Submitted by Carl Stewart on the 2022 winter session program in France sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics…
My second week in Paris was very rewarding as I explored more about the BUAD391 ideas of a trade mission to create a multinational sport company. Several UD students and I were invited to a Paris Basketball team training facility to watch a practice and learn more about how the club is becoming one of Europe’s best teams. The team already has NBA prospects and can be a developing team to send even more players to the NBA.
Working closely with the Paris Basketball club staff and our Sorbonne Nouvelle partners, I witnessed how culture influences brands, businesses, and organizations. Understanding the culture of a country is crucial for a business to work effectively with specific cultural forces to get a strategic and competitive edge. It also helps to build authentic friendships and connections. We had a seminar on French entrepreneurship that examined cultural differences between countries. I learned that French workers are much more accepting of authoritative bosses than U.S. workers. The French see quality of life as a sign of success, rather than being competitive, achievement-oriented, or best in class. They are more likely than U.S. society to seek gratification and enjoy life, rather than to control impulses and spending. They also have more of long-term orientation and like to adapt French history and traditions to novel ventures.
Preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics are everywhere, and one of the tours that our group took was called the Belle Epoque tour that highlighted the Paris 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) which was an excellent example of globalization. We talk so much about globalization now as if it was a new concept, but the Exposition Universelle 133 years ago had just about anything one could hope for to learn about commerce, STEM, fine arts, and to explore the pavilions from many countries.
Other highlights of the program this week included a visit to the Louvre, a food tour of Saint-Germain-des-Près where I enjoyed some of the best food of my life, and a tour of Épernay in the province of Champagne. Épernay is surrounded by vineyards and is home to the world’s most famous champagne houses. However, France is not just a world capital for its culture, cuisine, and champagne. We also had a seminar on how France is leading the world in developing more sustainable standards for aeronautics, including reducing carbon emissions, lowering noise and air pollution, and meeting the demands of a younger generation who have clear green preferences.
