The first retail and service management competition co-organised by PolyU SPEED, HKCC and CSAO

Co-organised by the programme teams of the BA (Hons) in Retail and Service Management (RSM) of The School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Higher Diploma in Service Management of Hong Kong Community College (HKCC), as well as The College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) Student Affairs Office (CSAO), the first retail and service management case study competition was successfully concluded on 28 January 2016. The event was the first of its kind in the tertiary education sector in Hong Kong with strong support from professional bodies and leading companies in the retail and service field. The Hong Kong Retail Management Association and the Hong Kong Qualification Framework Secretariat also endorsed the competition. A.S. Watson Group and ImagineX were the corporate sponsors of the competition. 

Participants from PolyU SPEED and HKCC were required to prepare a business proposal for Fortress and ImagineX, providing solutions for their retail cases. Out of a total of 23 participating teams, six were admitted to the final round of competition. The judging panel was composed of both academics and senior executives in the retail sector, including Ms Annie Wong, Marketing Controller at Fortress, Ms Wendy Ng, Deputy General Manager at Alice + Olivia, Prof. Leslie Yip, Professor of Faculty of Management and Hospitality at Technological
and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), and Dr Ida Chiu, Department Head of Business Administration at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Haking Wong (IVE). Dr Pamela Kwok, Head of Cluster of Business of CPCE, was also present to give souvenirs to the guests. 

Ms Wendy Ng, one of the judging panel members, said that some case study topics were relatively complicated but the participants still tried their best during the presentation. They did well in general and some students had very good presentation skills to draw audience attention. She suggested some groups to focus more on the selected topics in order to align closer with the theme. She also said that the clarity of other presentations may need further enhancement.  

Another judging panel member, Ms Annie Wong, agreed that although the topic was a bit difficult, some of the groups were indeed well-organised with interesting ideas for the entire presentation. To further improve the quality of their presentations, the students are strongly encouraged to acquire a deeper understanding of the business nature of the retail and service sector from a holistic perspective. She added that each team showed good team spirit when they delivered the presentation.

Satisfied with the outcome of the competition, Dr Vanessa Liu, PolyU SPEED Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader of BA (Hons) in RSM, hopes that future competitions will continue to gain support from the professional bodies and leading corporations in the retail and service sector in order to help RSM students learn more about the operation of the sector. 

 

The judging panel, academic staff and participating students of PolyU SPEED and HKCC took a group photo.