As mainland China beckons companies from around the world, gaining an in-depth knowledge of the country's unique business environment has become essential for business leaders. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) offers two programmes to equip leaders with inside knowledge: the master's of science in China business studies (MSc CBS), and the OneChina MBA.
Both programmes aim to shine a light on China's evolving business environment for companies that are eager to penetrate the market, but that need to learn about how to do business in the country.
The biggest challenge for business leaders working in China is to understand the policies and the political risks behind the country's policy making, which sets the scene for the business environment, says Dr Haitian Lu, programme director of the MSc in China business studies.
He says the desired learning outcomes for the MSc CBS are to teach participants to 'understand the changing business environment and the underlying driving force for such change; and to know how to respond to such [a] changing environment.'
The economics-based, multi- disciplinary programme aims to do this by focusing on all of the areas that impact business in China, using the latest scenarios from the country's business environment linked to relevant business theories. Students learn about current business practices and how to analyse the evolving government polices and regulations impacting commercial operations in the country.
As China's business environment evolves, the course content has evolved too, explains Lu. '[We] are revamping the programme, preparing for the launch of a mixed-mode programme starting from 2013 to 2014. In addition to the existing curriculum, we are also prepared to enrich the content by adding more China-related subjects that cater [to] students' needs, such as: cross-cultural management, essentials of Chinese culture, and contemporary issues in China business,' says Lu.
The programme includes a compulsory China study tour. 'In past years, our students have been taken to over 20 first- and second-tier cities in China,' Lu adds.