The university offers a range of classes to accommodate ambitions large or modest Hong Kong has nothing except human talent, according to Dr Anthony Tam Chin-wan of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and this creates a need for human resources management professionals (HRM). Companies are starting to realise the benefits of HRM, says the director of PolyU's School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED). 'Thirteen or 14 years ago, the field of HRM did not exist - but things have changed and even small to medium-size enterprises in Hong Kong have taken note of the importance of human resources.' For Dr Tam, the reason is simple: in a service-oriented economy such as Hong Kong, human resources functions have become more important than 'tables and chairs'. 'Intangible assets are more valuable than the tangible ones.' With multinational companies looking to Hong Kong as a gateway to the mainland, there is also a pent-up demand for HR professionals, he says. 'HR is now very much considered a profession rather than a mediocre job.' However, practising HRM in a multicultural and multinational environment like Hong Kong is not easy, says Dr Tam. 'It is complicated for HR managers to deal with different races and nationalities because people do behave differently,' he says. 'It is important for the HR person to integrate these people in a harmonious environment.' To best create harmony, you need education, says Dr Tam, whose institution is introducing new courses that will allow HR practitioners to attain a diploma and later a degree. For those looking to enter HRM, PolyU is offering a diploma course through SPEED. Officially formed on July 1, 1999, SPEED offers a variety of professional courses geared toward individual advancement. The SPEED diploma spans two years and gives an 'in-depth understanding of the body of knowledge and concepts of HRM', Dr Tam says. Attaining the diploma will also require the student to master the fundamentals of various professional practices and techniques. It will also help students possess the skills needed to analyse and make HRM decisions in a 'competent and responsible manner'. The 10-subject diploma is recognised by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, and students can apply for membership after attaining the certificate. 'At PolyU, a diploma is a formal award, unlike awards in older universities,' Dr Tam says. 'In PolyU, a diploma is equivalent to a third of a degree.' For those students who want to pursue a degree and have a related associate degree or higher diploma at hand, PolyU is offering a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in human resource management. 'Last year, we had an agreement with Northumbria University in Britain to offer a one-year BA honours degree programme in HRM,' Dr Tam says. 'We call it a BA top-up or conversion degree programme, since you need to have at least an associated degree to be eligible for the programme.' The top-up degree programme is a one-year course for full-time students and a two-year course for part-time students. The credit-bearing programme also allows students to change from full-time to a part-time mode, 'making the programme very flexible', Dr Tam says. Classes are conducted at PolyU and tutorials are provided by SPEED staff based on materials from Northumbria. 'It is a British programme with a lot of international components, but is delivered by locals,' says Dr Tam. 'We do not want our students to be too narrow-minded to handle just Hong Kong problems, so we purposely imported a programme from Europe which I think is important as many of our graduates will eventually work in companies where there are foreigners.' 'It makes it different from a purely local programme - HRM programmes are not scarce in Hong Kong.' The degree course consists of eight modules comprising 120 credits. It includes continuing professional development; management report; strategy; people resourcing and development; managing employee relations; international HRM; employee reward; and managing for performance. It will also include talks from guest speakers from different industries, as well as on-site company visits. The degree is aimed at the numerous associate degree holders in Hong Kong. 'The reason we have this is because we have three or four thousand associate degree graduates a year in Hong Kong now.' Dr Tam says 'All these people have only half of a degree and we have the obligation to give them something more so they become degree holders, or else they will go to Britain, the United States or Australia and help the economies there.' For those students looking to enter the degree programme after attaining a diploma, PolyU is offering a three-component, one-semester bridging course. 'We have an arrangement with Northumbria University for our diploma holders to do a one-semester bridging programme,' Dr Tam says. 'Northumbria assessed our diploma programme and identified three missing modules.' These are labour economics; managing change, values, ethics and diversity; and data analysis. 'The diploma is actually an exit award, if you want to become a HR clerk,' Dr Tam says. 'However, if you want to climb to senior management, you should aim for a BA top-up through the bridging programme.' The new courses aim to deal with one of Hong Kong's main concerns - its ageing population. 'Hong Kong has an ageing population and is therefore dependent on new blood from other places,' Dr Tam says. 'So we need to know how to deal with these new immigrants as they do not come with money but talent.' With this in mind, PolyU decided to develop HRM programmes at the tertiary level to tackle issues such as professionalism, immigration, discrimination, equality and changes brought about by modern technology.
