This week in class we explored how the Apple corporation sources many of their primary goods. The unethical conditions of many of their abroad facilities in China and Taiwan have become a large news story over the past decade. In class we debated whether or not the same ethical standards can and should be universally applied. The discussion was very interesting and for a topic with a seemingly obvious answer, when one analyses the true facts of the matter, the answer is not quite so clear. This opens up to the wider discussion of the class where we truly ask whether or not corporations have an obligation to pursue CSR initiatives or if the world would actually be better off if corporations solely pursued profit and let the price system figure out who should remain in business and who deserves to fail. As we come to the conclusion of the course, these questions remain unanswered, however they provide very interesting debate.

At work this week we presented our research on how the company can gain more financial support and how they can increase their social media presence. We had been working on this research for the previous two weeks and the date of the presentation kept getting pushed back by our boss. When she finally was able to come to the office to see it, we presented the work and it seemed to be positively received. She provided us some constructive criticism for the future of this work but was very happy with what we had produced thus far. In the coming weeks Le and I will be doing a cost analysis of the Fondazione to see where we can limit excess spending and generate more funding for the projects and goals that the company wishes to achieve.

 

I had a great week of immersing myself in not just Italian culture but also that of the beautiful country of Germany, and I was lucky enough to be invited to an Afghani restaurant by a friend from the region who I’ve gotten to know throughout the trip. I was able to visit some old family friends which was simply lovely. At the restaurant I visited with my friend Balouch, I got to try authentic Pashto food that we ate family style around the table. It was one of the best meals I have had in my life! Later that week I explored more of Milan and got to go to a new bar with the group. It was right behind our apartment and is relatively unassuming from the outside but the inside was a really cool place. While I was traveling alone through Italy and Germany, I really got to experience the challenges and benefits of independence in a foreign place. Once I arrived I had some authentic Bavarian food and got to spend a lovely weekend in the mountains.