This Project is a concluding, integrative exercise in which students are required to apply their knowledge and skills learned in previous courses to working on a real-life business case for either a profit-seeking or a nonprofit organisation. 

This case is a laboratory for students to apply their learning to real-world strategic problems. Specifically, students are required to have a good understanding of the chosen organisation, identify the key strategic issue(s) facing the organisation, conduct a thorough internal and external (including international) analysis using appropriate theoretical models and make recommendations taking into consideration the cost implications, feasibilities and all stakeholders.  In the real business world, there are times that professionals face “can’t fix” problems.  Students are expected to anticipate these problems and prepare the “second best” plans with emergent strategies.

It is an exercise in managing task-focused relationships among team members, client managers and the faculty supervisors.  It gives students a chance to define issues, to gather relevant data from a variety of sources, to do insightful analysis as well as to develop creative and feasible solutions. It also provides opportunities for students to learn about an organisation, an industry and / or a field of management that is of long-term interest to the members of the project team.  Regardless of the business nature of the organisations, students are required to take into consideration the international environment when conducting analysis and making recommendations.

The project may be one of the two forms:

A client-based project

The chosen organisation can be of any size, business nature and stage of business development. Yet, it is preferably an international organisation and / or is engaged in China-related business / operations. The organisation can be in the form of import-export trading, licensing, franchising, joint venturing, consortium, a subsidiary and / or the parent company.

A new business plan

The main purpose is for students to develop a thorough understanding of the environment, markets, technology, and operations when developing a business plan for a start-up of students' own choice.

At least four seminars hosted by researchers and / or practitioners with good amount of experience will be organised and students are required to attend all as this forms an important part of learning.  

Students, working in groups of 3 (and 4 for exceptional cases with prior approval from the Course Co-ordinator), will be assessed according to the depth and width of their analysis, the appropriateness, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of their recommendations and the implications on implementation and stakeholders.