Step into the world of ethical leadership with Professor David Hagmann at HKUST. By merging psychology, ethics, and economic models, Professor Hagmann delves into the driving forces behind human actions and decisions.  

Professor David Hagmann, Assistant Professor of Department of Management, HKUST Business School  

Discover how Prof. David Hagmann's expertise in responsible leadership and behavioral economics equips MBA students to tackle the challenges of today's business world and leave a lasting impact on the global stage.  

Professor Hagmann, who teaches our Responsible Leadership & Ethics course, was attracted to behavioural economics by surprise, “I initially wanted to become a lawyer. But in Switzerland, where I grew up, I also had to study economics. And in many ways, behavioural economics was a fascinating subject because there're so many predictions you can make about the world based on very simple models.”   

Behavioural economics is way more than theories on paper, and its wide application in every aspect of reality benefits future business leaders with its adaptive, cross-discipline nature. What makes this course so uniquely engaging for its students, Professor Hagmann notes, is that they get to debate intensively on high-pressure situations, build robust strategies through motivated reasoning, and convert disagreements into catalyst for innovation. “Every day we make so many different decisions, and we don't really have time to stop and think about our reasoning. In a class like mine, we can really think about difficult questions in detail and understand the complexities and nuances that otherwise would get lost.”  

Interactive simulations and course content wedded to the real world are critical components of this course. In controversies like tracking against privacy in pandemic emergency situations, or as the class uncovers the dark side of ESG together, students are rigorously tested on their resolve and decision-making processes. “As part of that, students have to come up with ways to do unethical things but make it seem like they're ethical. And, it turns out, students come up with great ideas.” One thing that’s also been very interesting for the students, Professor Hagmann remarks, is that they started to recognize many of those activities taking place through today’s companies.  

With a strong emphasis on the future of work, like many of our other future-forward faculty committed to enlightening innovative business leaders, Professor Hagmann underscores the importance of being a tech-fluent professional in the wake of technology upheavals, “Imagine the advancement of ChatGPT in recent months that maybe a year or two ago we couldn't have predicted. We know that technological change is always happening. And so knowing how to manage people and navigate the changing environment, I think will always be very relevant.”   

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