Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

'Core departments' means the School of Business, the School of Economics and Finance, Politics and Public Administration, Psychology, Social Work and Social Administration, Sociology and Statistics;

'Non-core departments' means the Departments of Computer Science, English, Fine Arts, Geography and Geology, History, Japanese Studies, Mathematics, Music and Philosophy;

'Course' means a course of instruction leading to one paper in the Final Examination Part I, Part II and Part III, as defined in the syllabus;

'Core courses' means designated courses required to be taken by all BBA candidates;

'Special course' means a designated course required to be taken by all BBA candidates;

'Elective' means a course offered by any Department, other than courses designated as 'core courses', 'special courses' and any course within a module chosen by a candidate;

'Paper' means one or more of the following tests: a theoretical examination paper, an assessment of coursework, or a dissertation, or other assignments as prescribed in the syllabus of the course leading to it;

'Double course' means the equivalent of two courses, and leads to the equivalent of two papers in the Final Examination;

'Prerequisite' means a course which a candidate must have completed successfully before being permitted to take the course in question.

BBA 2 To be eligible for admission to the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration, a candidate shall

BBA 3 The curriculum for the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration shall extend over not less than three academic years and shall include the Final Examination Part I, Part II and Part III held annually, at the end of the first, second and third years respectively. A candidate shall select courses in accordance with Regulations BBA 6 and BBA 9 below.

BBA 4 In the Final Examination Part I, Part II and Part III an assessment of the candidate's coursework during the year shall be taken into account in determining the candidate's result in each written examination paper.

BBA 5 A candidate who is unable because of his illness to be present for any paper or papers in the Final Examination Part I and Part II may apply for permission to present himself for a supplementary examination to be held before the beginning of the first semester of the following academic year. Any such application shall be made on the form prescribed within two weeks of the first day of the candidate's absence from any examination. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in one or more papers in such a supplementary examination shall be considered under the provisions made in these Regulations for failure at the first attempt at the examination, except that a further supplementary examination shall not be permitted.

BBA 6 To complete the first year of the curriculum, a candidate shall follow eight courses plus the compulsory English course as prescribed in the syllabuses and satisfy the examiners at the Final Examination Part I which shall consist of one paper in each of the courses selected, together with any coursework, oral and practical tests as may be prescribed in the syllabuses.

BBA 7 A candidate in the Final Examination Part I who has failed to satisfy the examiners in one paper only, but has achieved in their opinion a sufficiently high standard in other papers to compensate for that failure, may be deemed to have satisfied the examiners, but shall not be permitted to select a second- or third-year course for which the failed paper forms a prerequisite unless he is given permission by the Department concerned to sit a qualifying examination in the failed paper and satisfies the examiners in this.

(a)

A candidate in the Final Examination Part I

(i)	who has failed to satisfy the examiners in any one paper and is not deemed to have satisfied the examiners under the provision of Regulation BBA 7 above, or
(ii)	who has failed to satisfy the examiners in two papers

may be permitted to present himself for a supplementary examination in the failed paper(s) held the same year in August/September. A candidate who fails in one or more papers at a Supplementary Final Examination Part I shall be required to repeat the whole first year of the curriculum.

(b)

A candidate in the Final Examination Part I who has failed to satisfy the examiners in three papers shall be required either to repeat the whole first year of the curriculum, or to discontinue his studies.

(c)

A candidate in the Final Examination Part I who has failed to satisfy the examiners in more than three papers shall be recommended for discontinuation of studies under the provisions of General Regulation G 12.

(d)

In no case may a candidate proceed to the second year of the curriculum until he has satisfied the examiners at the Final Examination Part I under the provisions of BBA 5, BBA 6, BBA 7 or this Regulation. A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in the Final Examination Part I after having repeated the first year shall be recommended for discontinuation of studies under the provisions of General Regulation G 12.

BBA 9 To complete the second and third years of the curriculum, a candidate must complete the seven core courses (including the two special courses), one module consisting of another six courses and five elective courses. A candidate shall satisfy the examiners at the Final Examination Parts II and III in the eighteen papers; nine to be taken at the end of the second year, and nine at the end of the third year.

BBA 10 An alphabetical list shall be published of candidates successful in the Final Examination Parts I and II, while the list of candidates successful in the whole of the Final Examination shall be published in five divisions: First Class Honours; Second Class Honours Division One; Second Class Honours Division Two; Third Class Honours; Pass. The standard attained in each of the three Parts of the Final Examination shall be taken into account in determining a candidate's classification.

(a)

A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in the Final Examination Part II in one or two papers may be allowed to proceed to the third year of the curriculum and present himself for re-examination in the failed paper(s) together with the papers of Part III of the Final Examination, except that in the case of failure in the paper(s) for the elective course(s), re -examination either in the failed paper(s) or in new paper(s) may be permitted.

(b)

A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in the Final Examination Part II in three or more papers shall be required either to repeat the second year or to discontinue his studies.

BBA 12 A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in the Final Examination Part II and Part III shall be required either to repeat the course(s) for the failed paper(s) and present himself for re -assessment and/or re-examination in the paper(s) when the examination is next held, or to repeat the final year of the curriculum and present himself for re-assessment and/or re-examination in the whole of Part III of the Final Examination when the examination is next held, but in either case shall not be eligible for honours unless the Senate directs that he shall be so eligible because of exceptional circumstances. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in this second attempt shall be recommended for discontinuation under the provisions of General Regulation G 12. If such a candidate is not required by the Senate to discontinue his studies and is permitted to present himself for a third time, he shall then in no circumstances be eligible for honours. A candidate who presents himself for re-examination in respect of elective course(s) take the same paper(s) in which he has failed, or substitute another paper or papers.

A candidate must complete the following eight courses and one elective (to be selected from amongst first-year courses offered by Departments specified). In addition to course 77100 which is a whole-year course, a candidate may not take more than five courses in any semester. The examination for each course, unless otherwise specified, is one two-hour written paper and the final grading will be determined by performance in the examination and an assessment of coursework. There are no prerequisites for admission to these courses unless otherwise specified.

A candidate may take either 17101 or 17103 but not both. Course 17101 is designed for students without mathematical training. Course 17103 is designed for students with a mathematics background, either Advanced Level Pure Mathematics, Advanced Supplementary Level Mathematics and Statistics, or who have taken either course 24118. Mathematics for social sciences: course I.1 or course 24119. Mathematics for social sciences: course I.2 in the first semester. Students with a grade C or better in Advanced Level Physics are also qualified to take 17103.

The examination for each course is one two-hour written paper and the final grading will be determined by performance in the examination and an assessment of coursework in the ratio of 75:25, unless otherwise specified.

(Compulsory and prerequisite for all second- and third-year courses in economics.)

An introduction to the basic concepts and principles of economics, with emphasis on the theoretical framework of choice theory, the nature of constraints, the measure of value, the laws of demand and productivity, and the implications for resource use and employment. Assessment: 40% coursework, 60% examination.

The course will cover the principles of double entry book-keeping, the interpretation of financial statements, the issues raised by corporate regulation, and the use of management information for decision-making. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

This course is designed as an introduction to the study of business management. It provides an introductory overview of the 'process' perspective of management, which includes planning, decision -making, control, feedback and other concepts useful to management in their problem-solving activities. The students will also be introduced to the main functional areas of management. Some basic features of the business environment and work organization will also be covered.

An introduction to the Hong Kong legal system, the fundamentals and general principles of Hong Kong law. Other legal concepts which a manager may be expected to encounter in the business environment.

This is a basic unit which is intended to give students an introduction to the concepts, methods and some of the problems involved in the study of political science. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

This is a basic course which introduces the student to the fundamental concepts and issues in public administration, focusing on the scope of the subject and the relationship between public administration and politics. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

Discussion of basic concepts in psychology and a preliminary survey of representative work carried out in various areas of psychological investigation, together with an investigation at some length of one such area.

This course introduces students to the nature of sociological enquiry and the basic concepts used in sociological analysis. After some reference to the influence of inheritance and environment on human social behaviour, the course will focus on key concepts used in the analysis of cultures, social structures, social processes and social change. The relationship between research, concepts and contemporary theory will be explored at an introductory level.

This course will explore, through cross-cultural comparison, key social and cultural issues, such as marriage and the family, caste and class, ethnicity and identity, language and culture, state formation, economic values, gender and religion. The course will draw on studies of the peoples and cultures of Asia.

The discipline of statistics is concerned with situations involving uncertainty and variability. Variability greatly affects the interpretation of data. Thus statistics forms an important descriptive and analytical tool of the social sciences. This elementary course, which is taught without any technical mathematics, presents many standard situations of data interpretation. The statistical tests for these situations are presented.

The discipline of statistics is concerned with situations involving uncertainty and variability. The interpretation of data is greatly affected when variability plays a role, as it usually does. Thus statistics forms an important descriptive and analytical tool of the social sciences. Candidates with a mathematical background will find this course suitable, because the language of mathematics allows the subject of statistics to be presented with economy and clarity.

The course will acquaint students with information technology (IT) from several perspectives, including computer hardware and software, the history of computing, emerging technologies and computer programming concepts. In addition, students will acquire personal computing skills using word processing, electronic spreadsheets and presentation software.

This course introduces the basic computing concepts and the art of computer programming. Contents include: basic concepts and vocabulary of computers and information processing; overview of hardware and software components of computer systems; techniques for the design and construction of computer programmes; use of C++ language to solve problems over a wide range of applications.
Examination: One three-hour written paper.

The course prepares students to respond effectively to the communicative demands of academic study in English. Through text-based activities in class and investigative project work related to language and disciplinary issues, the course develops abilities to analyse and evaluate extended texts, and to produce clear and coherent spoken and written discourses. It also emphasizes careful revision and editing of essays and project reports to ensure that lexical and grammatical choices are correct and appropriate. Assessment will be wholly by coursework.

Candidates who intend to pursue the Management information systems module should select 23246. Computer concepts and programming in the first semester of the first year and 23249. Information processing as an elective in the second semester of the first year.

1.	In the following, each course leads to one examination paper which will be two hours in length, or three hours for a double course (in the case of certain electives), unless otherwise specified.
2.	The final grading of each paper will be determined by performance in the examination and an assessment of coursework in the ratio 75:25, unless otherwise specified. For the courses offered by other departments, the weighting of coursework will be determined by the departments concerned.
3.	For some courses offered in the second half of the year, a course offered in the first half of the year is a prerequisite. In such cases, notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation BBA 1, a candidate will fulfil the prerequisite by having completed the course in question, on the understanding that he will take the examination at the end of the year.
4.	The courses listed will not necessarily be offered every year; from time to time, depending on the exigencies of staffing, additional courses may be offered.
5.	A candidate may not take more than five courses in any semester. Candidates are required to satisfy the examiners in a total of 18 courses in the second and third years, 9 to be taken at the end of each year.
6.	The School will only offer modules and electives for which sufficient student demand has been expressed in any one year.

12212. II. Organizational behaviour and introduction to human resource management

A course on the concepts used for the understanding of human behaviour in organizations and an introduction to the application of these concepts in human resource management. The topics will include motivation, leadership theory, group dynamics, morale, communications, control techniques and organizational climate.

A general introduction to the basic concepts and principles of management of manufacturing and service operations. Emphasis will be on both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of operations management and the intention is to give students moderate exposure to the major topics in operations management.

An introductory course on the basic concepts of marketing and their implications in management. The ingredients of the Marketing Plan will be analysed and the problems involved in formulating marketing strategy, interpreting marketing data and coping with the changing market environment will be examined. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

The course will review the analysis and implementation of strategic corporate decisions which encompass all functional areas of business. Students will be split into small groups and will be required to write a mini-project of not more than 5,000 words outlining the desired corporate strategy for a given corporate problem.

A study of the basic concepts and theories of management. An analysis of the manager's role in all types of organizations dealing with management issues in the areas of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling will be included. The strategic aspects of management will also be covered.
Prerequisite: 12212.

BBA candidates must choose one module (a set of six courses) at the beginning of the second semester in the second year of the curriculum.

This course will provide the underlying theory and descriptions of techniques and methods of financial management appropriate for a non-accounting and finance specialist. Topics will include areas of financial accounting such as the preparation of annual corporate accounts and their interpretation, the application of accounting theory to income determination and asset valuation including the influence of inflation. Certain management accounting techniques for use in decision-making will be included.

This course examines the application of computer technology to business and analyses the various stages of a systems life-cycle in connection with the development of computer-based information systems.

The objective of this course is to explore the problems and issues involved in the management of organizational change and development. Major approaches and attempts to conceptualize the phenomenon will be examined in a critical manner. Particular attention will be paid to problems arising from company formation, entrepreneurial ventures, company expansion and growth, maturity and bureaucratization, corporate failure and recovery. Major strategies for change will be examined.
Prerequisite: 12212.

Labour relations systems, trade union philosophy and structures, collective bargaining and modern theories and development in labour-management relationships.

This course introduces the students to cross cultural differences in social values and in psychological attitudes and considers their implications for behaviour in organizations. Initial consideration will be given to the process of development and the changes which that brings. This will be followed by a review of the major business cultures in Asia, contrasting them with Western examples. Concentration will be focused on Chinese forms of business.
Prerequisite: 12212.

A course on the environment in which international businesses operate, the organizational and operational problems facing the multinational corporations and specific consideration in management of functional activities across national boundaries. Assessment: 40% coursework, 60% examination.

This course examines the psychological processes underlying consumer buying behaviour, and the factors influencing these processes. Consumer behavior are studied from five psychological perspectives: Motivational, information processing, attitude and attitude change, decision-making and social symbolism. Students are encouraged to apply course content to real-life cases through tutorial exercises and term research projects.
Prerequisite: 14101.

This course shows how the basic principles of marketing can be applied to the problems of marketing across national boundaries and within foreign countries. Attention is paid to the development of global marketing strategies and to the different approaches needed to market consumer items, industrial goods and services internationally.
Prerequisite: 12304.

The preparation, use and administration of advertising, emphasizing the use of research to direct and measure the effectiveness of each stage in the operation. Assessment: 35% coursework, 65% examination.

This course will cover the broad principles of marketing research. Emphasis will be placed on the use of marketing research as an aid to decision taking. In this spirit students will be introduced to a variety of types of marketing research data. Students will be given the opportunity to engage in practical marketing research based exercises.

A course on the quantitative methods that are used to solve business problems and make managerial decisions. The course will involve the use of computers in the teaching process.

Originally, the word 'Logistics' described the strategic aspects involved in moving and supplying armies and navies. Usage grew to include games of strategy, such as chess. Modern business corporations are increasingly using logistics as a management tool, for example, in capital budgeting problems, production planning, scheduling, transportation or in deciding a location for a new factory. This course addresses the business applications of logistics using mathematics, statistics and computer packages. Contents include: optimization techniques applied to problems in the allocation of resources, financial planning and transportation; linear programming, dynamic programming, integer programming; network analysis, critical path methods; queueing theory; probability modelling tools in production and inventory control.

A course to introduce a systems-oriented view of production and operation management.
Prerequisites: 12211 and 12303.

This course examines the roles played by information systems in the modern business community and how information is increasingly being seen as a strategic resource in yielding competitive advantages in an organization. The interaction between systems and human beings and some technical aspects of management information systems will also be discussed.
Prerequisite: 12318.

This course studies how computer systems can be used to assist managers in making effective decisions, both structured and semi-structured, through the integrated application of model base management, knowledge base management, data base management, dialogue management and problem processing systems.
Prerequisite: 12318.

This course builds on 17103, developing further the language of probability, random variables and statistical modelling. Contents include: review of standard distributions, their properties and relevance. Moment generating functions. Sampling distributions. Principles of estimation, unbiasedness, efficiency, consistency. Maximum likelihood estimation, asymptotic properties, sufficiency, algorithms. Hypothesis testing, likelihood ratio principle. Simple linear regression. The basic chi-squared test, categorical data. In taking this course students become eligible for all courses in both the 'mathematical and business statistics' themes.
Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisite: 17103.

This course is a natural sequel to 17103 taught at the same intermediate mathematical level. The course has two aims. Firstly, we aim to equip the student with the main concepts of statistical estimation and hypothesis testing, so that many other statistical ideas become accessible to the student. Secondly, we aim to provide exposure to statistics in a computer environment through the use of a statistical package such as JMP.
Prerequisite: 17103.
Eligibility: Not available if candidate has taken either 17202 or 17235.

In any study of the social sciences the investigator is faced with uncertainty and variability. Examples include the uncertain effects of a new fiscal measure and the variability in educational attainments of individuals. Measuring uncertainty, describing patterns of variability, and describing the inter -relationship between several variables are therefore essential aspects of social science investigations. These aspects require a good understanding of statistics. Against a background of specific social science problems, this computer-oriented but non-mathematical course develops the important concepts and methods of statistics. In particular, the student will learn data exploration, formulation of testable hypotheses, the evaluation of evidence and forecasting on the basis of past experience. Simple statistical software, JMP, will be used extensively. No prior knowledge of computers is assumed.
Prerequisite: 17101 or 17103 .

Fundamental principles of Management Information Systems will be covered in this course. Topics include: organizational foundations of Information Systems (IS); different types of computer-based IS; managing IS resources; IS requirement analysis and design; database management; telecommunications; end user computing. Students will also learn how to use personal computers as decision support tools. Assessment: 60% coursework, 40% examination.

Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisite: 23246 or 23129 .

This course studies the principles, design and administration of database management systems. Emphasis is placed on the user/developer/administrator points of view. Topics include: entity -relationship model; the relational model; design theory for relational databases; query languages; query optimization; security; integrity; concurrency control; object-oriented databases; client-server technology; distributed database systems; repository systems and database systems evolution. Projects will incorporate a database design tool and a database management system. A candidate may take either this course or 23278, but not both. Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.

Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisite: 23246 or 23129 .

To study the concepts and methodologies in the analysis, specification, design and management of information systems. Contents include software engineering process; feasibility study; requirements analysis and specifications; user-interface design; software design and implementation; project estimation and planning; structured analysis and structured design; implementation and testing issues; overview of other software engineering paradigms such as object-oriented analysis and design, and formal methods; and CASE tools. A team-based term project is used to reinforce the taught concepts and methodologies. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

A course concerned with management of information systems development projects. Topics include: project planning and scheduling, team organization, end user involvement, software quality measurement and metrics, software audit, cost/benefit analysis, risk analysis, process management. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.

Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisites: 23296 and 23398.

The course provides an in-depth knowledge of telecommunications technologies, hardware and software. Emphasis is upon the analysis and design of networking applications in business. Management of telecommunications networks, cost-benefit analysis and evaluation of connectivity options are also covered. Students learn to evaluate, select and implement different communications options within a business. Assessment: 30% coursework, 70% examination.
Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisite: 23127.

The course provides an understanding of the decision process and how information is used for decision support in organizations. It covers decision theory, information theory, and system theory and concepts. Students will learn about the relationship between information systems and organizational systems, and the role of information systems in improving organizational performance. Students will also learn about the relevance of the cognitive process and human interactions in information systems design and implementation. Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.

Students will learn about the growing importance of information as a corporate resource. Throughout the course, the strategic implications of information technology will be explored. Topics covered include: IS planning, management of IS development, IS audit and control, management of end-user computing, emerging technologies, IS as a strategic business factor, inter-organizational IS. Assessment: 75% coursework, 25% examination.

Examination: One three-hour written paper.
Prerequisite: 23127 and 2 business courses.

Performance in the following two courses will be graded by continuous performance and/or written papers.

This course is designed to enhance communication in English in the context of both academic study and the business environment. This will be achieved through instruction and practice in oral presentation, business correspondence, writing accurate and concise reports, interviewing to obtain information about real business activity in Hong Kong, meeting procedure and analysis of business publications.

Students will be split into small groups to evaluate critically short discussion papers presented by fellow group members on selected topics currently of importance in the business and commercial world.

Five elective courses from the list of available electives, including the following offered by the School of Business:

Formation of companies; memoranda and articles of association. Powers and duties of directors, secretaries and auditors. Shareholders' rights and powers and the role of the courts. Takeovers, mergers and investments; statutes, regulations and codes. Insolvency law and practice.

The course examines the characteristics of service organizations and how this affects their approach to marketing. Issues in the three dimensions of internal marketing; transactional marketing and external marketing are examined and the role of research analysed. Attention is paid to service culture and service value and the problems are illustrated by examples from Asian, American and European service firms.
Prerequisite: 12304.

This course examines the issues and problems encountered when marketing to industry and organizations. It analyses the social processes that can differentiate industrial and organizational buyers' behaviour from that of individual consumers and draws on regional cases.
Prerequisite: 12304.

A course on the analysis of various investment instruments in the financial markets.

A course on the modern portfolio theory and the various pricing models of securities.

This course studies the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the theoretical approaches that have been formulated to explain the growth and operation of this form of business on an international scale. Recent general theories will be considered in a critical manner to allow judgements to be made on their strengths and limitations.
Prerequisite: 12313.

The course will examine the historical development of modern China and the emergence of new forces and ideologies in the recent past. This should provide a backcloth for the interpretation of the economic and social events of the present time.

Professional ethics, and the social and legal responsibilities of auditors; basic auditing concepts and principles; evidence; evaluation of internal control; standard procedures and methods of investigation.
Prerequisite: 12216.

A study of the accounting for, and management of, taxes on income under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, within the context of taxation theory.
Prerequisite: 12215 or 12218 .

A course on the advanced treatment of corporate financial decisions.
Prerequisite: 12309.

This course explores the central issues involved in the pursuit of an entrepreneurial career in business. The nature of the course requires some novel approaches to learning and reflection, and the design of these learning activities will take advantage of a rapidly expanding intellectual core which gives meaning and coherence to entrepreneurial activities.

The development and structure of accounting theory. Income determination. Asset valuation. Special areas of controversy, including social accounting and accounting for inflation. Principles of human information processing.
Prerequisite: 12216.

Cross cultural paradigms in accounting. Accounting in the People's Republic of China. The German, Japanese and French accounting approaches. The history of the Anglo-American paradigm. Harmonization of accounting standards and practices. Transfer pricing and international tax management. International accounting bodies and firms. Cash flow statements, secret reserves and other key variations in disclosure and measurement practices in developed countries.

This course discusses developed and developing financial markets, regulatory frameworks, recent developments in securitization, internationalization of markets.
Prerequisite: 12309.

The course will be an introduction to current accounting systems and financial reporting practices in China. The topics covered in this course include of administration of accounting work, accounting legislation and regulations, business accounting standards, practices of cost accounting and managerial accounting, accounting for governments and non-profit organizations (budgetary accounting), financial reporting of the listed corporations, disclosure of other information, preparation of financial statements, auditing requirements, practices of public accounting, and analysis of financial statements in China. Assessment: 35% coursework and 65% examination.
Prerequisite: 12215 or 12218 .

The objective of this course is to explore the problems and issues involved in the management of quality improvement and market competition. Emphasis will be on the strategic aspects of quality and marketing management and the intention is to give students exposure to important topics like customer value, quality improvement tools, quality concepts and its relationship with different aspects of marketing management.