Newsletter No. 150

CUHK Newsletter No. 150 19th September 1999 3 University, Dr. Choh-ming Li, previously a business professor at UC Berkeley, recruited people who were familiar w i t h the operation of American business schools to start the faculty. It has developed in that direction ever since. The faculty's early start also meant that it had more wo r k i ng alumni who can support the faculty in various ways. Wi th the emergence of other business schools in the territory, the faculty's success has become less dependent on natural advantages and more on hard wo rk and effort. It has a team of 'genuinely dedicated' staff who are committed to serving not only the faculty and the University but also Ho ng Kong. Yet running a business school can be tricky. 'Business' and 'school, have very different, if not contradictory, connotations. 'Some people r un business schools like a business and some r un it like a school. We have to strike a balance between the two. We are not simply salesmen bluffing our way through. But on the other hand, we shouldn't be overly modest either,' Prof. Law remarked. To E m p h a s i z e C o l l a b o r a t i on Rather than C o m p e t i t i o n The faculty does not have a single competitor in Hong Kong, according to Prof. Law, because, to use his analogy, the schools are simply 'eight brothers using the same granddad's money'. They should collaborate, not compete. So whenever he comes up w i th an initiative, he tries to get as many 'brothers' involved as he can. He added that if one day, the faculty is surpassed by other business schools in Hong Kong, he wo u ld only see it as an opportunity for h i m to learn. However he feels that at present the government is perhaps not deploying resources in the most effective way by having eight business schools all having similar functions. 'Are there eight different things the government wants us to achieve? H ow can it segment the needs of Hong Kong society into eight? If it can't, what should it do? One can't just say, "Oh, competition is always healthy." Then wh y not 30? H ow d id they come up w i th the magic number 8?' he queried. '... at present the government is perhaps not deploying resources in the most effective way by having eight business schools all having similar functions' Reflection s on Roa d t o Deanski p Prof. Law was recruited to help start the Integrated BBA Programme in 1987 after returning to Ho ng Kong from the US. In 1989, he helped found the Asia- Pacific Institute of Business, wh i ch he said was the first of the University's self- financed research institutes w i t h external linkages. He then helped launch the Executive MBA Programme and supervised the undergraduate programme as associate dean, later becoming associate dean of the graduate programme and now faculty dean. Du r i ng this time, he has followed the faculty's development very closely and, in fact, has g r own w i t h the faculty. 'Since my return f r om the US where I had been in university administration for a long time, my perspective has 'Initially I used a very American way of doing things and may have caused some unnecessary conflict at CUHK. ... As I progressed through the different roles at the faculty , I should began to learn how to strike a balance between the Western emphasis on efficiency and the Asian one on effectiveness' undergone a great change. Initially I used a very American way of doing things and may have caused some unnecessary conflict at CUHK. I remember a senior administrator told me that the most important thing for an administrator was to maintain a harmonious wo r k i ng environment. I disagreed at the time. But n ow I understand that though harmony should not be a goal, it's a necessary condition for operation. We must first have a harmonious wo r k i ng environment before we set about achieving our goals. As I progressed through the different roles at the faculty, I slowly began to learn how to strike a balance between the Western emphasis on efficiency and the Asian one on effectiveness,' he said, adding that he hopes his plans for the faculty w i l l be equally effective, efficient, and beneficial to Ho ng Kong and China. Piera Chen Service to the Community and I n t e r na t i onal Organizations • Prof. Helen Chiu, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, has been awarded the Medal of Honour by the HKSAR Government in July 1999. • Prof. Lam Kin-che, professor in the Department of Geography, has been appointed by the Secretary for Security as an adjudicator of the Registration of Persons Tribunal of the Registration of Persons Ordinance for two years from 1st June 1999. • Prof. Kenneth Young, pro-vice-chancellor, has been appointed as a member of the Radiological Protection Advisory Group for two years from 1st June 1999. • Prof. Richard Ho, registrar, has been appointed by the Secretary for Education and Manpower as a member of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation from 7th June 1999 to 30th September 1999. • Prof. Fok Tai-fai, professor in the Department of Paediatrics, has been appointed as a member of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong for three years from 15th June 1999. • Prof. Sydney Chung, professor of surgery, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Hospital Authority from 1st July 1999. • Prof. Ambrose King, pro-vice-chancellor, has been appointed by the Secretary for Education and Manpower as a member of the Research Grants Council for two years from 1st July 1999. • Prof. Julian A.J.H. Critchley, professor of clinical pharmacology, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for two years from 4th July 1999. • Prof. Robert Leslie Jones, professor of pharmacology, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Pharmacy and Poisons Appeal Tribunal for two years from 1st August 1999. • Prof. Anne Marie Chang, associate professor in the Department of Nursing, has been appointed as a member of the Expert Subcommittee on Grant Applications and Award (ESGAA) under the Health Services Research Committee (HSRC) from May 1999. • Prof. Edith Lau, associate professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been appointed as a member of the Hospital Governing Committee of Cheshire Home, Shatin, from 18th May 1999 to 31st March 2001. • Prof. Joseph Lau, professor of surgery, has been appointed as an honourable adviser to The New Horizon Club of Hong Kong for two years from 26th June 1999. • Prof. Chen Lian Kuan, associate professor in the Department of Information Engineering, has been invited to serve as a member of the board of directors of Hong Kong Red Swastika Society Tai Po Secondary School and Hong Kong Red Swastika Society Tuen Mun Primary School (Morning and Afternoon) from the academic year 1999-2000. • Mr. Hardy Tsoi, manager of Sir Run Run Shaw Hall, has been appointed by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to serve as a member of the Advisory Committee of the School of Drama for three years from September 1999. He has also been appointed by Lingnan College as a member of the Advisory Board for the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Cultural Studies programme for the academic years 1999-2002. • Ms. Corinna Lee, personnel manager, has registered under the Education Ordinance as one of the managers of Tai Po Methodist School for the academic year 1999-2000 by virtue of her capacity as an elected member of the School Management Committee. • Prof. Dennis Lam, associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been appointed visiting professor to Shanghai Second Medical University from April 1999, and Shanghai Medical University from 1999 to 2001. • Prof. C.S. Cockram, professor of medicine, has been admitted as a fellow of The Royal Australian College of Physicians from 7th April 1999. • Prof. Gabor S. Ungvari, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, has been admitted as a member of The Royal College of Psychiatrists from 20th April 1999. • Prof. Yeung Yue-man, professor of geography, has been invited to serve as a member of the Panel on Urban Population Dynamics, formed under the Committee on Population of the US National Research Council, for two years from 1st May 1999. • Prof. Cynthia Chan, associate professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been invited to serve as an external examiner for the Conjoint Master in Family Medicine Examination of the National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and the University of Malaya from 9th to 15th May 1999. • Prof. Rance P.L. Lee, professor of sociology, has been appointed as visiting professor to the Academy of Social Sciences in Jilin Province from May 1998. • Prof. Jack Cheng, professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, has been appointed as visiting professor to Chongqing University of Medical Sciences from May 1999. • Prof. Shum Kar-ping, professor in the Department of Mathematics, has been appointed advisory professor to Southwest Jiaotong University and visiting professor to Southwest Normal University from June 1999. • Prof. Carmen Chan, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing, received the Young Investigator Award (psychosocial section) at the Asia Pacific Hospice Conference 1999. (Information in this section is provided by the Information and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that office for registration and verification before publication.)