(1) Professor Gupta’s academic course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

We have already started applying many different concepts to different hypothetical corporate decisions and methods. We have currently glazed over free markets and globalization. And learned about the famous Adam Smith and his theories, and concerns. One example is called “the man of the system, which definitely helps control a large group of people and so forth. Since a person in power is able to pour their beliefs onto another person until they become pieces of a game, similar to chess. From those Adam Smith videos and the globalization readings we also learned that free markets promote competition and may put some companies at either an advantage and very low disadvantage. 

 

(2) Professors Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar 

During this week we discussed the CAT (cultural Analysis tool) which I loved because it measures and explains why a person does what they do and their values and perception of a situation. Which helped me understand why someone might work better in a certain environment than me and if it’s a matter of being better or is there room for improvement of those skills as well. I learned that it’s a bit of both at least in the beginning. 

I also learned that there are two types of people and that some are coconuts and others are peaches. Professor Swain acknowledged that Italians tend to be coconuts, when you have to crack open the hard shell to get the person to be all soft and comfortable with you. While Americans tend to be peaches, because they might be soft on the outside by being sociable and friendly to strangers yet they do not reveal their deeper selves until they are comfortable with you which is the inside pit. 

 

(3) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company, 

I felt this week went a lot better than last week because I was more confident in the position and more productive. The first week I think I was very nervous of what the other co workers thought of me. Also I felt I needed to be perfect with every task, or otherwise my boss would think I was lazy. Yet I learned that this is not the case because I must learn to not only be efficient with my given tasks but also balance time with taking many breaks to socialize with my boss, co workers, and even the students if possible. I learned that both are just important to one another because they affect one’s perception of you. I am happy to know that once I told my boss I’m ready to get my research list checked she said she will give me the next steps for the next task and I’m pretty excited because I get to start out reaching other schools and promoting MKS to other schools! 

 

(4) Social and Cultural immersion through travels in Italy and Europe.

Week 3 entailed tons of new activities, mostly at the end of the week. I attended the wine tasting and that was pretty interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed learning about the different types of wine, what the ages of wine mean, and how to hold the glass. I never knew the basics before so I feel more comfortable with the new knowledge. I also went to Rome this weekend and felt the vibe was way different than Milan. Being that I just saw the crowded tourist spots in Rome, I’m not sure how accurate my opinion of this city is compared to Milan. However, in terms of the tourist area I’m grateful to have seen the historic buildings and learn more about the history of the Roman empire, yet I still prefer Milan because it seems more updated with modern technology and pacing. Given that I’m from NY Milan’s pacing feels more like home. My next weekend trip will be in Florence and I’m really interested in art so I’m super excited to see the statue of David!

(1) Professor Gupta’s academic course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

I focused on my WSJ this week and the themes on automotive environmental conservation, but also corporate ethics on how they treat their employees and the consumer buying the product. I could connect this to cars and transportation, but I’m actually more interested in the relation with cigarettes and water bottles. I was surprised to learn that not only do locals here smoke a lot but it appears it’s more of a social interaction (and possible addiction too). Walking on the street some of them are smoking in the restaurants and then throwing the buds on the street. For a country so focused on environmental conservation why are all ages smoking but then throwing  garbage on the floor. I find this contradicting to the overall green message Italy sends publicly.  (also walking on the street some of them blow smoke in my face so I’m not sure if that’s normal but it’s odd). 

Also in terms of public plastic use I see everyone buying plastic water bottles on the street and in stores. I asked locals where to buy a reusable metal water bottle and they looked at me weird. Apparently many said they don’t use reusable water bottles here, but they did give me possible places to get one. I was surprised to learn that some bought reusable water bottles from the U.S. I’m wondering if the system is better at recycling here so that’s why stores don’t offer many reusable water bottles, but why don’t more companies produce more metal water bottles if they want you to be greener. The observations I’ve made just confuse me because why are the water bottle companies producing excess plastic bottles for people to throw away and the same with cigarettes. It’s questionable that the cigarette companies know that Italians heavily use cigarettes in social interactions and further exploit that. 

(2) Professors Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar 

In our first class I learned a ton about social customs and expectations. I originally didn’t know about the never get a cappuccino after breakfast thing or never tip or how essential getting lunch is in the workplace too. My boss and co-workers tend to take lunch very seriously but tend to not pressure me to eat with them. I did show more interest in eating with them once I asked my boss directly what do people at the school do for lunch because I clearly didn’t know the type of work culture here yet. She then literally introduced me to the whole office and showed me where the fridge/microwave was, and where to get lunch on the street. And she said and I quote “Next week you pack your lunch and eat with us in the break room”. I found that interesting because it’s like a switch flipped and then all these new invitations popped up. Communication was definitely one of the themes we discussed in the class and now I understand thoroughly how important that is especially in social situations here. 

(3) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company, 

My task this week and the following ones are to build my list of schools on excel sheets and then  outreach schools.Thus promote the MKS Fashion School and their other agencies. I have to get my list checked before I can start out reaching schools, because I’m supposed to avoid large universities. I realized the research for the schools are more complicated than I originally believed because specific characteristics and strengths for the schools are easy yet the school sizes are usually too big. The search for schools who focus on building technical skills are pretty very narrow, so I have to keep looking deeper. 

I also noticed that my co-workers and boss are very happy when I express interest in not only the company but other themes related to the school. For example, I happened to attend outside of the school. The MKS school work culture appears to be a very social work ethic. They do their work diligently but genuinely love to chat and get up for breaks a lot during the work day. Which is probably healthier than U.S. work culture, because Italians seem so much more embracive of being in the moment during breaks. For these reasons if I’m able to work on both building relationships with them and strengthening my research skills there I will do well.   

(4) Social and Cultural immersion through travels in Italy and Europe.

Learning more Italian in the brief Italian course has proven to be helpful on a general level. Yet felt trickier when using it to communicate with fluent Italians which really proved how necessary it is to keep practicing. Then on Saturday me and the Lehigh group took a hot and cold (the bus driver kept turning the AC on and off so it was either 30 degrees or 90 degrees every 10 mins) 3 hour bus trip to the Alps and honestly it wasn’t what I expected. The zipline activities incorporated themes of adventure, beauty and comedy. It was hilarious when people were swinging all the way to the other tree and then missed the tree, thus swinging in the middle of the zipline/all the way back and sometimes got stuck (idk maybe I have dark humor). I think the beautiful mountain view made getting stuck worth it. 

Then the mountain hiking trip was so fun and later crazy, because the views of the mountains were incredible because one mountain had evergreen trees/terrain and another had snowy tops. Even the green moss on the trees were so vibrant and colorful compared to the U.S. Later on there appeared a ton of snow and mud everywhere which made it super slippery to walk. Everyone really wanted to see the lake but there was this whole path covered by snow which was very steep and one wrong step and you slid down the mountain. Not everyone was able to walk to the other side of the mountain for understandable reasons. I’m not entirely sure if I’m lucky that I got to crawl across the trail to that frozen lake because it was dangerous. In any case the view was beautiful on both sides and I’m glad I got to experience the adventure. Overall everyone seemed to have a good time despite certain hardships.    

(1) Professor Gupta’s academic course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),

The first week of classes did not technically include Professor Gupta’s academic course on Corporate Social Responsibility. However these themes present themselves all over Milan’s daily activities on the physical streets, downtown, city centers, and more. Outside Milano airport on day one I immediately noticed the increase of bikers, personal bikes chained/stationed (near buildings), and tons of rental bikes scattered across Milan. Compared to NYC which also houses many rental bikes and bike riders as well, it did not live up to Milan’s immersed bike culture.   Most locals seemed to walk everywhere, ride their bikes, and take the stuffy communal tram on the surface. In addition the bike lanes were even painted clearly on some sidewalks, despite most bikers riding all over the place.The local people appeared to accept this energy controvation as an established norm that everyone was expected to follow. So far many Milan transportation companies fulfilled this social responsibility to conserve and maintain the go for green energy. 

 

(2) Professors Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar 

Well being twenty eight minutes late to the Professor Swain and Gupta’s Internship seminar on the first day, due to missing the tram twice, panicking, and then getting delayed by fifteen minutes did not pan out well at all. However, like Professor Swain mentioned in class, time scheduling/planning is key, and communication is essential in the workplace to mold your superior’s perception of you. Everything we learned about in class was incredibly helpful (learning about symbolic coffee breaks, self advocating/communication, language barrier, lunch breaks, etc) and even more so after truly experiencing one of the ironic key points of managing time. I believe learning the new social customs and how to present yourself in a foreign workplace is truly valuable information. Providing the interns with mental tools to keep in mind while navigating their internship hands on. I agree that social awareness and advocating for oneself in the workplace is just as dominant as learning essential educational skills as well. If you can’t work with others but get the job done to perfection, who’s to say someone may come along and do it better simultaneously.   

(3) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company, 

Considering I only attended MKS Milano Fashion school once yesterday, it did not entail a ton of major assignments yet. My superiors just gave me a building tour and went over a variety of details involving interdisciplinary tasks that involve research and analysis of schools/companies in the U.S. that match our characteristics/interests and are interested in collaborating with MKS. Furthermore a mixture of documentation/reporting (with records of lists)  and cultural exchange (present/promote cultural exchange internationally with partner companies) all entail that I’m basically promoting this school abroad mainly to the US partners to increase diversity for MKS’s student body and make it more well known abroad. Currently I was only tasked with learning more about the school on their website before getting started. In terms of my social experience, well the language barrier is something I knew in concept but not something I truly realized until I used google translate for fifty percent of my questions. Also the computer I’m supposed to use was completely in Italian and it took me almost an hour to change it to english. I was originally  unsure if that was an ignorant question for help, but now I know that I should embrace all questions and take initiative more. I noticed that they literally don’t tell you what your next tasks are in one sitting, while Americans dogpile all the information at once. There are no spoon feeding methods and you must ask for guidance when needed. Otherwise they let you be free thinking you know what to do while the directions may not be entirely clear. I guess always asking is key. Another difference is that fifty percent of the people in the school including the students either dress pretty nice or way more casual than me with an artsy/edgy vibe. I was truly surprised by this amount considering it is a fashion design school and I thought fashion expectations would be higher. Considering a fancy sweatshirt was the bottomline here, it was not even close to what Americans consider casual outfits (the milano outfit bar was still objectively high). Lastly, after asking my coworker a million questions on google translate. I learned that lots of people pack/eat their lunch in a designated room or are free to just eat out. But in any case I unfortunately forgot to pack lunch so that was a missed opportunity that day. 

 

(4) Social and Cultural immersion through travels in Italy and Europe.

I have visited many restaurants and cafes in Milan, but unfortunately cannot pronounce the names of them. All of the food has been delicious, yet very late and long meals. It’s very interesting that the breakfast is so small and it’s pretty difficult for me to stay full for those meals since I’m an athlete and used to fueling during all meals (or at least two massive meals with a third small meal per day). Also the dinners are double the time of American meals and even the waiter moves slower to each table. I find myself feeling awake eating late at night and then trouble sleeping after my meals at times. However I guess this is part of the adjustment process. I also traveled to Lake Maggiore and could not believe how clear and beautiful everything was. The views were something you hope to get off the internet to put as a wallpaper image on your laptop. Yet now I can just look outside and appreciate the beauty in person and it’s ten times better than the internet’s wallpaper image. I’ve never been so grateful to travel here and immerse myself in another culture and their natural environment gems.  

Photos not in order but it’s labeled with their section number:

    

My expectations and interest for Professor Gupta’s academic course on Corporate Responsibility fall under the ethics within Corporate Social Responsibility. How companies function and make decisions based on their environments and ethics. Along with the cultural differences that impact the creation and evolution of a corporation. How the political and economic factors not only shape a company/corporation, but really alter their choices in regards to new and recurring Global issues. I’m also really interested in hearing other people’s perspectives (different from my own) on controversial topics, since it adds on to all the detailed sides of an opinion on the topic. I know I will be challenged in this class, but I welcome the challenge, since it will benefit me in the business world. 

I look forward to taking Professor Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar. I’m not sure what to expect specifically, being that this is my first official Internship. I hope to acquire better interviewing skills and general skills to read financial information, and analyze/compare data. Also I think it’s very important that I’m learning best strategies and workforce practices, and thus am able to successfully apply them to my internship. I will feel more confident and prepared with both these combined experiences. Should I need advice or have questions regarding the internship I have extra support/options. 

The internship will be a great opportunity to gain a perspective on the Italian culture side compared to the American culture perspective. By interacting and ultimately observing the process of an EU business and thus comparing it to Western and Eastern countries. I also intend to put my Global Studies critical thinking and interpersonal skills (D1 Rowing/being on a team) to use and now in a more professional setting, (whether its group work or tasks, etc). Balancing my schedule is something I’m still working on today, but ultimately is nothing new. The workload of class and athletics are challenges that I face daily and especially in season. However I face those challenges head on and I plan to do the same in Milan (for classes and the internship). 

I have only been to Italy once and as a baby, and now have the opportunity to return. I’m excited to learn and immerse myself in a new culture. Milan happens to be one of the capitals of fashion, and is known for their advanced technology designs immersed with historically legendary art and architecture. All are personal loves of mine and I’m incredibly excited to see it in person, through personal exploration and group travels. I plan to make time outside of classes and the internship to do this and use my Italian language class as best I can. I do not speak Italian yet, but I am willing to learn and use this as an opportunity to communicate with the locals. Or at least try my best.