CUHK
News Centre

Three teams of Global Business Studies (GBS) students of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have won the championship in three case competitions, two local and one in the US, in the last three months.

Prof. Gordon Cheung, GBS Programme Director, was pleased with the achievements of his students. “I am very impressed by the students’ dedication to case training and glad that the preparation work they put in paid off. Their achievements once again prove that CUHK is producing the best business students in Hong Kong who are highly competitive even in the global arena,” he remarked.

KPMG Business Administration Paper 2008
The KPMG Business Administration Paper 2008 is a business plan writing competition organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Business Students (HKFBS). The competition attracted more than 200 teams from eight universities in Hong Kong. The GBS team, comprising four Year-3 students, Oliver Chan, Ruby Chik, Lily Hui and Kayan Leung, was selected among 44 teams to represent CUHK in the semi-final. They subsequently entered the final round where they met other finalists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Shue Yan University. The four teams competed on Oral Presentation Day held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22 February 2009. The Evaluation Committee consisted of academia and prominent business leaders.

“Tripartite Partnership for Corporate Competitiveness” was the theme of this year’s competition. Participants, as business consultants, were tasked with proposing a business project that involves the cooperation of a government department, a non-government organization (NGO) and a company in providing a product or service that can bring benefits to society. The GBS team proposed a web-based public fund-raising platform which offers direct donations to support extra-curricular activities and development of underprivileged children in Hong Kong. Government departments including the Social Welfare Department and the Education Bureau; NGOs like the Hong Kong Jockey Club; and business corporations such as Yahoo Hong Kong and others would be involved.

With thorough analysis and outstanding performance, the CUHK team became the champion of the competition. The four girls shared a cash prize of HK$20,000 and were awarded air tickets to Tokyo.

Kogod Gartenhaus Financial Case Competition 2009
The Kogod Gartenhaus Financial Case Competition 2009 was held in Washington D.C. on 7 February 2009. It was the first time the Faculty of Business Administration at CUHK sent students to this largest case competition hosted by the Kogod School of Business, American University. There were 198 undergraduate participants, forming 48 teams, including a team of four GBS Year-2 students (Arnold Chan, Kelvin Chan, Helen Mak and Junes Shek).

The CUHK team worked on a case about a South African Upholstery in Johannesburg struggling to continue its business with insufficient capital, a problem with receivables and other management challenges. They were asked to formulate strategies for the upholstery to revive its business and to leverage its capabilities to develop in the long term, given information about its financial condition, production process, product costs and so on. The CUHK team, by making innovative suggestions in terms of expanding its distribution and improving its financing to bring the company to a new level of prosperity, defeated the other 47 teams, winning first place.

One of the team members, Helen Mak, said, “Our commitment to the competition and team dynamics allowed us to stand out among our competitors. It was an incredible experience for all of us and we learnt a lot from the exchange of ideas, observing our competitors, and the valuable feedback we obtained from a pool of over 60 prestigious judges. The networking events of the American University throughout the competition brought us new insights about western business culture.”

JointUniversityBusiness Management Challenge 2008
The Joint University Business Management Challenge (JUBMC) 2008 was a business case competition which focused on real life managerial problems, aiming at enhancing participants’ understanding of the real business world and promoting team spirit. Over 120 teams of business students from local institutions joined the competition. The CUHK team comprising six Year-3 GBS students (Ruby Chik, Margaret Fung, Candy Lam, Cheryl Lau, Spencer Liu and Justin Yeung) was one of the six teams selected for the final round.

The finalists were required to present their analysis and recommendations on a real case related to human resources management. The CUHK team comprehensively analysed the effectiveness of Aon’s human resources and the problems of its current measurement system. They proposed a new system which runs under three principles (efficiency, effectiveness and impact) and comprised three categories (recruitment, training and development). This innovative system enables the human resources department to gain a 360-degree view of their contribution to driving company performance.

The judges evaluated the teams on their analytical skills, organizational and presentation skills, as well as the feasibility of their proposals. They eventually named the CUHK team champion of JUBMC 2008. Team member Ruby Chik won the “Best Presenter Award” for her remarkable performance in the presentation. There was also a cash prize of HK$12,000 for the whole team.