This week in Professor Gupta’s class, we watched the second half of the documentary, “The Corporation”, and further discussed whether or not corporations have the obligation of social responsibility. This argument is really thought provoking, because both sides have very valid arguments. Should corporations be obligated to attempt to better society, since they are business giants that hold much economic power and say? And if so, who is responsible for deciding what is socially beneficial? Or do corporations benefit society the best by simply operating to do business? All of these questions have very unclear answers, and it is interesting to hear everybody’s different take. I find myself constantly changing my stance as new points keep being brought up. However, I think that the argument for corporations not having the obligation of social responsibility seems to make more logical sense.

 

In this week’s internship seminar class, we further discussed the difference in Italian and American cultures. We discussed how things may be perceived differently in different cultures, due to context behind problems, and different life experiences. Also, differences in approaches to problem solving can lead to miscommunication – this is seen not only in the workplace, but with any communication throughout the day. Language barriers only further add to this, because sometimes things do not translate directly from one language to another. These things are all important to remember when living and working in different countries, because it helps people to be more accepting of other cultures, and leads to less misunderstandings.

 

This week my internship was completely virtual because my boss was on a work trip for the entire week. It was fun to experience being fully virtual because I feel like I got to experience a different method of working in Italy, which has also become a new normal for the country. I realized that being virtual has its own challenges, such as communication struggles and being on the same page as coworkers. However, overall the week was easy and very relaxed – it was nice to get a break from the hour-long commute, especially in the hot weather. Most of the days I sat in Erbert (the cafe next to Aparto) and worked from there. This only added to the fun of working virtually, because most days I got to share my workspace with some stranger’s adorable husky.

 

Last weekend we took the train to Nice, France. It was my first time being in France and it exceeded all expectations that I had. The people were very friendly, the food was amazing, and the beaches were beautiful. The rock beaches were a surprise, and hard to get used to – it’s crazy that rock beaches are so normal here. On the first day here, we spent the day at the Castel beach club, and then went to dinner by the main beach area. The next day was spent shopping, and then dinner by the bay in a different area of town. At night we went to the bar to see a live band. Overall the trip was so much fun, and one of my favorite parts of this whole experience so far! It’s fun to see how different each area is, despite them only being a few hours apart from each other.