Field study and short study tour

I just got back from my short study tour to western Denmark. It was organized by my International Business and Economics program(IBE). The idea was to give us some cultural experiences and have us see some Danish businesses. We have an assignment to compare the business strategies of the companies we encountered. I had a great time, learned a lot and met some cool people. However, I could have learned much more and one of the main things I learned was what subjects I have absolutely no interest in.

Our program is around 70 people, so we were divided into three groups. One group got to go to go to Vestas and they wouldn't let me change groups. It became more unfortunate because I was extremely disinterested in the companies I saw. However, the way all these companies do business is probably similar to Vestas, even though their end goal is different, so I probably still got a sense of it. From the three presentations, I am now aware I do not want to go into marketing or business. I am so glad that I am an economics major and nothing else. My Doing Business in the EU class is technically a business class, but it covers a lot of institutions which is why I am interested in it. When looking at Denmark, I was thinking of broadening my horizons by taking some business or marketing classes, but I am so glad I did not. I was talking to some of the other guys on the program about it who have more of a focus on business and they said they like it because it is practical and all case studies. Now I am aware that those case studies don't apply to my future. This also made me realize how lucky I am that I have so many opportunities from my education, so I probably won't have to do the stuff I did not like from these business visits.

On Wednesday, we visited the first business, a large shipping company stationed in Copenhagen. I will not name the businesses by name, since I will not be all that positive. It was interesting to see their strategy of developing expanding markets and dealing with supply issues. The presentation was about two hours and got really repetitive after a point. One thing the speaker repeatedly stressed was the corporate responsibility of the program. My favorite part of the presentation was when a student raised her hand and asked a very specific question of how come the company preached corporate responsibility yet works so closely with certain sketchy oil companies. All the speaker could do was say he was not aware of the specific situation but when he worked in Vietnam, they did not do business with countries with unethical business practices.

After that presentation, a friend and I walked around the harbor. What I find very interesting about the Danish harbor is that from the shore you can see smoke stacks across the water. I find it interesting that none of the harbor attempts to look beautiful, but I guess the harbor wasn't developed so tourists could see how pretty the water is.

On Thursday we left for western Denmark. We took the bus three hours and then took a ferry for 45 minutes. I learned this weekend that Denmark has 406 islands, and of course, Copenhagen is an island. The bus drove onto the ferry and then we got up and went onto the ferry. It was pretty cool.

After a 15 minute drive from the ferry, we arrived at our second company. This company was located in the middle of nowhere and manufactured refrigerator and gas parts. Like the last presentation, the first hour was very interesting and then it dragged on. After an introduction, they took us to the areas where the technicians worked and the assembly lines. It was cool seeing all the phases of production. But, our group was too big, so it was hard to see what our guide was saying about production. This got me thinking that even though I don't want to work for a company like this, they are essential for a flourishing society because of the products they develop. Then we had lunch, which consisted of some interesting sandwiches. Danes seem to not be able to get enough mayo. I ate more mayo on this trip than I probably have in the last year of my life. After lunch, we had about 2 hours of the company telling us all the different ways we could work for them. Despite my lack of interest in business, I was not the only one who had zero interest in this. Even the hardcore business students said they would never work for them. What was interesting was many people did not like the company, not because what they did was uninteresting, but because they treated their employees well for lower pay, rather that firing them all the time. The shipping company made lots of layoffs, while this company chose to have better trained, happy employees, as opposed to a more flexible labor force.

After that company we went to a battlefield where Germany defeated Denmark in 1864. A common theme of the trip: the activity looks really exciting and is not. The battlefield looked cool. We spent two hours there and the tour guide told us fairly obvious facts, like he pointed out that they didn't have photographs in 1864. Really?? We also watched two extremely boring movies. One was basically just a map lighting up a bunch of times and the other was a few pictures and some guy writing a letter. The field trip felt straight out of 8th grade. One of my classmates was into battles, so he said he found it cool.

Then we checked into the hostel. The list for picking hostel rooms started in the front of the bus and moved to the back. I was initially annoyed because there were all these rooms that had one space in them by the time the list got back to my friends. But, it worked out great because I ended up making new friends in my random room. I don't know if I mentioned this in a previous post, but I basically hang out with foreigners and people from my kollegium, so it was cool to branch out a little.

That night, I went to dinner with some other people and the tour leaders. It was a nice experience and we got to sit on couches. This was my first sit down meal that wasn't paid for by DIS. Here's why: it cost me $28 for a hamburger covered in mayo, fries and a glass of wine. That is not even expensive for eating out at Denmark. That was probably the best deal possible. As you can imagine, I ate a frozen pizza for lunch the second night.

The next day, we went to a shoe company. This presentation was different from the others because it was more of a marketing approach. Like the other companies, I was initially interested in their strategy and then it became a lot of repetition from a marketing approach. Although I was miserable during this presentation, I am now more aware marketing is not for me. I have limited experience with it, but the idea of getting someone to buy a product they might not really want isn't for me. Of course, marketing is also out there so people can make the best choices, but trying to manipulate people like that is not up my alley. We also saw the offices where they developed their shoes, which was cool. Afterwards, they provided us with a buffet. It was the best food I had in Denmark.

After that company visit, we to a Viking museum in Ribe. Sounds awesome, right? Our group was too big for me to hear the tour guide and the museum was fairly unspectacular. One note: don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the opportunity to explore other parts of the country and the opportunity to see different businesses. However, from my travel and academic experiences, I expect to be interested and engaged by my surroundings, so it is a little frustrating when I'm not.

Anyway, the tour guide was very long-winded and also showed us around the town. It was unfortunate because it was freezing, so it was hard to be patient while he spoke. It was interesting hearing about the history of the town and the changes it underwent during the Reformation.

Today, we went to a modern art and Danish design museum. It's funny, I was happy to finally not have a boring tour guide, but I really want someone to explain Danish design and modern art to me. I guess I will have to research it a little on my own to understand it.

We took a different route home today and did not take the ferry. When I got home, I had an email waiting for me from U Penn. They accepted me to take a summer class this summer. I was fairly certain I would get in, but if I did not, it would have complicated me graduating on time. From being abroad so long, I'm a little behind on some classes I need for my major. So, it is a huge relief to know I'll get all the classes I need.