option. But if you know the tricks well, it becomes much more pleasurable.

First is to find the correct highway. Clearly write the name and / or number of the highway on a cardboard sign or whatever you have. You can also indicate if you have souvenirs or snacks to offer.

Second, make sure the spot where you wait has enough space for the driver to pull over, preferably at the junction of small roads before a highway.

After much trial and error I found the best place is at the gas station before a highway.

Last but not least, STAY ALERT! Don’t just jump into the first car that stops. Take a few minutes to talk to the driver while glancing through their car to see if there’s anything suspicious.

Let’s head on down the road...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Ng took his first backpacking trip to Nepal during the summer of 2009, and ever since then he can’t stop traveling. During his one-year exchange studies in Switzerland, the same backpack saw him through Europe where he experienced all the highs and lows of being (at different times) a hitchhiker, a farmer, a lost and robbed traveler, and a homeless street sleeper. Matt has just returned from a five month adventure traveling through Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. In this column he shares with us stories from his journeys and experiences as a volunteer overseas.