Postgraduate Courses
DBAP
Doctor of Business Administration Program
The following courses are restricted to DBA students only. Unless otherwise specified, all courses are graded HP/P/LP/U/Y.
- DBAP 5010Introduction to Applied Business Research[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course explores the fundamental issues in business research, including the purpose of business research, the role business research plays in helping managers in decision making, the process involved in the scientific inquiry applied to business including identifying interesting and practically significant research questions, deducing testable hypotheses, conducting systematic research using appropriate methodology, drawing conclusions, and making theoretical and practical contributions. Practical and ethical issues involved in conducting business research will also be discussed.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Explain the purpose of applied business research and think critically about business research.
- 2.Describe the process of conducting applied business research.
- 3.Identify commonly used research methods in applied business research.
- 4.Apply the basic practical skills of conducting business research (e.g., literature review).
- 5.Recognize the ethical issues involved in conducting applied business research.
- DBAP 5020Applied Statistics and Regression[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThe course introduces various applications of statistics in business, in particular, regression analysis and its applications. The main topics to be covered include data exploration methods, inference, and regression.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Apply appropriate data analysis tools (data exploration methods and regression) to conduct sound data analysis.
- 2.Use statistical software such as R to do estimation, modeling, and forecasting.
- DBAP 5030Survey Research and Experimental Designs[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course will focus on research methods and data analysis relevant for business research. The contents of the course will be useful for researchers in the fields of Marketing, Management, and Information Systems. The emphasis will be on the applications of these methods.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Develop testable research propositions.
- 2.Formulate hypotheses based on these propositions.
- 3.Identify the research methods relevant to these hypotheses.
- 4.Design surveys and experiments to test research hypotheses.
- 5.Analyze some preliminary data from surveys or experimental research and draw valid conclusions.
- DBAP 5040Qualitative Research Method in Business[2-0-0:2]DescriptionQualitative research is critical in inducting novel theory, and elaborating existing theory with frame-breaking insights. It is particularly suited to answer the "how" question, enabling students to understand the process underlying the phenomenon and hence develop better insights into the mechanisms. This course will cover when and how to conduct inductive multiple case research, focusing on specific skills such as how to identify a research question that fits multiple case research, craft a rigorous research design, use theoretical sampling, gain access to companies, collect data and write research cases, conduct within- and cross- case comparisons, and finally induce generalizable insights that make a genuine theoretical contribution.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Conduct and evaluate inductive multiple case research.
- 2.Identify a research question that fits multiple case research.
- 3.Craft a rigorous research design for multiple case research.
- 4.Analyze trade-offs among different data collection methods.
- 5.Conduct within- and cross-case comparisons.
- DBAP 5110Frontiers in Accounting Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course introduces students to accounting research. It covers the frontier accounting research topics such as financial accounting, international accounting, accounting for corporate governance and auditing.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Explain concepts and issues in recent financial accounting research.
- 2.Explain concepts and issues in recent auditing research.
- 3.Apply concepts of financial accounting and auditing to address issues in corporate governance.
- 4.Compare and contrast financial accounting and auditing systems in different countries.
- 5.Present financial accounting and auditing research that has practical implications.
- DBAP 5120Frontiers in Economics Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course introduces students to frontier topics in economics research relevant for business, including topics such as innovation, globalization (trade and FDI), personnel management, industrial organization, competition, and digital economy.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the latest economics research on timely, cutting-edge topics.
- 2.Compare and contrast the research methods and quality of evidence in economics research.
- 3.Identify how economics research has contributed to business design, management, and practice.
- 4.Conceptualize and design economics research to address selected business problems.
- 5.Present professional research and articulate its significance.
- DBAP 5130Frontiers in Finance Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course introduces major finance research areas to students: asset pricing and investment theories and practice, corporate finance issues, microstructure studies, and financial derivatives pricing and strategies. For each area, the basic issues and currently prevalent views will be presented.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Define the subareas of finance research and the central questions in these subareas.
- 2.Explore specific topics of interest as a potential research direction.
- 3.Identify the areas of research strength of the Finance Department.
- DBAP 5140Frontiers in Information Systems Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course introduces students to information systems research in terms of the intersection between technology, society, organization, people, and policy. It analyzes frontier IS research topics such as online social media, digital platforms and competitions, and network strategy and economics.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Synthesize the latest IS research on timely topics such as online social media, digital platforms and competitions, and network strategy and economics.
- 2.Compare and contrast the research methods and quality of evidence in different IS research.
- 3.Identify how IS research has contributed to business design, management, and practice.
- 4.Conceptualize and design proper IS research to address selected business or social problems.
- 5.Present professional IS research and articulate its significance.
- DBAP 5150Frontiers in Operations Management Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course surveys the current operations management research topics that are of interest to senior business executives. The topics may change every year.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the current research topics in operations management.
- 2.Recognize how research can improve business practices in operations management.
- 3.Develop and apply the skills to identify interesting research problems in operations management.
- DBAP 5160Frontiers in Management Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis introductory course exposes students to the latest research and trends in management research (e.g., organizational behavior, human resources management, strategic management, international business, entrepreneurship, and business ethics). Students will read and critique latest research papers from selected topics and participate in class discussion. Students are expected to understand management issues of current and future concerns, identify an interesting and practically important frontier research question in a management topic of choice, and write an executable research proposal to address the question.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Recognize the latest research and trends in strategy and organization.
- 2.Recognize the latest research and trends in organizational behavior and human resource management.
- 3.Articulate current business and organizational issues relevant to the management field.
- 4.Develop independent scholarly research on a topic of choice in the management field.
- 5.Apply the latest research and knowledge in management in their business settings.
- DBAP 5170Frontiers in Marketing Research[1-0-0:1]DescriptionThis course introduces students to the latest research topics in marketing and covers recent marketing research findings from several different research paradigms.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the latest research topics in marketing.
- 2.Define the different research paradigms involved in marketing research.
- 3.Assess the quality of academic marketing research and relate it to business practice.
- 4.Conceptualize and design research questions in marketing.
- 5.Present the latest marketing research and articulate its significance.
- DBAP 5210Research in Financial Accounting[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course introduces students to the use of research methods in economics, finance, and statistics to examine important financial accounting issues.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Compare and contrast the concepts of earnings and cash Flows.
- 2.Compare and contrast earnings management using accrual and real activities.
- 3.Define companies’ voluntary disclosure.
- 4.Recognize the impact of mandatory disclosure regulation on corporate practice.
- 5.Apply the concept of market efficiency to fundamental analysis in equity investment.
- 6.Identify the role of financial Intermediaries in accounting.
- 7.Present professional accounting research in financial accounting.
- DBAP 5220Research on Managerial Accounting, Corporate Governance, and Executive Compensation[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course involves discussion of research in managerial accounting, corporate governance and executive compensation. Use of research tools in economics, finance and statistics to examine important accounting issues in the above areas will be covered.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Describe the association between corporate board structures and accounting.
- 2.Describe the association between corporate ownership structures and accounting.
- 3.Describe the association between the incentives of executives and accounting.
- 4.Describe the association between debt contracts and accounting.
- 5.Identify the current research on managerial accounting, corporate governance, and executive compensation.
- 6.Explain the impact of regulation on managerial accounting, corporate governance, and executive compensation.
- 7.Explain the impact of litigation on managerial accounting, corporate governance, and Executive Compensation.
- 8.Present professional accounting research in managerial accounting, corporate governance, and executive compensation.
- DBAP 5310Business Economics: Strategic and Behavioral Approach[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course uses economic analysis to examine a selection of topics of importance to business management. Topics may include demand analysis, pricing strategies, game theory and applications, asymmetric information, agency theory and applications, organization economics, and mergers and acquisitions.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Apply demand and supply analysis in predicting market price and dynamics.
- 2.Analyze key trade-offs in pricing and conduct research on pricing strategies.
- 3.Formulate strategic decisions using game theoretic methods to address challenges in competitive markets.
- 4.Apply economic thinking and tools for organization design.
- 5.Communicate economic research and analysis to multiple stakeholder groups.
- DBAP 5320Empirical Methods for Economic Analysis[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course teaches empirical approaches and methods commonly used in applied economic research, including discussion of actual applications to business problems. Topics include identification strategies, regression specification, panel data methods, event studies, program evaluation, and instrumental variables.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Recognize fundamental problems in identifying causal relationships and the strengths and weaknesses of different identification strategies.
- 2.Choose appropriate regression specifications that best fit the data and address identification concerns.
- 3.Adopt appropriate methods to exploit the advantages of panel data.
- 4.Apply specific identification strategies, including event studies, diff-in-diffs, and instrumental variables.
- 5.Communicate economic research and analysis to multiple stakeholder groups.
- DBAP 5410Asset Allocation and Portfolio Analysis[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course begins with the central idea of asset pricing theory regarding risk-return trade-off and continues with asset allocation decisions and modern portfolio theories. Using primary asset markets of stocks and bonds as the battle field, it presents concepts and methodologies of identifying market-wide factors and factor betas as measures of risks and risk exposures. It also discusses popular trading strategies of capturing alphas associated with firm-specific attributes.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Explain the notion of diversification and the mean-variance optimization framework.
- 2.Explain the notions of diversifiable risk, undiversifiable risk, risk return trade-off and Sharpe ratio.
- 3.Assess the difference between efficient market hypothesis and behavioral theory.
- 4.Recognize popular trading strategies of capturing alphas associated with firm-specific attributes.
- DBAP 5420Fixed-income Strategies[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course focuses on fixed income markets and presents strategies dealing with interest rate risk and credit risk. For the former, arbitrage based and equilibrium based theoretical models will be briefed and empirical models using key yields and macroeconomic factors will be discussed at length. For the latter, structural models and reduced-form models will be taught, the popular strategies used by firms and institutions will be explained, and lessons learned from recent financial crises will be discussed.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Explain the notion of interest rate risk and credit risk.
- 2.Identify the methodology of modeling interest rate risk and credit risk.
- 3.Set up models for analyzing specific issues.
- 4.Implement models using data to tackle real questions.
- DBAP 5430Financial Derivatives and Risk Management[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course provides a comprehensive overview of how financial derivatives are priced and used in hedging, speculation and arbitrage. The discussion on derivatives pricing begins with no-arbitrage based pricing theories, continues with equilibrium based pricing theories, and ends with empirical evidence on these models, with special emphasis on the informational roles of derivatives.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Describe the notion of complete market and the methodology of no-arbitrage pricing.
- 2.Assess the performance of various pricing models and the limitation of no-arbitrage pricing.
- 3.Extract information contained in options.
- 4.Implement models using data to tackle real questions.
- DBAP 5440Behavioral Finance[2-0-0:2]DescriptionMany careful observational studies of actual behavior – and at least three recent Nobel Prizes – suggest that the standard economic paradigm of rational investors in an efficient market does not adequately describe real-world behavior. Behavioral finance combines findings in cognitive psychology with conventional economic logic to provide alternative explanations of such observed behavior. We will examine how psychology of decision making under uncertainty affects the traditional paradigm, while paying attention to practical applications for portfolio and investment management.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Understand how to apply psychology in financial markets.
- 2.Identify the methodologies used in the recent literature to study applications.
- 3.Formulate important research questions relating concepts taught in class to students’ personal experience.
- DBAP 5450Green Finance[2-0-0:2]DescriptionGreen finance is the use of financial tools to improve environmental outcomes. The course begins with the valuation of financial assets with non-pecuniary preference, continues on various approaches to addressing the issues in green finance, and examines development in financial instruments such as green bonds and carbon credits.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Understand the issues related to environmental economics and finance.
- 2.Familiarize with standard methodologies used in theoretical and empirical studies of green finance.
- 3.Use available environment-related databases.
- 4.Formulate problems of their interest in green finance.
- 5.Solve problems of their interest in green finance.
- DBAP 5510Information Systems Research in Business[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course surveys state-of-the-art information systems research related to business analysis, design, and practice. The course will provide students with a broad coverage of how research into IS and technology management uncovers new insights and drives innovative business practices.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Evaluate IS impacts in business analysis, design, and practice.
- 2.Discuss impacts of IS on individuals, organizations, and/or society.
- 3.Evaluate research approach and methodology for conducting IS research in different business settings.
- 4.Identify IS research gaps and opportunities in business analysis, design, and practice.
- 5.Develop and present comprehensive IS research proposal (research questions, theory, methodology, potential impacts).
- DBAP 5520Information Systems Theories[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course reviews information systems (IS) theories and their applications in businesses and the society. The course will provide students with fundamental knowledge and insights on exemplary IS theories applied to various topics, such as technology adoption, knowledge management, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, digital platforms, electronic commerce, user-generated content, social media analytics, information privacy, IT security, etc.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the role of theory in IS research, describe what theory is and how to make a theoretical contribution.
- 2.Explain the theories used in IS research on various topics, e.g., technology adoption, knowledge management, crowdsourcing, digital platforms, privacy, IT security, etc.
- 3.Compare and contrast the IS theories and quality of evidence in different IS research.
- 4.Identify how IS theories has contributed to business design, management and practice.
- 5.Conceptualize and design proper IS research to address selected business or social problem.
- 6.Present professional IS research and articulate its significance.
- DBAP 5610Operations and Supply Chain Management[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course will provide students with fundamental knowledge in operations management and supply chain management, focusing on topics related to the management of business process that produce and deliver goods or services in a global business environment. Topics include process analysis and improvement, inventory and revenue management, supply chain strategies, supply chain integration and coordination, and other important issues.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Explain the importance of processes and operational excellence in modern organizations.
- 2.Achieve operations and service improvement by applying operations and supply chain management theories into practice.
- 3.Apply a set of key approaches for business practitioners to improve operations and supply chain activities for better business decision making.
- DBAP 5620Research Methodology in Operations and Supply Chain Management[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course will provide methodology training for students to conduct research in the Operations Management and Supply Chain Management areas. Major topics include deterministic optimization models, applied probability models, simulation, and empirical methods.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify basic methodology in conducting research in OM and supply chain areas.
- 2.Use the methodology for solving applied research problems.
- DBAP 5710Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course exposes students to major theories and research topics in organizational behavior and human resource management with the aim of promoting individual, team and organizational effectiveness. Sample topics include individual differences (e.g., personality, attitudes, and moods), judgement and decision making, creativity and innovation, negotiation, team effectiveness, conflict management, leadership, organizational culture, recruitment, selection, performance management, training and development, and compensation. Students will read and critique selected research papers from selected topics and participate in class discussion. At the end of the course, students are expected to develop a good and comprehensive understanding of organizational behavior and human resource management research, identify an interesting and practically important research question in a topic of choice, and write an executable research proposal to address the question.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify and apply up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of OBHR literature.
- 2.Recognize and explain contemporary business and organizational issues related to OBHR.
- 3.Develop independent substantive scholarly research in OBHR.
- 4.Apply latest research in OBHR to their business and organizational settings.
- DBAP 5720Strategic Management and Organization Theory[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course exposes students to major theoretical foundations and topics in strategic management and organization theory with the aim of promoting effective strategic decision making, execution, and organizations that promote firm performance and interests of various stakeholders. Students are expected to develop a good and comprehensive understanding of strategy research, identify an interesting and practically important research question in a topic of choice, and write an executable research proposal to address the question.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Describe the nature and development of organizational theories.
- 2.Define the theories on firm competitive advantages.
- 3.Identify deep linkage between firm transaction cost and the decisions of making, buying or allying.
- 4.Identify the role of social networks.
- 5.Explain corporate governance with agency theory.
- 6.Explain the behavioral perspective of firms.
- 7.Analyze firm actions under uncertainty.
- 8.Analyze firms in a broad institutional environment.
- DBAP 5730ESG and Sustainability Research: Management and Organization Foundations[1-1-0:2]DescriptionThe share of executives, board members, and investment managers who consider governance, climate risk, and other ESG issues as well as stakeholders’ opinions of the firm to be material to their business decisions has risen dramatically. This course exposes students to major theoretical foundations and topics in corporate governance and social responsibility with the aim of promoting effective strategic decision-making, execution, and organizations that consider the interests of various stakeholders. Students are expected to develop a good and comprehensive understanding of corporate governance and social responsibility research, identify an interesting and practically important research question in a topic of choice, and write an executable research proposal to address the question.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Understand the latest management research on ESG, sustainability, and related cutting-edge topics.
- 2.Compare and contrast the research methods and quality of evidence in ESG and sustainability research.
- 3.Conceptualize and design ESG and sustainability research to address selected management challenges.
- DBAP 5810Information Processing for Marketing Strategy[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course provides an overview of topics in psychology and consumer behavior research. An information processing approach is used to help students get familiar with a range of diverse topics such as attitude formation and change, culture, information processing, motivation and goals, emotion, and consumer decision making. Practical applications of these topics as related to marketing issues and the implications for marketing managers will also be discussed.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Recognize the latest research topics in Information Processing relevant for Marketing.
- 2.Explain the different conceptual paradigms involved in information processing research.
- 3.Assess the quality of psychology research and relate it to marketing practice.
- 4.Conceptualize and design research questions in information processing.
- 5.Present latest research on consumer information processing and articulate its significance.
- DBAP 5820Behavioral Decision Making for Business Research[2-0-0:2]DescriptionThis course is designed to familiarize students with a wide variety of issues related to consumer and managerial judgment and decision making. Given the emphasis of the course on behavioral decision making, the topics covered pertain mainly to descriptive rather than normative aspects of decision making. The contents will be useful for researchers in many fields of business such as marketing, economics, finance, and management.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the classic and contemporary literature in the area of behavioral decision making.
- 2.Translate these findings to appropriate business settings.
- 3.Formulate hypotheses based on this literature that can be tested in applied business settings.
- 4.Design appropriate tests of research hypotheses in field settings.
- 5.Propose a translational application of cutting-edge behavioral research to a contemporary business issue.
- DBAP 6100Independent Study[1-2 credit(s)]DescriptionStudy of selected business issues under the supervision of a faculty member. The course may be repeated for credit to satisfy the program requirements of the DBA Program. (Special permission from the Academic Director is required for students to take this course.)Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Conduct an independent study on a selected topic of a business issue or practice.
- 2.Apply frameworks and concepts learned from the program to address the business challenges.
- 3.Apply an interdisciplinary approach in reviewing the latest developments of the chosen topic.
- 4.Analyze and communicate key findings precisely and concisely through a written report.
- DBAP 6200DBA Research Proposal Preparation[2 credits]DescriptionThis course will help students to get familiar with literature in the chosen research area, identify appropriate topics for thesis research, and prepare detailed thesis proposals through independent study under the supervision of faculty members. Maybe graded PP.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Finalize their thesis research topics.
- 2.Get familiar with related literature in the chosen research area.
- 3.Identify problems and areas for improvement for their thesis research.
- 4.Work out a detailed plan for completing the research.
- 5.Complete their research proposals.
- DBAP 6300DBA Residential Program[1 credit]DescriptionStudents will conduct research under the supervision of their faculty advisors. Students need to be on campus for at least two days for research activities in each regular term. In addition, there should be at least 10 contact hours with the advisors during the term. Graded P or F.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Integrate acquired knowledge and skills in conducting applied research.
- 2.Apply effective communication and time management skills.
- 3.Demonstrate significant progress in their thesis research.
- DBAP 7980DBA Thesis Research30 creditsDescriptionOriginal and independent DBA research. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. Graded PP, P or F.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Design, develop, and conduct research in an applied research area.
- 2.Apply research methodologies in formulating business solutions.
- 3.Communicate research findings effectively in written and oral presentations.
