Julia Dzurenko's Blog Post #4: Week Ending June 9th, 2024 | 2024 Lehigh-in-Milan with Professor Gupta

CSR Course

This week during the CSR class with professor Gupta, we watched a video called “Morality and Markets” which talked about Adam Smith and his background with the evolution of his ideas. We also got into a discussion from this video about the differences between a free market economy and a command market economy, which are very opposing from each other. As the class discussed these differences, Professor Gupta asked a question that a lot of students were unable to answer, which was what was the ultimate goal of free markets that were envisioned by Adam Smith? We came to realize that it was about the betterment of the citizens and to promote trade and not government intervention. But, the betterment of society and citizens is all subjective for each economy, like North Korea. I asked Professor Gupta a question on whether or not North Korea is a command economy, and the answer was that no matter what North Korea is doing, they’re doing it for the betterment of the people, but their terms and conditions are much different than other economies, which makes it seem that North Korea is a command economy. So, this class was interesting on Monday because it clarified the true definition of a free market economy and a command economy from the clarification of Adam Smith and the video we watched.

Internship Seminar

During Tuesday’s class with Professor Swain and Professor Gupta in the second half of class, two groups (pro and con) debated a case study which had to do with ethics within corporations, but used a story to metaphorically argue this point. From this story of the hikers, the prompt was, the hikers were ethical on the mountain. In this discussion, there were opening and closing statements, as well as arguments that were hard to come up with in a short period of time, but I believe the two sides did a very good job at persuading the audience of their debate. I agreed with the ‘con’ side, that the hikers were not ethical on the mountain. This is because my environment and social standing that I was raised in, and the classes I’ve taken, and the opinions I have developed over my life prompts me to believe that the definition of being ethical matches with the metaphor of bringing the sick man down the hill to become healthier. Although, as we discussed in class, ethics are subjective, and at what point is it ethical to treat the man? Do you bring him to his home, do you wait there to make sure he gets the care he needs, or do you merely just help the man with what you can do to still make it up the mountain and achieve your hike? This served a great point in terms of corporations and with our internships in Italy, to what point are you making ethical decisions, and how does that compare with the other cultures or other corporations that also think they are making ethical decisions?

Internship in Milan with Italian Company

This week at my internship was definitely more clarifying and natural, as last week I was still adapting and trying to understand what my role and task is here. My boss explained to me the background of a market he wants to get into, but wants me to investigate the market and create a business plan for the company. He also mentioned for me to meet with an investor to see what they want from the company, if they are looking for finances and trends up until 2029 (which seems fake), or if they are looking for trends until 2026 (which seems too short term). This is the issue he is running into with investors, but it is hard to decide what to do because each investor asks for different things. Of course, I get a little lost in the economics and business side of things because my major is engineering, but I am starting a minor in business. Later on, my boss was clarifying that my major was economics, and I was shocked. I corrected him and said that is not my major and that it was Industrial Systems Engineering. He was very taken back and was very apologetic because he has been assigning me these business tasks, but he thought that economics was my major all along. This was a surreal experience for me because it was a miscommunication through the language barrier, technology, and even cultural differences, to aid the idea that economics was my major. I reassured him that although I am doing this business work for him, I would prefer to be a part of this sector of the company, rather than the mechanics of the company, and he was okay with that. I also said that I want to help with whatever tasks he needs, since this company is a startup with around 10 employees, so he has a lot more important tasks to do than a business plan.

Social and Cultural Immersion

This weekend, some of us traveled to Florence!! Although there was an IES trip to Lake Como, we made a conscious decision to make our way to Florence instead, and possibly hit Lake Como later in the summer. Florence this weekend was amazing. First on Friday, we took a train 2 hours to Florence and we walked to our airbnb that was a 15 minute walk. It was on the other side of the river than Florence, so right outside of the busyness. On the first day, we walked around through Santo Spirito to look at the leather markets, and other stores over there. As we waited for everyone else to arrive, we just walked around to familiarize ourselves. On saturday we explored the architecture and the famous buildings and statues and took in the history and meaning behind all of them. Before dinner, we decided to walk up to the Michaelangelo with abottle of wine and drink with the sunset, and a view of Florence (apparently this is a must do for Florence!!!). Friday night, we went to the famous restaurant Acqua Al’Due, which had famous blueberry steak, and it was delicious!!! We spent a lot of money on dinner, so they gave us free t-shirts to remember them! Then Saturday for lunch, we stumbled upon a smaller restaurant, and it turned out to be one of the best restaurants we’ve been to because their pasta was incredible. Then on Saturday, there were so many markets to get lost in, so I got a nice leather wallet, as well as new sunglasses, a journal and a new ring. For Saturday Night (last night), we got a reservation at Osteria Pastella. This wouldn’t have been possible if our AirBnB property manager didn’t call up the owner, because she knew him personally, to get 8 of us in at 9:15. It was perfect, and we are so grateful for her kindness to do that for us. The food turned out to be such an experience because they are known for their cheese wheels, and we ordered the truffle pasta, with sauce made in the cheese wheel. We also got steak, and they gave us complimentary champagne, and a complimentary shot of dessert wine. All in all, that restaurant was very personable and friendly, with great food all around. Today, we are heading back to Milan, but first stopping at the Santo Spirito markets that they have every Sunday.