Elective Courses

Part-time MBA Elective Courses

Students are required to take 6 elective courses to graduate. The 6 elective courses can be selected from the list of MBA elective courses.

Selected elective courses offered locally from other taught Masters Programmes of the Faculty, including Master of Accounting, Master of Economics, Master of Finance, Master of Science in Business Analytics, Master of Science in Marketing, Master of Global Management, Master of Finance in Financial Technology, and/or Master of Climate Governance and Risk Management (At most two electives from this category)

MBA Course Exemption

Exemption of up to two courses may be granted if a candidate can produce evidence, such as transcript and course syllabus proving that a course is equivalent in content to another course elsewhere for which a satisfactory grade has been obtained or the candidate is holding relevant professional qualifications for. Candidates will be required to take alternative courses in lieu of the exempted courses. Please contact the MBA Programme Management Office for details upon application.

Elective courses

Five theme areas
for the elective courses pool

All of our elective courses will be categorised into five major theme areas. Such categorisation will be provided to students so that they can have a clearer picture of what electives to study to fulfil their career aspirations.

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Business Tech and Innovation

The list of elective courses that belongs to the theme
- Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders
- Big Data Consumer Analytics
- Business Intelligence and Big Data
- Disrupting Business Models with Blockchain
- Operations Analytics
- Web 3 Applications, Investment and Development




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Strategy and Consulting

The list of elective courses that belongs to the theme
- Advanced Negotiation
- Effective ESG – Assessing, Advising & Leading
- Entrepreneurial Incubation Lab
- Entrepreneurship and Ventures
- Innovating Healthcare
- Insights and Lessons – Reflections of a CEO
- International Field Project
- Management Consulting for Consultants and Managers
- Online Business Strategy
- Transformative Leadership in the Digital Era
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Marketing and General Management

The list of elective courses that belongs to the theme
- Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
- Decoding Branding in the New Era
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- Global Marketing Management
- Managing Black Swans
- Strategic Human Resource Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Turnaround Management and Corporate Resilience



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Finance

The list of elective courses that belongs to the theme
- Advanced Corporate Finance
- Business Valuation
- ESG, Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing
- Frontier Practices: Investment Banking, Strategy, and Management
- Investments and Asset Allocation
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Real Estate Finance
- Renewable Energy Finance
- Risk Management
- Venture Capital and Private Equity
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Managing in China & Asia

The list of elective courses that belongs to the theme
- China Business Environment
- Leadership Development in the Chinese Classics
- Legal Environment in Asia

Elective Courses

Advanced Corporate Finance

This course consists of three parts. Part I covers financing needs and capital structure. Part II develops tools needed for valuing investment projects and companies. Part III deals with the concepts of options and derivatives and their applications in corporate finance and risk management. The topics to be covered include: Capital Structure: Theory and Practice, Cost of Capital, Valuation: WACC versus APV, Dividend Policy, Convertible Debt, Options, Risk Management, Real Options for Valuation, and Strategic Decisions.

Advanced Negotiation
This course aims at providing a systematic introduction of concepts, theories and practices in negotiation, familiarising the students with different types of negotiations, and equipping them with toolkits of effective negotiation strategies that can be applied to various business and management contexts. The course introduces the nature and types of conflict, mechanism of conflict escalation and de-escalation, and conflict resolution styles. It follows with the discussion of the characteristics of interest-based negotiation and negotiation strategies. Differentiation will be drawn between distributive and integrative negotiation strategies, and between structured vs. non-structured negotiation contexts. The course also covers various cognitive and affective elements of negotiation that contribute to the success or failure of the practice. Specifically, students will learn cognitive biases, framing, building trust, handling difficult counterparties, power and persuasion, negotiation ethics, and third-party intervention. Some topics will be covered in the context of cross-cultural negotiation and computer-mediated negotiation to cater to the needs of today’s international business environment.
Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders

This course aims to provide students with an overview of the main branches of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as explore use cases and practical business implementation within different industries and technologies to better understand the coming AI Human-centric revolution. Students will be able to identify and leverage AI to enhance and/or disrupt business models and whole industries while keeping in mind social and ethical dimensions for the greater good of the world. The course is also intended to aid the thinking and personal development of students so that they are better able to adapt to the future job market and shape the societal systems of tomorrow.

Big Data Consumer Analytics

This course looks to introduce students to the various methods and strategies to make sense of data. We will cover topics including advanced and Big Data predictive analytics, machine and deep learning, text mining and analysis, image and video analysis, and geospatial and mobility analytics. Students will have real hands-on practice exercises with these methods, learn how to generate insights from large and unstructured data, and build an understanding of its strategic relevance in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The course will also bridge these technical methods with social sciences and consumer behaviour. We will cover a number of case studies, with an emphasis on Asia, in sundry industries including retailing and e-commerce, advertising, FinTech and retail financial sectors, telecommunication, and transportation and smart nations. Finally, we will discuss the interwoven dependencies on the legal frameworks with Big Data, including issues relating to privacy, regulations, rights, consumer reactions and adherence to data legislation in different markets.

Business Intelligence and Big Data
With the rapid advances in information technologies, a massive amount of data, often known as “big data” is being generated at an unprecedented speed. There are ample opportunities for business organisations to gain managerial and strategic insights by gathering, cleaning, and analysing this data, a process known as “business intelligence.” The purpose of this course is to introduce a basic understanding of what business intelligence and big data are and how they can be applied to make intelligent business decisions and strategies. This course focuses on both the technical aspects and managerial aspects of business intelligence and big data analysis.
Business Valuation
This course is designed to help students conduct valuation using financial statements. The course introduces concepts, tools, and skills used for analysing financial statements. Topics cover strategy, accounting, and financial analysis; forecasting financial performance; valuation theory and practice; as well as business valuation in a private equity setting. Students will have the opportunity to apply the concepts and skills in analysing financial statements and valuing real companies in the course. This course will be useful for students who are interested in firms’ valuation, and particularly for those interested in finance and entrepreneurship.
China Business Environment

This course examines the challenges and opportunities that a rising and rapidly changing China has provided for various business corporations, i.e. Chinese state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign invested or foreign multinational enterprises. It focuses on distinct aspects of the Chinese business environment that companies must address if they are to succeed in one of the world’s most important and misunderstood markets. The course will focus on the Chinese political / governmental system that influences the economy, the major initiatives that might provide opportunities for business, and the international relations that may complicate business for both Chinese and non-Chinese companies. In addition to a range of background documents on China and its economy, we will also use cases on China’s state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign enterprises operating in China to identify the distinct challenges and opportunities that different types of firms face in China.

Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
This course is to provide a multi-faceted overview of the characteristics and unique challenges of governance strategy and practices in Asia. Corporate governance topics include the institutional environment, corporate ownership, family-and state-owned enterprises, board of directors, and corporate transparency. Moreover, the topics of social responsibility, nonprofit organisations, and social enterprises will be discussed in-depth to bring this course to a forward-looking conclusion.
Decoding Branding in the New Era
This course combines the most critical theories as well as the most current marketing topics, including branding in the digital age, emergence of disruptive brands, brand management during economic turmoil, CSR and sustainability, big data and big branding, the art and science of branding, and Post COVID-19 branding insights, etc. With the increasing importance of the China market to any organisation, this course will also analyse the latest market development in China and how brand-owners can better prepare themselves to seize the substantial business opportunities in China. Throughout the course, the concept of branding will be thoroughly examined holistically.
Digital Marketing Strategy
The digital economy has fundamentally altered the nature of and the scope of business and marketing practice, consumption, and society at large. This course provides fundamental knowledge on the developments in digital marketing and provides students a strategy toolkit by decomposing developments and applications in digital marketing into three fundamental dimensions; time, space, and connections. Substantive topics include: digital advertising, leveraging data assets to create value/win in the marketplace, social network analysis, social media, mobile marketing, mobility and location data/services, digital platforms and channels, and digital consumer behavior. In exploring these concepts, applications, and strategies this course aims to teach students how to create value from digital data and compete as the business landscape becomes increasingly digitalized, informatized, and technological.
Disrupting Business Models with Blockchain

This course will be a practical guide to the technology, helping the student to discern realistic implementation versus the hype and fiction that sometimes surrounds the technology due to its cryptocurrency roots. It will focus on existing successful enterprise use cases, but also cover emerging concepts (DeFi, NFTs, DAOs) that business leaders should be aware of and how they might leverage the innovations. The course will interweave this theory and use cases with a series of guest lectures from people working in various areas of the industry.

Effective ESG – Assessing, Advising & Leading
The goal for the course will be for participants to form their own evidenced based mental model of what they believe effective ESG is. This course will in turn prepare each participant to use their mental models of effective ESG to assess, advise and lead organizations in this subject. The development gained from this course will be relevant to a wide range of future careers and not limited to those who intend to specialize in ESG.
Entrepreneurial Incubation Lab
Understanding and building entrepreneurial skills have become critical for both business founders as well as future business leaders. Hong Kong is among the top startup hubs globally and the HKU MBA programme is collaborating with Cyberport Academy, part of Hong Kong’s largest startup incubation hub, to enable our students to experience the entire startup journey right from ideation to validation and startup pitch. This course will equip them with the tools to launch their own business and drive entrepreneurial initiatives in their companies.
Entrepreneurship and Ventures

This course aims to provide an overview of the entrepreneurship process by focusing on new venture creation from idea generation, building a compelling business model and opportunity recognition to managing new business start-ups and dealing with venture capitalists. Students will learn how to develop business models that create new value for customers in a start-up venture and will also learn about the values, management, marketing, and financial skills that are most often associated with successful entrepreneurial activity. Students then discover and evaluate opportunities, develop possible business models and prepare a venture plan.

ESG, Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing
This course provides an overview of financial instruments and activities that are critical for sustainable, climate-resilient worldwide economic development. It covers topics such as green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds, which are important constituents of the green and sustainable finance markets. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are discussed through cases and examples. Active ownership and impact investing through which institutional investors engage corporations to achieve positive ESG outcomes consistent with Paris Agreement are explained. Government regulations and industry best practices for ESG disclosures and reporting are elaborated.
Frontier Practices: Investment Banking, Strategy, and Management
This course aims to share students with the frontier practices of investment strategy, equity capital markets of investment banking, asset management and wealth management. The investment strategy will cover the framework of strategy research, the drivers of the market, and how to position the market cycle; the equity capital market of investment banking will discuss the full process of how a private company go through Initial Public Offering (IPO), the price discovery and IPO pricing, share allocation, post IPO price stabilization mechanism; the asset management will help dissect how to build and manage a successful asset management company through the alpha generation and right performance matrix for analysts and portfolio managers; wealth management will cater for the rising needs of global asset allocation from high net worth individuals by sharing the global strategic and tactical allocation framework, the principal of balancing capital appreciation, liquidity, longevity and legacy, and the importance of allocation to alternative investments.
Global Marketing Management

This course is designed for students looking to deepen their understanding of how to develop marketing strategies through implementation across global markets. Examining the challenges of entering and operating effectively across international markets, this course covers international marketing objectives, strategies and policies, market selection, distribution channel decisions and management, international marketing mix approaches appropriate to individual markets, and systems of the international marketing organisation, planning, and control.

Innovating Healthcare
This multidisciplinary course provides an overview of the evolution, structure and current issues in the health care sector, and the innovation challenges created by system complexity, technology advancement, and growing diverse needs. It examines the unique features of health care as a product, and the changing relationships between patients, providers, insurers, bioscience, employers, and government. Moreover, this course will explore new ecosystem at the crossroad of biotechnology digital technology, fintech, and new health care delivery model. This course will offer useful introduction to students interested in health insurance, hospital, pharmaceutical, medical device, investment in health care, or starting a new venture in health care.
Insights and Lessons – Reflections of a CEO
The course instructor was a CEO who has transformed four major organizations in Hong Kong, namely, Dragonair, Ocean Park, Cathay Pacific Airways and Hang Lung Properties. This course highlights the practical lessons and experiences accumulated in his 42-year career. Students will share the experiences and obtain a better understanding of the top-level business and strategy issues.
International Field Project

With shifting global economic patterns, the knowledge and field experience in different countries and economic regions is inevitable to be successful on an international and local scale. The international field project is a practical course, which proceeds by visiting companies and institutions to learn about businesses and public services and collect data which serves as a basis for course work. It also gives a cultural perspective and encourages observing international differences in markets, objectives, and operations. Classroom teaching, prereading literature and reviewing current events lay the foundation, but the main pedagogic concept is to analyse companies and institutions visited and extract lessons learned. This can mean the application of best practices back home, the assessment of opportunities for Chinese companies in the visited counties, and how to build closer professional and personal ties. Ideally, students already have a sound knowledge of professional practices and some core MBA curriculum subjects, so they can apply and calibrate this in a new context and realities outside the classroom. Further, global contexts will be discussed and the relation to trade agreements and initiatives such as the “One Belt, One Road Initiative”.

*International Field Project is an elective course for Part-time students

Investments and Asset Allocation
This class is aimed to cover the basics of investments and modern portfolio theory and extend this to complex issues of asset allocation including alternative assets. Thus, this course covers a mixture of traditional assets (stocks, bonds, etc.) and alternative assets (hedge funds, private equities, private credit, etc.) and how to allocate between them.
Leadership Development in the Chinese Classics
This course aspires to dive back into ancient wisdoms within the Chinese classics to examine the fundamental guidelines for developing leadership skills. It aims to compare 1) the leadership now and where it will go in the future, 2) the basic qualities we are looking for, 3) the need to face a multifaceted and pluralistic world. These wisdom and values may be perceived as “old” fashion, however, exploring Chineseness incorporated within “China in the World” will bring to light leadership behaviours currently being practiced to be aligned with values within the Chinese classics.
Legal Environment in Asia

This course will provide each student with a solid legal foundation, especially in an Asian context. It is an international business law course specifically designed for students who are or hope to become managers and executives in Asia. We will discuss broad legal principles and how they affect business today, analysing several cross-border business transactions and court cases. The format of the course is similar to a graduate seminar, requiring students to be well prepared and participate actively in class.

 

Management Consulting for Consultants and Managers

This course is targeted to MBA Candidates and future business executives. It is meant to explain what consulting is, what consultants do, how to practically prepare for a consulting career and decide on what type of consulting to practice. It is also meant for future business executives to better understand what consultants bring to a company and how to best use them. This course will also put a particular emphasis on preparing students for the interview process, which is specific to consulting firms (e.g., several “Case Interviews” in 2-3 rounds): process itself, types of cases, useful frameworks and approaches, skills sought after by Consulting firms, etc., with actual cases discussed in class, and case preparation expected outside classes as well.

Managing Black Swans
This course aims to help business leaders and policy makers to improve their decision making under extreme uncertainty. It synthesizes the recent research on Black Swan events and develops ideas and tools for managing them. It will deal with the following questions. What are Black Swan events? How do they affect investment, business and society? What can we do to make better decisions in the world full of Black Swan events?
Mergers and Acquisitions
This course is designed to develop a solid understanding of commonly discussed and applied issues in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The topics covered in this course include the M&A process, methods of valuing a target firm, valuing synergies, the form of payment and financing, assessing highly leveraged transactions, governance in M&A, and M&A negotiations. M&A cases will be used in discussing these topics. By going through analyses and discussions of real-life M&As, students will gain experience in the application of financial theories and techniques to evaluate M&A decisions and transactions.
Online Business Strategy
This course is designed to allow students of all levels to become familiar with the fundamental role of technological advancements in today’s business environments. As technology becomes increasingly integrated into business processes, managers and leaders alike must be able to understand and communicate the enabling potential of these tools. This course provides an introductory training for such purposes. Topics of this course cover the fundamental challenges faced by businesses operating in the online environment, new opportunities and threats arising from social media, and strategic considerations in offering web-based services and information goods.
Operations Analytics
This course introduces the concepts of operations management and the application of analytical techniques in solving problems an organisation faces in its operations. Operations of an organisation concern the management of the processes which convert inputs into outputs. Effective operations management involves managing people, equipment, and other resources. This course will provide students with the analytical tools needed to understand and articulate the impact of an organisation’s processes and the ability to continuously improve these processes. By introducing rigorous analytical methods and theories, this course demonstrates ways to apply structured thinking to loosely defined real-life operations processes.
Real Estate Finance

The objective of this course is to develop an analytical framework by which students can make sound real estate investment decisions. The main emphases of the course are theory, concept-building, financial modelling, and practical application. In particular, class discussions will cover the following areas in real estate: Real estate markets and investments, appraisals, and development, Institutional aspects of real estate finance, Mortgage Markets, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Real Estate Transactions, Valuation of Land, Valuation of Income Producing Properties, and Redevelopment of Real Estate.

Renewable Energy Finance

The goal of this course is to provide students an introduction to the topic of renewable energy finance and develop the concepts and practical tools that are essential in this field. The course contains lectures, problem solving exercises, cases, and academic paper reading. Lectures and exercises are used to develop the basic skills, academic paper reading deepens the understanding, and case analyses improves the decision-making ability under complex real-world situations. The course will be case intensive and requires a substantial amount of reading and discussions. The course assumes that students already have a good knowledge and understanding about basic finance concepts, such as net present value and investment valuation.

Risk Management
This course explores the concepts and techniques necessary for effective corporates risk management. The purpose of this course is to offer a step-by-step approach to the development of a proper risk management for a company. It will focus on the financial modeling of risk and the effective use of various financial products in risk management. In particular, the course will focus on: identification and measurement of a firm’s exposure to financial risk, use of various financial instruments in managing the firm’s exposure to risks, implementation of risk management programme.
Strategic Human Resource Management
Strategic human resource management (HRM) aims to maximize the value of human capital with a wide range of tools, such as the design of business models, performance measures, compensation systems, and workplace rules. This course covers the content knowledge in the following topics: (1) how to use people factors to upgrade the business models in the digital economy era, (2) how to use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to enhance human productivity and firm performance, (3) how to select a person who will perform well and stay long, (4) how to design compensation structures for organizations and design monetary and non-monetary incentives for individuals, and (5) how to gamify the workplace with a human-focused, rather than a function-focused mindset, etc. The course offers a lot of interactive opportunities to apply what we learned to solve problems in different case scenarios.
Supply Chain Management

This course focuses on the systems approach to the planning, analysis, design, development, and evaluation of supply chain and logistics management. You will not be learning dry, abstract concepts or theories, but will be given practical situations and case studies from a number of industries to stimulate your thinking for solutions in the analysis of your own organisation’s supply chain operation. The learning contents are designed to be comprehensive and illuminative. If you are merely a consumer or customer, this study will help make you more perceptive and more understanding of the constraints and strengths of supply chain management.

Transformative Leadership in the Digital Era
This course offers MBA students a comprehensive approach to developing and enhancing leadership skills suited to the complexities and dynamics of the digital age. It provides an in-depth understanding of how the digital era reshapes organizational contexts and necessitates new strategic directions. Throughout the course, students will engage in interactive exercises, case studies, and group projects to learn and apply transformative leadership principles. By the end of the course, students will possess the skills necessary to lead effectively, align organizational goals with strategic objectives, optimize processes, evaluate performance, and cultivate a transformative culture within their organizations.
Turnaround Management and Corporate Resilience

This course is designed to train you to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis and bring them back to a sustainable economic path. It covers all aspects of rescue and restructuring in a practical and hands on approach. The course has the main objective to gain the ability to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis. It is targeting executives and their advisors who are in charge of major corporate restructurings.

Venture Capital and Private Equity
Private Equity (PE), including Venture Capital (VC), has become an increasingly important asset class for most institutional investors. This course shall focus on the most recent developments in the PEVC industry and also provide an overview to students. This course shall examine how PE and VC work, mitigate risks, and generate returns and it will also discuss the processes ranging from screening to exiting deals. The objective of the course is for students to gain deep knowledge of PEVC from not only case studies and model simulations, but also experiential learning similar to that of field PEVC professionals through students’ team collaboration to experience the art of negotiating and closing deals, which aims to mimic the real-world situation.
Web 3 Applications, Investment and Development
This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the dynamic and rapidly evolving world of Web 3. Through the comprehensive course design, it aims to immerse students in the depths of this revolutionary ecosystem. It provides an unparalleled exploration of the Web 3 universe, blending theoretical knowledge with practical insights into the sector’s explosive growth and boundless potential. This course will also provide a thorough evaluation of the regulations and policies influencing the Web 3 ecosystem’s evolution. Students will explore how global financial centers, such as Hong Kong, are adopting Web 3 through initiatives like Web 3 and Real-World Asset (RWA) task forces, as well as the licensing of cryptocurrency exchanges. They will also investigate the approaches of U.S. legislative and government bodies towards crypto regulations. As a result, students will be equipped with the essential skills to navigate this complex and rapidly growing sector effectively.
Advanced Corporate Finance

This course consists of three parts. Part I covers financing needs and capital structure. Part II develops tools needed for valuing investment projects and companies. Part III deals with the concepts of options and derivatives and their applications in corporate finance and risk management. The topics to be covered include: Capital Structure: Theory and Practice, Cost of Capital, Valuation: WACC versus APV, Dividend Policy, Convertible Debt, Options, Risk Management, Real Options for Valuation, and Strategic Decisions.

Big Data Consumer Analytics

This course looks to introduce students to the various methods and strategies to make sense of data. We will cover topics including advanced and Big Data predictive analytics, machine and deep learning, text mining and analysis, image and video analysis, and geospatial and mobility analytics. Students will have real hands-on practice exercises with these methods, learn how to generate insights from large and unstructured data, and build an understanding of its strategic relevance in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The course will also bridge these technical methods with social sciences and consumer behaviour. We will cover a number of case studies, with an emphasis on Asia, in sundry industries including retailing and e-commerce, advertising, FinTech and retail financial sectors, telecommunication, and transportation and smart nations. Finally, we will discuss the interwoven dependencies on the legal frameworks with Big Data, including issues relating to privacy, regulations, rights, consumer reactions and adherence to data legislation in different markets.

China Business Environment

This course examines the challenges and opportunities that a rising and rapidly changing China has provided for various business corporations, i.e. Chinese state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign invested or foreign multinational enterprises. It focuses on distinct aspects of the Chinese business environment that companies must address if they are to succeed in one of the world’s most important and misunderstood markets. The course will focus on the Chinese political / governmental system that influences the economy, the major initiatives that might provide opportunities for business, and the international relations that may complicate business for both Chinese and non-Chinese companies. In addition to a range of background documents on China and its economy, we will also use cases on China’s state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign enterprises operating in China to identify the distinct challenges and opportunities that different types of firms face in China.

Derivatives and Structured Finance

The major objective of this course is to promote an in-depth understanding of basic derivative products and structured finance instruments. This course provides students with a framework (1) to understand the fundamental concepts of derivative products (forward and futures, options, swaps) and structured finance instruments (CDOs, CDS, ELNs and other structured products), (2) to develop the necessary skills used in valuing derivative contracts, and (3) to understand a wide variety of issues related to risk management and investment decisions using derivatives and structured products.

Entrepreneurial Incubation Lab

Understanding and building entrepreneurial skills have become critical for both business founders as well as future business leaders. Hong Kong is among the top startup hubs globally and the HKU MBA programme is collaborating with Cyberport Academy, part of Hong Kong’s largest startup incubation hub, to enable our students to experience the entire startup journey right from ideation to validation and startup pitch. This course will equip them with the tools to launch their own business and drive entrepreneurial initiatives in their companies.

Global Marketing Management

This course is designed for students looking to deepen their understanding of how to develop marketing strategies through implementation across global markets. Examining the challenges of entering and operating effectively across international markets, this course covers international marketing objectives, strategies and policies, market selection, distribution channel decisions and management, international marketing mix approaches appropriate to individual markets, and systems of the international marketing organisation, planning, and control.

Investments and Asset Allocation

This class is aimed to cover the basics of investments and modern portfolio theory and extend this to complex issues of asset allocation including alternative assets. Thus, this course covers a mixture of traditional assets (stocks, bonds, etc.) and alternative assets (hedge funds, private equities, private credit, etc.) and how to allocate between them.

Managing Black Swans

This course aims to help business leaders and policy makers to improve their decision making under extreme uncertainty. It synthesizes the recent research on Black Swan events and develops ideas and tools for managing them. It will deal with the following questions. What are Black Swan events? How do they affect investment, business and society? What can we do to make better decisions in the world full of Black Swan events?

Online Business Strategy

This course is designed to allow students of all levels to become familiar with the fundamental role of technological advancements in today’s business environments. As technology becomes increasingly integrated into business processes, managers and leaders alike must be able to understand and communicate the enabling potential of these tools. This course provides an introductory training for such purposes. Topics of this course cover the fundamental challenges faced by businesses operating in the online environment, new opportunities and threats arising from social media, and strategic considerations in offering web-based services and information goods.

Renewable Energy Finance

The goal of this course is to provide students an introduction to the topic of renewable energy finance and develop the concepts and practical tools that are essential in this field. The course contains lectures, problem solving exercises, cases, and academic paper reading. Lectures and exercises are used to develop the basic skills, academic paper reading deepens the understanding, and case analyses improves the decision-making ability under complex real-world situations. The course will be case intensive and requires a substantial amount of reading and discussions. The course assumes that students already have a good knowledge and understanding about basic finance concepts, such as net present value and investment valuation.

Turnaround Management and Corporate Resilience

This course is designed to train you to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis and bring them back to a sustainable economic path. It covers all aspects of rescue and restructuring in a practical and hands on approach. The course has the main objective to gain the ability to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis. It is targeting executives and their advisors who are in charge of major corporate restructurings.

Advanced Negotiation

This course aims at providing a systematic introduction of concepts, theories and practices in negotiation, familiarising the students with different types of negotiations, and equipping them with toolkits of effective negotiation strategies that can be applied to various business and management contexts. The course introduces the nature and types of conflict, mechanism of conflict escalation and de-escalation, and conflict resolution styles. It follows with the discussion of the characteristics of interest-based negotiation and negotiation strategies. Differentiation will be drawn between distributive and integrative negotiation strategies, and between structured vs. non-structured negotiation contexts. The course also covers various cognitive and affective elements of negotiation that contribute to the success or failure of the practice. Specifically, students will learn cognitive biases, framing, building trust, handling difficult counterparties, power and persuasion, negotiation ethics, and third-party intervention. Some topics will be covered in the context of cross-cultural negotiation and computer-mediated negotiation to cater to the needs of today’s international business environment.

Business Intelligence and Big Data

With the rapid advances in information technologies, a massive amount of data, often known as “big data” is being generated at an unprecedented speed. There are ample opportunities for business organisations to gain managerial and strategic insights by gathering, cleaning, and analysing this data, a process known as “business intelligence.” The purpose of this course is to introduce a basic understanding of what business intelligence and big data are and how they can be applied to make intelligent business decisions and strategies. This course focuses on both the technical aspects and managerial aspects of business intelligence and big data analysis.

Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility

This course is to provide a multi-faceted overview of the characteristics and unique challenges of governance strategy and practices in Asia. Corporate governance topics include the institutional environment, corporate ownership, family-and state-owned enterprises, board of directors, and corporate transparency. Moreover, the topics of social responsibility, nonprofit organisations, and social enterprises will be discussed in-depth to bring this course to a forward-looking conclusion.

Disrupting Business Models with Blockchain

This course will be a practical guide to the technology, helping the student to discern realistic implementation versus the hype and fiction that sometimes surrounds the technology due to its cryptocurrency roots. It will focus on existing successful enterprise use cases, but also cover emerging concepts (DeFi, NFTs, DAOs) that business leaders should be aware of and how they might leverage the innovations. The course will interweave this theory and use cases with a series of guest lectures from people working in various areas of the industry.

Entrepreneurship and Ventures

This course aims to provide an overview of the entrepreneurship process by focusing on new venture creation from idea generation, building a compelling business model and opportunity recognition to managing new business start-ups and dealing with venture capitalists. Students will learn how to develop business models that create new value for customers in a start-up venture and will also learn about the values, management, marketing, and financial skills that are most often associated with successful entrepreneurial activity. Students then discover and evaluate opportunities, develop possible business models and prepare a venture plan.

Legal Environment in Asia

This course will provide each student with a solid legal foundation, especially in an Asian context. It is an international business law course specifically designed for students who are or hope to become managers and executives in Asia. We will discuss broad legal principles and how they affect business today, analysing several cross-border business transactions and court cases. The format of the course is similar to a graduate seminar, requiring students to be well prepared and participate actively in class.

 

Mergers and Acquisitions
This course is designed to develop a solid understanding of commonly discussed and applied issues in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The topics covered in this course include the M&A process, methods of valuing a target firm, valuing synergies, the form of payment and financing, assessing highly leveraged transactions, governance in M&A, and M&A negotiations. M&A cases will be used in discussing these topics. By going through analyses and discussions of real-life M&As, students will gain experience in the application of financial theories and techniques to evaluate M&A decisions and transactions.
 
Operations Analytics

This course introduces the concepts of operations management and the application of analytical techniques in solving problems an organisation faces in its operations. Operations of an organisation concern the management of the processes which convert inputs into outputs. Effective operations management involves managing people, equipment, and other resources. This course will provide students with the analytical tools needed to understand and articulate the impact of an organisation’s processes and the ability to continuously improve these processes. By introducing rigorous analytical methods and theories, this course demonstrates ways to apply structured thinking to loosely defined real-life operations processes.

Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management (HRM) aims to maximize the value of human capital with a wide range of tools, such as the design of business models, performance measures, compensation systems, and workplace rules. This course covers the content knowledge in the following topics: (1) how to use people factors to upgrade the business models in the digital economy era, (2) how to use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to enhance human productivity and firm performance, (3) how to select a person who will perform well and stay long, (4) how to design compensation structures for organizations and design monetary and non-monetary incentives for individuals, and (5) how to gamify the workplace with a human-focused, rather than a function-focused mindset, etc. The course offers a lot of interactive opportunities to apply what we learned to solve problems in different case scenarios.

Venture Capital and Private Equity

Private Equity (PE), including Venture Capital (VC), has become an increasingly important asset class for most institutional investors. This course shall focus on the most recent developments in the PEVC industry and also provide an overview to students. This course shall examine how PE and VC work, mitigate risks, and generate returns and it will also discuss the processes ranging from screening to exiting deals. The objective of the course is for students to gain deep knowledge of PEVC from not only case studies and model simulations, but also experiential learning similar to that of field PEVC professionals through students’ team collaboration to experience the art of negotiating and closing deals, which aims to mimic the real-world situation.

Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders

This course aims to provide students with an overview of the main branches of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as explore use cases and practical business implementation within different industries and technologies to better understand the coming AI Human-centric revolution. Students will be able to identify and leverage AI to enhance and/or disrupt business models and whole industries while keeping in mind social and ethical dimensions for the greater good of the world. The course is also intended to aid the thinking and personal development of students so that they are better able to adapt to the future job market and shape the societal systems of tomorrow.

Business Valuation

This course is designed to help students conduct valuation using financial statements. The course introduces concepts, tools, and skills used for analysing financial statements. Topics cover strategy, accounting, and financial analysis; forecasting financial performance; valuation theory and practice; as well as business valuation in a private equity setting. Students will have the opportunity to apply the concepts and skills in analysing financial statements and valuing real companies in the course. This course will be useful for students who are interested in firms’ valuation, and particularly for those interested in finance and entrepreneurship.

Decoding Branding in the New Era

This course combines the most critical theories as well as the most current marketing topics, including branding in the digital age, emergence of disruptive brands, brand management during economic turmoil, CSR and sustainability, big data and big branding, the art and science of branding, and Post COVID-19 branding insights, etc. With the increasing importance of the China market to any organisation, this course will also analyse the latest market development in China and how brand-owners can better prepare themselves to seize the substantial business opportunities in China. Throughout the course, the concept of branding will be thoroughly examined holistically.

Effective ESG – Assessing, Advising & Leading

The goal for the course will be for participants to form their own evidenced based mental model of what they believe effective ESG is. This course will in turn prepare each participant to use their mental models of effective ESG to assess, advise and lead organizations in this subject. The development gained from this course will be relevant to a wide range of future careers and not limited to those who intend to specialize in ESG.

ESG, Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing

This course provides an overview of financial instruments and activities that are critical for sustainable, climate-resilient worldwide economic development. It covers topics such as green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds, which are important constituents of the green and sustainable finance markets. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are discussed through cases and examples. Active ownership and impact investing through which institutional investors engage corporations to achieve positive ESG outcomes consistent with Paris Agreement are explained. Government regulations and industry best practices for ESG disclosures and reporting are elaborated.

International Field Project

With shifting global economic patterns, the knowledge and field experience in different countries and economic regions is inevitable to be successful on an international and local scale. The international field project is a practical course, which proceeds by visiting companies and institutions to learn about businesses and public services and collect data which serves as a basis for course work. It also gives a cultural perspective and encourages observing international differences in markets, objectives, and operations. Classroom teaching, prereading literature and reviewing current events lay the foundation, but the main pedagogic concept is to analyse companies and institutions visited and extract lessons learned. This can mean the application of best practices back home, the assessment of opportunities for Chinese companies in the visited counties, and how to build closer professional and personal ties. Ideally, students already have a sound knowledge of professional practices and some core MBA curriculum subjects, so they can apply and calibrate this in a new context and realities outside the classroom. Further, global contexts will be discussed and the relation to trade agreements and initiatives such as the “One Belt, One Road Initiative”.

*International Field Project is an elective course for Part-time students

Management Consulting for Consultants and Managers

This course is targeted to MBA Candidates and future business executives. It is meant to explain what consulting is, what consultants do, how to practically prepare for a consulting career and decide on what type of consulting to practice. It is also meant for future business executives to better understand what consultants bring to a company and how to best use them. This course will also put a particular emphasis on preparing students for the interview process, which is specific to consulting firms (e.g., several “Case Interviews” in 2-3 rounds): process itself, types of cases, useful frameworks and approaches, skills sought after by Consulting firms, etc., with actual cases discussed in class, and case preparation expected outside classes as well.

Multinational Enterprises Strategy

This course is designed to broaden students’ understanding of the issues related to the management of multinational enterprises. The emphasis is on the global business environment and its impacts on multinational enterprises’ strategy, structure, and functions. First, the course discusses the political, economic, and cultural environments in which multinational enterprises operate. Second, it examines the strategy and organisation of multinational enterprises, including entry strategies, international alliances, organisation structures, and control in multinational enterprises. Third, it examines the management of people in multinational enterprises, including motivation and decision-making in the international context.

Real Estate Finance

The objective of this course is to develop an analytical framework by which students can make sound real estate investment decisions. The main emphases of the course are theory, concept-building, financial modelling, and practical application. In particular, class discussions will cover the following areas in real estate: Real estate markets and investments, appraisals, and development, Institutional aspects of real estate finance, Mortgage Markets, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Real Estate Transactions, Valuation of Land, Valuation of Income Producing Properties, and Redevelopment of Real Estate.

Supply Chain Management

This course focuses on the systems approach to the planning, analysis, design, development, and evaluation of supply chain and logistics management. You will not be learning dry, abstract concepts or theories, but will be given practical situations and case studies from a number of industries to stimulate your thinking for solutions in the analysis of your own organisation’s supply chain operation. The learning contents are designed to be comprehensive and illuminative. If you are merely a consumer or customer, this study will help make you more perceptive and more understanding of the constraints and strengths of supply chain management.

Web 3 Applications, Investment and Development

This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the dynamic and rapidly evolving world of Web 3. With our comprehensive course design, we will immerse students in the depths of this revolutionary digital ecosystem. This course offers an unparalleled exploration of the Web 3 universe, providing a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical insights into the explosive growth and boundless potential of this cutting-edge sector.

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