MBA Program Launched In Hanoi By the University of HawaiŌi at Manoa's College of Business Administration and the Hanoi School of Business

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Phil Kinnicutt, 808/956-5645
College of Business Administration
Prof. Roger H. Ford, Ph.D
Hanoi School of Business
Vietnam National University
Posted: Oct 17, 2001

Vietnamese managers and professionals, and expatriates from other countries, can now earn an MBA degree in Hanoi from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa thanks to an innovative program recently launched by the University's College of Business Administration (CBA) and the Hanoi School of Business at Vietnam National University.

The two-year program is being taught in Hanoi by professors from the College of Business Administration, assisted by Hanoi School of Business faculty and staff, and employing distance-learning techniques via the Internet. It is offered in an executive format that allows participants to keep their full-time management positions while earning their degrees.

Graduates will receive an MBA degree accredited by AACSB International from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is the premier accrediting body for business schools.

The program is an outgrowth of a USAID-funded executive training program conducted in Hanoi in 1996-97 by the CBA. Several UH professors became interested in Vietnam through that experience and have become involved in research and executive development projects in the country.

David McClain, dean of the CBA and First Hawaiian Bank distinguished professor of leadership and management said, "Vietnam is a rapidly emerging market facing all the complexities of moving from a command to a market economy. This MBA venture in Hanoi is now training some of the country's business leaders to be successful in an international, market-driven economy. Our College's focus on business in the Asia-Pacific region and our experience in Vietnam make us a natural partner for the Hanoi School of Business."

The College also offers a Japan-focused and China-focused MBA program in Honolulu in partnership with JAIMS (Japan-America Institute of Management Science).

According to Dr. Roger Ford, program co-director, the first executive MBA class of 40 students is 55 percent male and 45 percent female with over 70 percent coming from Vietnam. The non-Vietnamese students, mostly from the United States, are individuals who want to earn an American MBA and at the same time learn more about Vietnam and develop contacts in the Vietnamese community.

"It is really an outstanding group of students. Many of them have work experience in other countries, including Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia. Some of the students already hold advanced degrees in other fields, and most hold significant positions with Vietnamese or international firms and organizations such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Electrolux VN and UNESCO Hanoi," Ford said.

Established in 1949, the UHM College of Business Administration is known for its expertise in international management education and was ranked among the nation's top 20 graduate schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report for 2001.

Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the CBA offers a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs featuring fresh, leading-edge courses in entrepreneurship and e-commerce. It places a strong emphasis on the development of management skills, the management of information technology and executive education. It is the only business program in the State of Hawai'i accredited by AACSB International.

The Hanoi School of Business (HSB) was started in 1995 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs to train the current, rising, and future leaders of Vietnam. HSB's goal is to become the premier graduate school of business in Southeast Asia.

HSB has an experienced staff and the most modern facility of any business school in Vietnam. It has trained hundreds of Vietnamese business leaders and also enrolled many Americans and other foreign nationals into its academic programs, including the executive MBA program it is now offering in cooperation with the University of HawaiŌi.

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NOTE: Attached is a list of possible interview subjects and program participants.

Possible Interview Subjects

Dr. David McClain, Dean and First Hawaiian Bank Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Management, College of Business Administration, University of HawaiŌi at Manoa.
808-956-8377, mcclain@cba.hawaii.edu

Dr. Dana Alden, chair of the UHM College of Business Marketing Department, who made the first "contact" with HSB and started the ball rolling.
808-956-8565, Alden@cba.hawaii.edu

Dr. Tung Bui, UH College of Business Administration Matson Navigation Company Distinguished Professor of Global Business. Dr. Bui is Vietnamese and helped set up the program.
808-956-5565, tbui@cba.hawaii.edu

Dr. Robert Doktor, UH College of Business Administration faculty member, who played a major role in organizing the program and getting it successfully launched.
808-956-7331, Doktor@cba.hawaii.edu

Dr. Llewellyn Howell, UH College of Business Administration Faculty Director of the program and International Affairs Editor for USA Today magazine.
808-956-8740, lhowell@cba.hawaii.edu

Fred Lins, Alumnus of the UH College of Business Administration Executive MBA program in Honolulu, who is managing the distance learning technology for the program and doing research for his Ph.D. at the same time.
808-284-2007, lins@stkhi.com

Prof. Roger H. Ford in Vietnam. Program co-director for HSB in Hanoi. He can coordinate interviews with the program participants listed below.
844-768-0456, Ford@hsb.edu.vn

Program Participants


Mr. Le Tuan, overseas Vietnamese, managing director of Harvey Nash (a software business based in Belgium).
Office telephone 84-4-8342050, mobile phone: 84-091-323-6691, t-le@hn.vnn.vn

Mr. Thaddeus Hostettler, American, country manager of US Vietnam Trade Council.
Office telephone: 84-4-8223653, thaddeus_hos@yahoo.com

Mr. Greg Wong, American, Commercial AttachŽ, US Embassy in Vietnam.
Office telephone: 84-4-8314650 (x117), mobile phone: 84-090-348-8885, thewongster@hotmail.com

Mr. Phan Dao Vu, Vietnamese, Deputy General Manager, Indovina Bank (a leading joint venture bank in Vietnam).
Office telephone: 84-4-8260184, mobile phone: 84-090-341-3085, phandaovu@hn.vnn.vn

Ms. Ha Thi Thu Thanh, Vietnamese, General Manager, Vietnam Auditing Company (a leading State auditing company under the Ministry of Finance).
Office telephone: 84-4-8521117, mobile phone: 84-091-321-6128, hatthanh@hn.vnn.vn

Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Hai, Controller cum. Hanoi Branch Manager, Electrolux Vietnam Co. Ltd. (Electrolux is the world's leading manufacturer of household appliances).
Office telephone: 84-4-8574882, mobile phone: 84-090-344-6569, electrolux@hn.vnn.vn

Mr. Benjamin Webber, American, Program Officer, Fulbright Program, Institute of International Education.
Office telephone: 84-4-971-0231, ben@rapid13.org