XN000022-1983-01-20 — Page 3

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1983

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MBA STUDENTS TOLD OF NEED FOR ANALYTICAL SKILLS

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IF ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION IS TO DEVELOP REAL MOMENTUM IN HONG KONG. CERTAIN ANALYTICAL SKILLS ARE REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY NEW POSSIBILITIES AND TO DEFINE RELEVANT RESOURCES.

THIS WAS STATED TODAY BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY, SIR PHILIP HADDON-CAVE, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE TOWN CENTRE OF THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY'S THREE-YEAR MBA PROGRAMME.

+A SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES CLEARLY HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN DEVELOPING SUCH ANALYTICAL SKILLS, ALTHOUGH LET US NOT DISCOUNT THE ROLE OF INSTINCT AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN BUSINESS, + HE SAID.

SIR PHILIP SAID HE SAW THE UNIVERSITY'S MBA PROGRAMME AS HAVING A REAL INFLUENCE ON THE FUTURE PATTERN AND SPEED OF DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG'S ECONOMY.

+ IT TAKES MORE THAN ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION, DETERMINATION AND CAPITAL TO EXPLORE NEW AREAS WITH WHICH, BY DEFINITION, ANY GIVEN GENERATION OF BUSINESSMEN IS UNFAMILIAR,+ SIR PHILIP SAID.

IN TODAY'S INCREASINGLY COMPLEX AND SOPHISTICATED WORLD, NATURAL APTITUDE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY THE WILLING ACCEPTANCE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING AND RETRAINING PROGRAMMES, HE SAID.

+ IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT THE ROLE OF STUDIES IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MUST BE CONSIDERED, HE ADDED.

WHILE BUSINESS EDUCATION SHOULD NOT BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR GENERAL EDUCATION, PROVEN LITERACY AND NUMERACY MUST BE PRE-REQUISITES FOR ANY ASPIRING STUDENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, SIR PHILIP SAID.

HE STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAIN LANGUAGE IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS AS JARGON COULD BE +VERY UNATTRACTIVE AND ALMOST UNINTELLIGIBLE+,

+AS FOR NUMERACY, THERE CAN REALLY BE FEW SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN WITHOUT A NATURAL FACILITY FOR HANDLING ARITHMETIC MATERIAL.

+NEVERTHELESS, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ANY MBA PROGRAMME SHOULD EQUIP STUDENTS TO ACQUIRE A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW STATISTICS CAN BE USED HONESTLY AND EFFICIENTLY, HE SAID.

SIR PHILIP SAID HE WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE PROGRAMME INCLUDES AN EMPHASIS ON COMPUTER-RELATED ASSIGNMENTS.

A KNOWLEDGE OF HOW COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CAN BE APPLIED IN THE MODERN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IS SELF-EVIDENTLY NECESSARY THESE DAYS, HE ADDED.

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