PMGM7001 Fundamentals of Global Management
PMGM7001 Overview
- The University of Hong Kong
- First Semester, 2026-27
- Postgraduate
- Eight teaching topics
- Seven assigned business cases
What this course asks you to do
Fundamentals of Global Management is a postgraduate course in the Faculty of Business and Economics about how individuals, groups and organisational contexts shape the effectiveness of organisations dealing with global issues, and about developing leadership in that global context.
- Assessed by Participation and group reports, an individual essay on one of eight published topics, and a group presentation analysing a real company.
- Attendance rule Attendance of 70% in each course is a pass condition outside the marks; below it you are treated as failing, so you can fail on attendance alone.
- Hardest step Turning a case into grouped practices explained by theory, rather than retelling what happened.
- Assessment move End every analysis with a specific personal takeaway, because every paper topic asks for one.
How PMGM7001 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Attendance and Participation | 20% | Attendance, individual sharing in class, and group reports on in-class discussion issues |
| Individual Paper | 40% | Essay on one published topic, at most six pages of main text, due one week after the last lecture |
| Group Project | 40% | Team analysis of a company's global management issues with recommendations, presented in class |
The master syllabus lists these three components and they total 100%. Outside the weighted table, the course site states a minimum attendance requirement: students who are present for less than 70% of the classes in any course are treated as failing that course, so attendance is a pass condition you can fail independently of your marks. The syllabus also states that no late assignment will be accepted. Two details differ between documents: the syllabus gives groups under 22 minutes to present while the introductory slides allow up to 25, and the paper instructions exclude references from the six-page limit where the syllabus does not mention them. Confirm both on Moodle.
Assessment structure
Segment widths reproduce the published percentage weights and total 100%.
Current PMGM7001 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2026 | Group Report 1 | Closes at 17:30 on the course site. |
| 14 September 2026 | Group Report 2 | Closes at 17:30 on the course site. |
| 17 September 2026 | Group Report 3 | Closes at 17:30 on the course site. |
| 24 September 2026 | Group Report 4 | Closes at 17:30 on the course site. |
| 12 October 2026 | Group project presentations (I) | Session 9 in the syllabus schedule; slides due 24 hours before. |
| 15 October 2026 | Group project presentations (II) | Session 10, the last lecture; the individual paper is due one week after it. |
Dates are as published in the syllabus schedule and the submission points on the course site for this offering. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What PMGM7001 covers
Eleven chapters follow the two published modules, from diversity, teams, motivation and global citizenship to executive leadership of oneself, innovation, environmental initiatives and ethics.
Tariffs, Interdependence and Problem Orientation
reading a dated policy timeline · the outcome-based approach · self-sufficiency, comparative advantage, deterrence and interdependenceWhy a management course starts with trade policy
The first lecture opens with a group exercise on the United States tariff rollout between February and May 2025. Students use a search engine or an AI platform to rebuild the timeline, interpret its odder details, and then answer two questions: what global management is, and why it matters.
- Why the course opens with a news timeline
- The dated moves on the lecture slide
- From observation to inferred outcome
- Saying effective at what before judging a policy
- Four concepts named in paper topic one
- What interdependence means for a firm
Diversity and Inclusion Across Regions
surface and deep-level diversity · inclusion and inclusive spirit · the regional landscape · the performance evidence and four imperativesDifferences, and why they must be managed
The lecture's starting assumption is that there are differences between people, that some are important and meaningful, that they must be managed to be effective, and that embracing them brings real benefits.
- Four assumptions behind the topic
- Surface-level and deep-level diversity
- Categorisation and its price
- Inclusion and the inclusive spirit
- Mandate in the West, business need in Asia Pacific
- Hong Kong and mainland China in the regional picture
Ageism and Designing Inclusive Team Activities
bias against older and younger workers · from correlation to reasons · designing an activity backwards from its outcomeDiscrimination is still here
After the evidence on benefits, the lecture asks whether diversity and inclusion have arrived and answers that they have not. Its example is ageism, chosen because it runs in both directions.
- Why the lecture chooses age as its example
- Assumptions about older workers and learning
- The founder-age finding and problem orientation
- Why ageism may be worse for the young
- Seniority, work-life balance and judging by one's own standard
- An activity as a means to an end
Fit, Attitude Polarization and Reality Sharing
person-person, person-job and person-organisation fit · pressure to conform · why challenged views harden · how shared reality formsThe pressure to fit
The second topic starts with fit, defined as the compatibility of person, job and organisational characteristics, and with the pressure on minorities to fit in.
- Three kinds of fit and what each costs
- Evidence of pressure to look the part
- Micro-aggressions and adapting to belong
- Attitude polarization and its four reactions
- Why more information can widen a divide
- Reality sharing and its indicators
Social Identity and Leading a Diverse Team
why people join groups and what it costs · evidence on effective and creative teams · cultural brokerage · a Ryder Cup captaincyWhy groups matter
Teams have become the basic building block of organisations, and the lecture explains why people want to belong to them with social identity theory. Groups give a sense of belonging and are a source of pride and self-esteem.
- Teams as the building block of organisations
- Four reasons people choose groups
- Stereotyping, ingroup favouritism and identity threat
- Three features of the most effective teams
- Cultural brokerage and creative teams
- Rules for building and managing teams
Motivation, Extra-Role Behaviour and Leading by Heart
direction, intensity and persistence · in-role and extra-role work · organisational citizenship behaviour · empowerment · a heart-centred supermarketWhat motivation is
The lecture defines motivation as the psychological forces within a person that determine the direction of behaviour, the intensity of effort and persistence.
- Direction, intensity and persistence
- Why this topic starts with the case
- Leading with the head and with the heart
- Positive psychology and psychological safety
- What the supermarket actually did
- In-role and extra-role performance
Global Citizenship, Stakeholders and the Capitalist System
defining global citizenship · stakeholder analysis and a five-question screen · a food-rescue charity · how capitalism works and where it broke downWhat global citizenship asks
The fourth topic argues that global citizenship is built into global management, because corporations act as citizens of many countries and their staff are citizens of host countries.
- Corporations and employees as global citizens
- Three ways of defining global citizenship
- Freeman's stakeholder definition
- Five questions for identifying key stakeholders
- Food Angel and its stakeholders
- The case for the capitalist system
Leading Oneself: Self-Awareness and Succession
opportunities and self-awareness · leadership and management · leadership style · a founder's decision to step downWhat the session covers
The executive leadership module opens with Leading Oneself.
- The four elements of Leading Oneself
- Leadership and management compared
- Self-leadership as the same distinction turned inward
- Opportunity recognition after two failed ideas
- Self-assessment as the company grew
- Leadership style and the scale of the organisation
Leading Innovation with Complementary Partners
vision and purpose · leading innovation · two founders who divide the leadership · leading followers in a small research teamThe session's three elements
The syllabus session on leading innovation covers vision and purpose, leading innovation and leading followers.
- Vision and purpose as a leadership tool
- Where the company's vision came from
- Good-enough accuracy and a low-cost product
- Macro and micro: dividing leadership
- Cost discipline in the cash crisis
- Consensus, high standards and safe failure
Leading Environmental Initiatives
understanding an environmental challenge in numbers · circular fashion · programmes for designers, consumers and companies · value and social identityUnderstanding before leading
The session on environmental initiatives has two elements in the syllabus: understanding environmental challenges, and leveraging value and social identity.
- The session's two elements
- Fashion's environmental footprint in numbers
- Hong Kong's rising textile waste
- Recycling as the last resort
- Programmes for designers, consumers and companies
- What happens to donated clothing
Leading Ethics: Systemic Pressure and Speaking Up
how incentives, measures and structures produce wrongdoing · the individual costs of speaking up · internal and external channelsThe session's two elements
The final teaching session is about dealing with ethical challenges, and the syllabus names systemic pressures and individual costs.
- Systemic pressures and individual costs
- Growth targets and volume-linked pay
- A quality measure that hid the problem
- Rotation, distance and summary reports
- Escalation and what followed
- The cost to the person who spoke
It describes its problems as open-ended, with no established or permanent solutions, and asks for problem orientation, an outcome-based approach and personalised knowledge.
Each teaching session is paired with a business case, and every individual paper topic ends by asking for personal takeaways.
Module one: current issues and the behavioural foundations
The first module opens with an exercise on a 2025 tariff timeline and then covers diversity and inclusion as a globalization essential, including the regional landscape, the performance evidence and ageism in both directions.
It moves to fit, attitude polarization and reality sharing, then social identity and a Ryder Cup captain leading twelve players from across Europe.
Motivation follows, with extra-role behaviour, empowerment and a London supermarket run on a heart-centred approach, and the module closes with global citizenship, stakeholder analysis, a Hong Kong food-rescue charity and the capitalist system after the financial crisis.
Module two: executive leadership
The second module turns to the leader.
Leading oneself uses a Japanese founder's decision to hand over the company he built. Leading innovation uses two partners who divide leadership in an indoor-mapping start-up. Leading environmental initiatives uses a Hong Kong charity trying to change fast fashion.
Leading ethics uses an underwriter who refused to look away from mortgage fraud at a large American bank.
How you are assessed, and the attendance requirement
The syllabus lists three components: individual attendance and participation at 20%, an individual paper at 40% and a group project at 40%.
Separately, a minimum attendance requirement of 70% of classes applies to each course; the course site says students below it are treated as failing the course, so it is a pass condition outside the marks and one you can fail even with good work. The paper is an essay of at most six pages on one of eight published topics, and the group project is a presentation analysing a company's global management issues.
Worked example · free
Group a case's practices before explaining them
- 3Group the practices into a few categories.
- 3Attach a course concept to each category.
- 2Add counter-evidence and a transfer test.
Key terms
- Global Management
- Managing people, teams and organisations across differences between people and nations, which the course treats as its central problem.
- Categorisation
- Grouping people or things to reduce complexity, which the course notes is also the foundation of prejudice and stereotyping.
- Person-job Fit
- The match between a person's attributes and the attributes of the job, which can change when the job changes.
- Cultural Insider
- A team member whose multicultural experience maps onto teammates' backgrounds, helping to integrate their information and ideas.
- In-role Performance
- Work prescribed by the job, dealing with its technical core, which is relatively easy to specify, manage and reward.
- Positive Psychology
- An approach focused on building wellbeing, summarised in the course as positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment.
- Leadership
- Setting direction and bringing about change, which the executive leadership module distinguishes from managing for order and execution.
- Management
- Creating order, planning and reliable execution, the counterpart to leadership that every organisation also needs.
- Free-riding
- A group member benefiting from others' work without contributing; the course adjusts that member's grade if a complaint is confirmed.
PMGM7001 FAQ
How is the course assessed?
Three components make up the published total of one hundred per cent: individual attendance and participation at twenty per cent, an individual paper at forty, and a group project delivered as a class presentation at forty. The participation share includes the group reports submitted after in-class discussions.
Is there an attendance requirement, and can I fail on attendance?
Yes. The course site states that students present for less than 70% of the classes in a course are treated as failing it, and the introductory slides say those who fall short will not receive credit. It is a pass condition outside the marks, so you can fail the course on attendance alone. Arriving thirty minutes late or leaving early may count as absent.
How do I choose an individual paper topic?
Pick from the eight published topics, or ask the instructor about your own, by matching the topic to the framework you can apply best. Each topic is tied to a session and its case, so choosing early lets you gather evidence from the lectures as they happen.
What format must the individual paper follow?
At most six pages of main text in Times New Roman 12 with double spacing, written as an essay rather than bullet points, with a consistent referencing style such as Harvard or APA. If you use AI to help plan or research, put the key prompts and outputs in an appendix that sits outside the page limit.
Can two groups analyse the same company?
No. The syllabus and the introductory slides both say a company can be analysed by only one group, allocated first come, first served, even if the groups would use different cases about it. Register your choice early and keep a second option ready.
How are the in-class group reports graded?
The introductory slides say discussion groups submit a bullet-point report to Moodle after each discussion, with every participant's name and student number, graded Fail, Pass or Good, and that N minus one reports count towards the participation share. Check on Moodle how the uncounted report is chosen.
What happens if I submit the paper late?
The syllabus states that no late assignment will be accepted. The paper is due through Moodle one week after the last lecture at the latest and is checked for plagiarism and AI writing, so plan to submit a complete version at least a day early.
Do I need to read every case before class?
The introductory slides ask you to prepare for each lecture by reading the corresponding case, with none set for the first topic. The in-class discussions and group reports are built on the case, so arriving unprepared costs participation marks as well as understanding.
Questions students ask in each PMGM7001 chapter
- Do I need to know economics to answer the tariff topic?
- Only at the level of the four named concepts. The topic asks what enabled the stance and what it implies for global management, so the marks come from applying self-sufficiency, comparative advantage, deterrence and interdependence to the episode and to managers, not from technical trade theory. Define each in a sentence and spend your words on application. Chapter 01 · Tariffs, Interdependence and Problem Orientation
- Does diversity improve financial performance?
- The research the lecture cites reports an association: companies in the top quartile for executive-team gender or ethnic diversity were more likely to outperform on profitability. It does not establish that diversity causes profit, since both may follow from other factors. State the finding with its comparison and direction and stop at association. Chapter 02 · Diversity and Inclusion Across Regions
- Is ageism really a problem for young people?
- The lecture reports a psychology study finding it slightly worse for the young, with colder feelings towards today's young adults than towards older people. It also reports that nearly two-thirds of workers aged forty-five and over had seen or experienced age discrimination, so both forms coexist. Chapter 03 · Ageism and Designing Inclusive Team Activities
- Is wanting employees to fit in a bad thing?
- Not in itself. Fit between person, job and organisation has real benefits. The lecture's concern is pressure to conform that makes minorities hide what is different about them, which can cost confidence and wellbeing and deprive the team of the diversity it hired for. Chapter 04 · Fit, Attitude Polarization and Reality Sharing
- Why did the captain not try to make the golfers a close-knit team?
- Because golf trains players to focus on their own game, and he judged that forcing togetherness would fit poorly with how they normally think. He kept them comfortable as individuals and gave them a shared identity through symbols, a common task and pride in each other's backgrounds instead. Chapter 05 · Social Identity and Leading a Diverse Team
- What does leading by heart actually involve?
- In the case it means being authentic and letting others be themselves, investing in people's potential, creating emotional safety before changing processes, coaching rather than directing, and giving staff real authority, such as a team of non-managers responsible for change and promotions. It is disciplined practice, not simply kindness. Chapter 06 · Motivation, Extra-Role Behaviour and Leading by Heart
- Does the course reject Friedman's view of business?
- No. It presents Friedman's claim that business should increase profits within the rules of the game, then shows how the rules were weakened and abused. Its conclusion is that responsibility works best when aligned with profit under fair rules, which qualifies Friedman rather than dismissing him. Chapter 07 · Global Citizenship, Stakeholders and the Capitalist System
- Why did the founder step down if his employees rated him highly?
- Because he judged the job had changed. He felt great as chief executive at up to about two hundred people but not even good at several hundred, and he said his consultative style and fear of unpopular top-down decisions did not suit a company heading for one to two thousand employees. Chapter 08 · Leading Oneself: Self-Awareness and Succession
- What made the start-up's innovation succeed?
- The case points to a specific vision that let the founders accept good-enough accuracy, a partnership in which technology and commercial discipline were led by different people, and a team led so that experimentation was safe and credit was shared. A critical answer adds the fragility of depending on a small core team. Chapter 09 · Leading Innovation with Complementary Partners
- Why does the charity say recycling is not the solution?
- Because most of the harm occurs before a garment reaches a consumer, in overproduction and manufacturing. Recycling deals with the result. The charity therefore aims first at designers, the industry and buying habits, and treats recycling as the last resort. Chapter 10 · Leading Environmental Initiatives
- Was the bank's failure caused by greedy individuals?
- The case resists that reading. The underwriter believed most colleagues were ethical, and the failure is traced to volume-linked pay, a misleading quality measure, rotating management and counter-channels that overturned findings. Individuals made choices, but the system made the wrong choices easier and the right ones costly. Chapter 11 · Leading Ethics: Systemic Pressure and Speaking Up
How to prepare for the assessments
Choose your paper topic and your group's company in the first two weeks, then read every chapter asking what it contributes to those two pieces of work. Before each lecture, read the assigned case and write down the problem the protagonist faced in one sentence; after it, add the concept that best explains what they did. By the last lecture you will have a page of case-by-concept notes that is most of a paper plan.
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