HKUST Business School Magazine

3 EMBA Learning to Lead Across Diversities in Singapore The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA Program marked its 15th anniversary with three days of special events over the weekend of June 7 that attracted around 400 alumni and guests from Europe, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore, as well as Hong Kong. The celebrations began with a Welcome Cocktail on Friday, June 7, at the Foreign Correspondents Club. The highpoint of the weekend was Saturday’s black tie dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, featuring keynote speaker Professor Janice Eberly, the former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist at the US Treasury Department. Also attending the gala dinner were some of the people who have played a key role in building up the top-ranked KH EMBA program, such as Kellogg Dean Emeritus Donald Jacobs; Professor Yuk- Shee Chan, Lingnan President and former HKUST Celebrating 15 Years of KH EMBA Teamwork was key to the success of a 37-member team of alumni from the Business School that completed the grueling four-day race across the Gobi Desert in the 8th Inter-Business School Gobi Challenge 2013. The School fielded its largest team ever in the four years it has taken part in the annual event, which this year was held from May 22-25. Our team comprised alumni of the HKUST EMBA for Chinese Executives Program and MBA Programs. The HKUST team braved extreme desert conditions against more than 1,000 students and alumni from 20 of the region’s top business schools to finish the 112km expedition. Professor Yan Xu, Associate Dean of the School and HKUST EMBA Program Director, led the team. The Gobi Challenge follows the inspirational route taken 1,400 years ago by the Tang Dynasty monk Xuan Zang, who crossed the desert in his journey to the west. A diverse workforce can be a source of frustration, and also energy and innovation. Participants in the module learned about the influence of different cultural dimensions on organizational behavior, managing cross-cultural conflicts, establishing and maintaining a healthy corporate culture, and the critical factors of success in leading across diversities. Speakers included Mr Yeo Guat Kwang from Singapore’s People’s Action Party, who spoke on Singapore’s efforts to foster belonging across a diverse population, and Ms Claire Chiang, Senior Vice President of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, who talked about her company’s initiatives to strengthen ties with its employees and improve understanding of local cultures. Teaching corporate leaders to understand and embrace cultural differences in order to harness the inherent strengths of diversity was the goal of the “Cross-cultural Management” module introduced by the HKUST EMBA for Chinese Executives Program for the Class of 2012 in Singapore in late February. The study field trip consisted of a mix of lectures conducted by Professor Caroline Wang and corporate visits and leadership talks. Gobi Desert Success Business School dean; Professor K C Chan, the Financial Services and Treasury Secretary for the HKSAR Government and former HKUST Business School dean; our current Dean Leonard Cheng; Kellogg Dean Sally Blount; and Professor Steve DeKrey, Founding Director of KH EMBA Program, to name only a few of the invited guests. On the Sunday, the KH15 Class Graduation took place on the HKUST campus. The 50 graduates represented 17 nationalities and had an average 14 years of professional experience. Dr Vincent Lo, Chairman of Shui On Group, gave the commencement address.