Most business managers have an appropriate educational background, relevant work experience and a good dose of common sense. However, with the complexity of the business world rapidly increasing, company leaders able to use an evidence-based approach are more able to make important decisions with greater conviction.
The graduate school of business at Polytechnic University (PolyU) was the first in Hong Kong to offer a doctorate in business administration, focusing on equipping students with the skills to adopt a research-based approach to management.
'The purpose of our programme is to provide a scholarly approach to management whereby practising managers can learn how to use more scientific methods in solving problems,' says Professor Huang Xu, programme director and head of PolyU's department of management and marketing.
'We have a faculty of world-class researchers that provide students with the most up-to-date theories and research literature available on management issues. Students are encouraged to use their practical experiences of management to challenge and question the theories presented to them. The more robust the debate, the more our students are able to sharpen their intellectual capabilities. This also helps them in the process of defining a research topic for their thesis.'
The school has enhanced its international profile for carrying out cutting-edge research by improving its ranking to 61st in the University of Texas at Dallas Top 100 World Rankings of Business Schools 2006-2010. This ranking system is based on research contributions to 24 leading business journals during that period. It is also ranked third in Asia and second in Hong Kong.
The PolyU programme has a truly international dimension through its collaboration with three world-renowned business schools - the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia and the Simon Graduate School of Business of the University of Rochester. A third of subjects are co-taught by scholars from these schools.
