On May 30, MUST School of Business (MSB) hosted a joint seminar with Hong Kong Baptist University School of Business (HKBU BUS) and organized a field trip. From HKBU, Dr. Jamie Cheung, Associate Head (Teaching) of Department of Management, Marketing and Information System, Dr. Alicia Leung, Dr. Felix Yip and master’s students in Human Resources Management visited MUST. The guests were warmly received by Prof. Sheng Ni, Dean of MSB, Prof. Chang Po-Chien, Head of Department of Management, Prof. Sun Li-Yun and Dr. Caleb Chen. "The two universities have a close and long-term relationship. The MUST School of Business welcomes HKBU colleagues and students to visit and exchange. We are glad to connect HKBU and outstanding enterprises in Macau for field study," said Dean Sheng Ni.
(from left: Dr. Caleb Chen, Dean Sheng Ni, Dr. Felix Yip, Dr. Alicia Leung, Dr. Jamie Cheung, Prof. Chang Po-Chien, and Prof. Sun Li-Yun)
MSB hosted a joint seminar with HKBU at O702, themed "Human Resources Management: Insights from Two Cities". The seminar focused on human resources management with the emphasis of both academic and practical implications. Especially, the two speakers, from MUST and HKBU respectively, both brought their two-decade employee survey studies. Student participants included those who majored in HRM, management or related disciplines. The seminar was moderated by Dr. Caleb Chen.
At the opening of the seminar, Prof. Chang Po-Chien delivered a welcome speech, and Dr. Jamie Cheung from HKBU expressed thanks for MSB’s hospitality and organization. In the keynote speech, Prof. Sun Li-Yun introduced the latest released 2023 “Macau Employee Confidence and Satisfaction Index”. He explained the composition of the index and analyzed the trend in the past 16 years. The results showed that there had been 3 major volatilities since the survey was firstly conducted in 2007, including the financial crisis, the subprime mortgage crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. This index could help employees and employers with quantitative evaluation, scientific comparison, and effective communication. The research findings aroused the audience’s great interest and discussions were around detailed data as well as statistical indicators.
(Prof. Sun Li-Yun interacting with students in Q&A)
Then, Dr. Jamie Cheung from HKBU shared the newly completed 2023 “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Areas Pay and Benefits Survey”. The survey was initiated by the HKBU Centre of Human Resources Strategy and Development, in conjunction with a number of universities and professional organizations. It covered Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in the Great Bay Area. The results have been published annually since 1995. An online system has been specially established, with four functions including survey questionnaire, reports, self-assessment and pay and benefits effectiveness. Besides reporting statistical results, the system also allows companies to receive real-time feedback, such as benchmarks and effectiveness of salary to retain employees.
(Dr. Jamie Cheung sharing research findings)
In closing remarks, Prof. Chang Po-Chien highly appreciated the valuable research done by the teams from the two universities, “It’s not easy to persist in this work for decades. What you have made definitely has significant societal impacts regarding the development of human resources management in Macau, Hong Kong and the Great Bay Area.” Dr. Jamie Cheung concluded that it was her great pleasure to have remarkable interchanges in this seminar and she invited colleagues and students of MUST to visit HKBU for continuous collaborations. Both parties exchanged souvenirs at the end.
(Prof. Chang Po-Chien and Dr. Jamie Cheung exchanging souvenirs)
Apart from the seminar, MSB also organized a field trip for HKBU guests. Faculty members and students from two universities visited Galaxy Macau™, a leading enterprise of Macau’s pillar industry of gaming and hospitality, to learn managerial practices in Macau. Mr. Danny Lao, Vice President of Imported Labor Services and Liaison of Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), meticulously designed the visit to provide visitors with wonderful experience through lively and interesting interactions. Under the warm reception and detailed explanation of GEG’s professional team from the Human Resources and Public Relations, the students visited the property’s brand new facilities such as Raffles at Galaxy Macau, Andaz Macau, Galaxy Arena and Galaxy International Convention Center, etc., in hopes of helping students to keep abreast of GEG’s latest business development plans, and to understand GEG’s various supportive initiatives in promoting the quality development of Macau’s integrated tourism and leisure industry.
(Visiting a new building of Galaxy)
In the afternoon, HKBU guests visited the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences at MUST. Dr. Roberto Bugiolacchi introduced the newly launched satellite “Macau Science 1” and explained research and knowledge about the moon.
(Dr. Roberto Bugiolacchi introducing the “Macau Science 1”)
The joint seminar and field trip were planned by Dr. Caleb Chen. Miss Liu from HKBU said, “Professors and students of MUST are very warm, friendly, and enthusiastic. I have benefited a lot from the seminar and field study, especially for my study on human resources management. I’m looking forward to more exchange activities in the future.”