Italy-economy observations
Hey KFG,
It’s great to see all the development of the club this semester. I have been studying in Italy at the John Cabot University in Rome. It has been great-I'm learning about and experiencing a whole new culture. Here are some of the observations I've made about Italy's economy and business culture, and their contrasts to the US.
Italians are laid back and enjoy life! Every day, for a few hours, Italians take off work to eat a huge lunch and rest. Quite inconvenient if you need to go to a bank or do some errands! There are also several of homeless people and beggars in Rome, many of whom look quite healthy and able to contribute to society.
Italy's economy has been stagnant, especially since the Euro was introduced. The euro has made manufactured goods and commodities expensive and therefore exports have not experienced any growth. Italy's famous fashion and car industries are still successful since they produce price insensitive products-although they only account for a mere 2% of the economy.
The expensive euro and small amount of price insensitive industries in Italy have contributed to its inability to exploit economies of scale. 90% of Italian companies have an average of 10 employees. There is no Wal-Mart or anything close! This makes many goods relatively expensive-for instance the cheapest high-liter I could find was EU2.50.
What is great is that there is an endless amount of mom-and-pop stores with high quality products. Dining in Italy is fabulous and there is endless nightlife. Nothing beats Italy's tourist industry as well. Rome has such a fascinating history, that it often competes with modernity. For instance, there is always tons of red tape to cut through before any "modern" building can be built in Rome.
I hope this gives you a little window into Italy and its business culture and economy. I would definitely recommend studying here for anyone who is considering it. Feel free to shoot me emails at Jesse.Phillips@american.edu. I plan on posting stories on the blog in the future. If anyone has any ideas for what would be interesting to post let me know.
It’s great to see all the development of the club this semester. I have been studying in Italy at the John Cabot University in Rome. It has been great-I'm learning about and experiencing a whole new culture. Here are some of the observations I've made about Italy's economy and business culture, and their contrasts to the US.
Italians are laid back and enjoy life! Every day, for a few hours, Italians take off work to eat a huge lunch and rest. Quite inconvenient if you need to go to a bank or do some errands! There are also several of homeless people and beggars in Rome, many of whom look quite healthy and able to contribute to society.
Italy's economy has been stagnant, especially since the Euro was introduced. The euro has made manufactured goods and commodities expensive and therefore exports have not experienced any growth. Italy's famous fashion and car industries are still successful since they produce price insensitive products-although they only account for a mere 2% of the economy.
The expensive euro and small amount of price insensitive industries in Italy have contributed to its inability to exploit economies of scale. 90% of Italian companies have an average of 10 employees. There is no Wal-Mart or anything close! This makes many goods relatively expensive-for instance the cheapest high-liter I could find was EU2.50.
What is great is that there is an endless amount of mom-and-pop stores with high quality products. Dining in Italy is fabulous and there is endless nightlife. Nothing beats Italy's tourist industry as well. Rome has such a fascinating history, that it often competes with modernity. For instance, there is always tons of red tape to cut through before any "modern" building can be built in Rome.
I hope this gives you a little window into Italy and its business culture and economy. I would definitely recommend studying here for anyone who is considering it. Feel free to shoot me emails at Jesse.Phillips@american.edu. I plan on posting stories on the blog in the future. If anyone has any ideas for what would be interesting to post let me know.
posted by Jesse Phillips at
1:08 PM
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