This week we began Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course. We read many interesting articles for class. For Monday, we read about the future of de-globalization and the implications that different outcomes have. For Wednesday, we read about the ways in which market capitalism is disrupted and how businesses have a role in implementing strategies that mitigate the dysfunctions of current market capitalism. It is easy for me to think that the government should be responsible for solving the issues of market capitalism, but this reading made me realize that businesses are more likely to create change. The final reading we had covered how startups are becoming more reluctant to go public because of the success they have with private investors. This is related to my WSJ article about Fearless Fund, an investment group that created a program to give grants to Black startup owners so they can grow their businesses. In class on Monday, we watched a documentary about Adam Smith and his ideas about free market, morals, and self-interest. I was able to work with my group to discuss our thoughts about the videos and better understand what Adam Smith’s intentions were with regards to the market. In class on Wednesday we watched the second part of the documentary on Adam Scott and discussed case studies in groups. My group studied a situation in which an older woman got scammed $700,000, and her banks did not detect a scam. The bank allowed the transfer to go through. Although I do not think the bank should have to detect scams, I do think they should be responsible to reimburse the member.    

For Professor Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar class, we started by discussing our own Personal Cultural Profiles. I was able to hear more about my classmates’ opinions on their own practices. We also continued discussing what Italian culture is like and how it differs from our own using the Cultural Profile as a guide. Then, we read the Parable of Sadhu and answered guiding questions in groups. My group was chosen to be one of the teams in the debate of whether the hikers in the story made an ethical decision or not. Being a part of the debate was very intriguing as I was able to express my own opinion in front of the whole class and answer questions that the other team posed. I realized that it is a good skill to be able to debate on a side, no matter if you agree with it or not. Through this case study, I learned that ethical decisions are not cut and dry. It can be very difficult to decide what is the correct thing to do in certain circumstances. At first, I automatically thought that the hikers were not ethical. However, as I heard more opinions, I was able to see the other side more.   

In my internship this week, I focused on creating more content that Emmanuela can use to launch SuiteFood to the US market. Emmanuela expressed her interest in launching SuiteFood on Kickstarter as a way to fundraise. Through this internship, I have learned that it is more difficult to grow and start businesses in Italy than the US. There are more restrictions and less opportunities to fundraise in Italy, so Emmanuela is looking to enter the US market as best she can. I created multiple scripts for videos that we can use to launch the product on Kickstarter. It will be interesting to look at how much Kickstarter helps the company. On Thursday and Friday, I researched other products on amazon that were similar to SuiteFood’s powder. Emmanuela wanted me to look at the reviews and see what people were saying about competitors’ products. I also used this information to create a target audience for her product. I created a profile for her target customer which consisted of a middle-aged woman who lives in the US and is living a healthy lifestyle through working out and eating well. 

This Thursday, the Lehigh group went to a wine tasting event that was hosted by IES. We were able to try three different wines and learn about them. It was very interesting to learn about all the different wines from Italy. It is truly incredible how much information there is to know about wine. The most important takeaway I had was that I learned the proper way to taste wine, and what different colors, textures and smells will tell you about the wine. This weekend I traveled to Florence. It was a beautiful city that was definitely more crowded with tourists than Milan. I did not realize how important leather is in Florence. I went to multiple markets where the streets were filled with leather bags, coats and wallets. I did not buy anything because I wanted to save my money for pasta. It was well worth it, as the pasta was amazing there. However, my favorite meal was a blueberry steak from Acqua Al Due. I went to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s David sculpture, but the line was way too long and we did not have a ticket. I hope to go back one day where I will get my ticket ahead of time and see the sculpture. My favorite activity in Florence was going on the ferris wheel after dinner. It was a great way to see the whole, beautiful city all at once. I also got a tour of the city in a horse carriage. These are two activities that I would recommend to anyone who visits Florence.