Bulletin Vol. 3 No. 2 Sep 1966

Co-operative Programme between the University of California and T h e Chinese University. I n his speech, D r . C M . L i , our Vice-Chancellor, who unfortunately cannot be w i t h us to-day, mentioned, among other things, “ t h e i mm i n e nt establishment of an Institute of Business Administration, at the graduate level, to serve the g r ow i ng needs of the large and complex business c ommu n i ty of Ho ng K o n g " . He stated that perhaps w i t h in a year, he wou ld be in a position to announce officially the completion of these plans. His statement had proved to be far too modest, for as early as A p r i l this year, not only were all the plans for the establishment of the Institute completed but M r . Yorke Allen himself had already agreed to come to attend the Inauguration Ceremony scheduled for to-day. A l l this speaks for itself the speed and efficiency w i t h wh i ch our Vice-Chancellor has things planned and implemented. Professor Moon i t z, our first Director of the Institute, has given me to understand that to-day's Ceremony inaugurates not only our L i n g n an Institute of Business Adm i n i s t r a t i on but at the same time the first postgraduate business school in Southeast Asia. Considering that our University is the youngest university i n the region, I t h i nk we should be justifiably p r o ud that we are launching to-day what will, in the years to come, be the oldest business school in Southeast Asia. I shall now describe very briefly how the Institute proposes to operate. I n the academic year 1966-67, six graduate students, all of w h om hold a bachelor's degree in business administration, have been admitted to a two-year programme leading to the degree of Master of Business Administration. No academic programme beyond that level and no big expansion in yearly intake are contemplated in the near future. I n addition to some advanced work in statistics, accounting economics and research methods, students w i ll wo rk in the field as well as in the classroom. We want t h em to get used to grappling w i th real problems and to using more than one technique t o solve them. We w i l l also attempt to i mbue them w i th the necessity for " l i f e - l o ng learning", because in a rapidly changing wo r ld the distinction between the classroom and the factory or the office becomes blurred. Insofar as is possible in the light of the talents of the faculty and the availability of materials w i th wh i ch to work, we plan to emphasize the problems of Southeast Asia where labour is plantiful and capital is comparatively scarce, by contrast w i t h Western Europe and N o r t h America where the reverse is generally the case. As part of T h e Chinese University of H o ng Ko n g, the Institute aspires to become a centre of research, on the part of the faculty and the students, into the problems of Southeast Asia. I t is fully recognized that, in order to succeed in this i mpo r t ant role, the Institute must wo rk closely w i t h the Government, w i th the business c ommu n i ty and w i t h such organisations as the Ho ng K o n g Management Association. It w i ll try to be responsive to the needs of the larger c ommu n i ty w i t hout being subservient to any one segment. T h e strength of the great universities of the wo r ld lies in their independence f r om outside pressures, not in their indifference to the wo r ld around them. T he p r ob l em of balance is a delicate one but it has been solved elsewhere and there is no reason why it cannot be solved here in Ho ng K o n g by men and women of integrity, understanding and good will. Before I conclude, I have the greatest pleasure to read a message our Vice-Chancellor, D r . C . M . L i , has sent f r om his home in Berkeley, California, for this important occasion. It is as follows:— " I t is w i t h great regret that I find myself unable to j o i n you to-day in person for this important occasion. T h i s event has been planned in detail for almost a year. Y ou can be sure that only circumstances beyond my control have prevented me f r om j o i n i ng you to-day. " T h e establishment of the L i ngnan Institute of Business Adm i n i s t r a t i on is one of the great milestones in the development of T h e Chinese University. Ho ng K o n g is getting more and more deeply involved in the highly competitive international market ； for its continued g r ow th this has to be the case, and the consequent challenge to Ho ng K o n g management is only too obvious. W i t h in T he Chinese University the enrolment in the undergraduate departments of business management, accounting, and finance comes annually to about one quarter of the whole undergraduate student body. Th u s, the setting up of the Business Administration Institute to provide facilities for faculty research and post-graduate training is an urgent requirement of T h e Chinese University. ‘ ‘ The University is extremely grateful to the L i ngnan Board of Trustees whose generosity has made the establishment of the Institute possible. T o be sure, other outside resources have to be drawn upon by the University to supplement the Board's contributions. But it can be said beyond any question that w i t hout the Board's support the establishment of the Institute wo u ld have been impossible at this time. “ W e are also very fortunate to find the first director of the Institute in Professor Maurice Mo o n i tz of the University of California at Berkeley where he has been in charge of the Ph . D. programme in Business Administration for many years. He is one of the topmost wo r ld authorities in the field of accounting and has kept himself abreast of the latest developments in other fields of Business Administration. His willingness to j o in us gives me full confidence in the success of this new adventure. " L e t me assure you that the Institute w i ll not develop w i t h o ut taking into account the c ommu n i ty interest of H o n g K o n g and the interest of the international business c ommun i t y. N or w i ll it be developed w i t hout 2