In our CSR class this week we reviewed videos about Adam Smith and how he developed the free market ideals through observing human behavior. Through the video we learned that the free market is a system that operates with minimal government intervention, and rather prices are determined by consumer decisions. Prices in the market fall and rise in accordance to demand, so as prices rise, this can infer demand is exceeding supply and vice versa. The free market is often viewed under moral and immoral perspectives. The moral perspective states that the free market allows individuals to make their own economic choices which can be seen as a basic human right. It also states that the free market is the most efficient way at generating wealth which leads to economic prosperity. On the contrary, the immoral perspective states that the free market creates large gaps between the rich and the poor which leads to social inequalities. While the arguments on both sides are very valid, I still believe the free market is the best option because it is the most efficient method and provides the most sufficient level of economic well being.
For this week’s Internship Seminar class we spent the majority of our time reviewing the ethical dilemma case study, “The Parable of Sadhu.” In this story we learn about a group of hikers who are extremely passionate about their three month hiking trip through the Himalayas. While on this ruthless journey a dying sadhu is dropped in their hands and they have to decide if they want to sacrifice their trip or help this man in need. I can see both sides of this ethical choice, it is a big deal for the hikers to give up their trip and they technically did help to a certain extent, however, my personal opinion is that they acted unethically. I believe that you should put yourself first in many situations but I do not think this particular scenario qualifies. Although I think the Sadhu made a selfless decision to take a harder route and it is not entirely the hikers responsibility to take care of him, if a dying man is left in your hands I think ethically, putting his life over continuing a hike is more important. Only one group member wanted to help the holy man but group pressures led him to give in and agree with the group mentality. This shows how staying true to your own morals is extremely important when making hard decisions and to not let social pressure dictate decision making. Overall, the story highlights the significance of prioritizing ethical considerations rather than having tunnel vision to your own personal goals and remembering to value your own morals without letting external pressures get in the way.
This week of my internship was pretty similar to the first. To kick off the week my boss had me finishing up and adding to my task from the previous week which included researching potential sponsors and adding their name and other important information to an excel spreadsheet. Once that assignment was completed I moved on to using Google Trends to research specific areas and key words that stuck out to that geographical location relating to our brand and coconut powder. I logged all of this information into a new excel spreadsheet along with graphs that display trend lines in an organized manner. This task allows my boss to review the information I found and understand which words pop out to people the most in relation to Suitefood so she can market better to certain populations.
On Tuesday I got the opportunity to attend a Lana Del Ray concert. It was a last minute, spur of the moment decision, we got our tickets hours before we attended the actual concert. This was my first time going to a concert and it was definitely a great first experience! The set up of the venue was fully outside surrounded by boots selling food, drinks, and merchandise. It was really interesting to examine and interact with the crowd because we were pretty much the only non-Italians there. People were very friendly and eager to converse. I got the opportunity to chat with a group of girls while in line for the bathroom where I got to test out a couple of the new Italian phrases we learned in class. It was an overall wonderful experience and I am so glad I got the chance to attend a Lana concert, especially in Milan.
