Business Commerce Enterprise Management
IST tutors can help Hong Kong students studying IGCSE, AS, A-Level, or Pre-U Business & Management (Cambridge 0450 / 0986 / 9609 / 9771, AQA 8132, Edexcel 4BS1, OCR J204 / H031 / H431, WJEC), Commerce (Edexcel 4CM1), and Enterprise (Cambridge 0454). Most of the Business courses focus on the classification of the activities and objectives of stakeholders, including government policies with environmental and ethical considerations, locally and internationally. In terms of human resources, the focus is on recruiting, hiring, training, and motivating employees, and improving internal and external communication. Marketing research, mix, and strategy are also covered in depth. In addition, production quality and break evens, cash flows, income statements, and balance sheets are analysed in operational and financial management. Although some of the topics are similar, the Commerce course focuses on the nature of commerce and the operational risks like production, retail, wholesale, e-commerce, insurance, consumer protection, consumer credit, finance, and debt. The Enterprise course focuses on what is needed to set up a new enterprise, like the skills and personalities of successful entrepreneurs, assessing opportunities, risk and responsibilities, financial business planning, marketing, and communicating.
Principal Business Commerce Enterprise Management Tutor, 2005 – present
Mr Don Ho has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Victoria (Canada) and Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta (Canada). Don was also awarded the South-East Asia Business Research Grant and the Asia Pacific Scholar’s Grant. Don focused his studies on International Finance and Entrepreneurship. His studies took him to Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he was a key contributor to team that won the Integrative Management Award for their paper and presentation on Canadian Manufacturers Entering the Mexican Manufacturing Market and the Implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Korea, where he and his classmates met with officials from the Bank of Korea and Daejeon University to discuss the impact of the IMF bailout of Korea; Malaysia, where he conducted the the bulk of his research for his papers, which focused on the Cross-Cultural differences in the Malaysian and Canadian workplaces; and Hong Kong, where Don conducted market research and wrote a comprehensive business plan for opening spas in Hong Kong.
Don has tutored Marketing Research and Analysis to a GCSE students from The Royal High School, Bath (UK) and KGV; and Human Resource Management and Motivation Theory to an AS/A2 A-Level student from Beechwood Sacred Heart School (UK). To IB Diploma students from Island School and Victoria Shanghai Academy, Don has tutored Financial Ratio Analysis, Budgeting, and Cash Flow Analysis.
Many of Don’s students have chosen to do their IB Extended Essay on Business and Management. Extended Essay topics have ranged from investigating the ‘Powdered Milk Resale Market at the Hong Kong Shenzhen Border’, ‘Monopolistic Competition in Hong Kong Flower Markets’, ‘Market Analysis of Tutorial Schools in Central, Hong Kong’, and ‘The Future of British Luxury Brands in Second Tier Cities in China’. These IB Extended Essay students attended Diocesan Girls School New Zealand, Cheltenham Ladies College, Island School, and Canadian International School (CDNIS). Company specific IB Extended Essays include ‘lululemon’s Expansion into Hong Kong and China’ by a Renaissance College student and ‘Expansion of International Scholars Tuition School’ by a Creative Secondary School student. Students applied accepted business and management theory to real life cases by analysing annual company reports, examining standard business practices, and conducting primary research.
In addition, Don has tutored many undergraduate business and MBA students from Hong Kong in subjects, such as Managerial Accounting, Marketing, and Economics. These university business students applied Porter’s Five Forces Model and Value Chain, Product Life Cycles, PEST Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, and critical path analysis to cases studies and final projects such as: ‘Market Analysis of Innocent Drinks in the UK’, ‘Nike Sneakerhead Market in Hong Kong’, and ‘Alton Towers-Market Analysis of UK Amusement Park Industry’. Don has also tutored GMAT to students, who have gone on to complete their MBAs at excellent programmes like the Cambridge Judge Business School.