SPRING BOSTON UNIVERSITY STUDY ABROAD PADUA Via Dimesse 5 int Padua Italy Tel

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1 BOSTON UNIVERSITY STUDY ABROAD PADUA Via Dimesse 5 int Padua Italy Tel SPRING 2016 Course: CAS EC 497 INTERNSHIP IN BUSINESS/ECONOMICS Instructor: Prof. Gadi Luzzatto Voghera Instructor mail: luzzatto@bu.edu Office hour: Thursday 9-11am Class schedule: Twice a week (weeks 1-8, Wednesday 11.30am- 1pm, Friday 11am am) hours x 3 tutorial meetings + 3 individual tutorial meetings (weeks 8-16) during work time Course Value: 4 credits COURSE DESCRIPTION The Internship in Business/Economics course has been designed to introduce students to the Italian market and business environment from historical, political and economic perspectives, and to contextualize the internship into both a European and a local view. During this course students will learn about the historical development of the Italian industry and market from post- war Italy to nowadays, and the political, economic and financial implications and relations inside Italy, and between Italy and the European Union. Students will learn about institutions and trade unions as interlocutors in the market environment; types of companies, jobs, contracts and policies as well as labor rights and behavior, and also about the cultural component as a relevant part of the work environment. Through readings, discussions, group assignments and visits to local institutions and companies, students will build the necessary knowledge and communicative skills to live a truly effective work experience. The Internship class course includes weekly reading assignments, four 2- pages reports and 2 visits. Students are expected to attend class and to actively participate in class debates and discussions making personal reflections on class topics and asking questions, expressing curiosity or doubts or asking for explanations. In addition to this, the Internship course provides a 4.5 hours group tutorial + 3 individual meetings during the working period in an Italian company. Tutorials are provided to students to discuss their work experience, putting it in relation with the previous class contents, trying to analyze their workplace, through group discussions and a written reflective weekly Log that will be based on the attendance at the internship workplace. Individual meetings are devoted to monitor progress on the final project. As a conclusion of the Internship, students are expected to present a written final project and defend it orally in front of the group. The Internship placement is provided by the Internship Office of the Università di Padova, Department of Economics and Management. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Internship course is built to provide a better awareness of the importance of the Italian historical, economic, political, financial and cultural context to better integrate in the workplace; a better comprehension of the role that Italy plays in the global economy; the necessary knowledge

2 to have a successful work experience in an Italian workplace; a point of reference for the transfer of academic concepts and skills to/from a workplace setting. GRADING CRITERIA Participation/Attendance/Completed reading assignments 20% 4 written 2- page reports 20% Group discussions 10% Weekly Log 10% Written final project (10-12 pages) 30% Final project oral defense 10% 2- page written reports: there are four short reports that should include the most recent topic learned and discussed in class and show the reflective and comparative intellectual perspective of each student. Reports should refer back to class materials. Group discussions: students are expected to actively participate in debates and discussions proposed by the instructor through readings and class activities and are asked to interact giving examples, making comparisons, analysis, inquiries with an objective critical behavior. Weekly Log: this is based on student attendance at the workplace, and their reflections on the experience. Students will maintain a written weekly Log that should include information and reflections about travel, work, colleagues, and any social aspects of the internship. The weekly Log is not a personal diary but a reflection that students write going behind the surface of their experience, referring back to previous class readings and discussions (e.g. in class we learned that/about., at the workplace I observed this situation that reflects this topic treated during the class). Indicative length for weekly Log is 1,500 words. Written final project: on week 15 students will turn in a final project. The final project will describe the job experience during the internship. As the result of a serious and rigorous academic inquiry, the final project should well connect the internship experience with the readings and the cultural reflections studied in the first 8 weeks of the Internship course. Indicative length is pages. Final project defense: on week 16 students will be required to give a 15/20 minute oral presentation on their final project in front of the group. All written work, including reports, Log and the final project, will be typed, double- spaced, written in Times New Roman 12, numbered and stapled. Bibliography Copy pack + handouts + websites David Forgacs and Robert Lumley eds., Italian Cultural Studies. An Introduction, Oxford Univ. Press 1996 John Foot, Modern Italy, Palgrave McMillan 2003 Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter, Communication Between Cultures, Wadsworth 2001 Nick Carter, Modern Italy in historical perspective, Bloomsbury 2010

3 Out of the shadow: Organising and protecting Domestic workers in Europe. The role of trade unions, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 2005 Immigration How, When, Where: studying the official Vademecum of integration in Italy (Ministry of Labour and Social Policies - Directorate General for Immigration 2011) N. Stame, Household and Small Business Across the Disciplines, Journal of Worlds- Systems Research vol XI n.2 Summer- Fall 2000, pp F. Bindi, Italy and the European Union, Bookings Institution Press 2011 Web resources: Giacomo Becattini, From Marshall s to the Italian Industrial Districts. A Brief Critical Reconstruction Oxford Textbooks online, Theories of European Integration PEW Research Global Attitudes Project, The New Sick Man of Europe: the European Union M. Schindler, The Italian Labor Market: Recent Trends, Institutions and Reform Options, IMF working paper, march 2009, pp.1-24 Selected articles from the following databases in- english version/front- page.shtml europe POLICIES Attendance Boston University Venice students are expected to attend each and every class session, tutorial, field trips, and internship required for the class. Students should note that attendance will be taken into account by faculty when determining final grades. Students absent from class or from workplace for medical reasons need to provide a local doctor s note. Plagiarism Simply stated, plagiarism is taking another s work and presenting it as you own. Definitions of plagiarism frequently include terms such as theft or steal. Plagiarism is, in fact, intellectual theft. It is one of the most serious forms of academic misconduct. Plagiarism committed by a student will certainly result in course failure and may result in suspension or dismissal. For more details please see Boston University s Code of Student Responsibilities: code.html Religious Holidays Boston University s Office of the University Registrar states: The University, in scheduling classes on religious holidays and observances, intends that students observing those traditions be given ample opportunity to make up work. Faculty members who wish to observe religious holidays will arrange for another faculty member to meet their classes or

4 for cancelled classes to be rescheduled. See Chapter 151C of the General Laws, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Disability accommodations If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at to coordinate any reasonable accommodation requests. For more information, please visit:

5 COURSE DETAILS TOPICS January /1.00pm Introduction to the course Course structure. Grading and policies. Class materials, assignments, written reports, final project and presentation. ASSIGNMENTS John Dickie, The Historical Problem of Nationality in Italy, in David Forgacs and Robert Lumley eds., Italian Cultural Studies. An Introduction, Oxford Univ. Press 1996, pp Italy, European Union, Globalization Italy in the International Context: The European Union and the USA Outline January am/1.00pm Post- war Italian History and Economy The peculiarities and historical developments of the Italian industrial system The Economic boom Power point nr 1 January /1.00pm Italy then, and Now? Reflections on the particularities of the development of Italian Industrial District model and its present crisis. Power point nr 2bis European Integration and policies Nick Carter, Modern Italy in historical perspective, Bloomsbury 2010, chapter 8 The post- war Italian economy, pp Reading Giacomo Becattini, From Marshall s to the Italian Industrial Districts. A Brief Critical Reconstruction, pp Forces driving the EU integration. Foundations of the European economic integration; Economic policies to help the EU; Politics of competition and shared industrial politics; EU and the global economic and financial crisis. January 29 - morning European Integration and policies Forces driving the EU integration. Foundations of the European economic integration; Economic policies to help the EU; Politics of competition and shared industrial politics; EU and the global economic and financial crisis. assigned by Instructor from following websites Oxford Textbooks online, Theories of European Integration, chapter 1, pp _chapter1.pdf The New Sick Man of Europe: the European Union, (PEW Research Global Attitudes Project) new- sick- man-

6 Visit to the Veneto Region office in Venice February /1.00pm Italian political Institutions Italian contemporary political and institutional systems Power point nr 3 February am/1.00pm Italian Politics and the Labor Market Italian political culture Influences of Politics on the Labor Market Power point nr 4 February 6 February am/1.00pm Labor and Market in Italy and in the Veneto Region Italian companies size and type The Veneto case: small family businesses Confindustria Outline Lesson nr.7 of- europe- the- european- union/ John Foot, Modern Italy (Palgrave McMillan 2003), chapter 4 Politics pp Michael Eve, Comparing Italy: the Case of Corruption, in David Forgacs and Robert Lumley eds., Italian Cultural Studies. An Introduction, Oxford Univ. Press 1996, pp Program Trip N. Stame, Household and Small Business Across the Disciplines, Journal of Worlds- Systems Research vol. XI n.2 Summer- Fall 2000, pp content/uploads/2013/05/jwsr- v6n2- stame.pdf February am/1.00pm Labor and Market in Italy and in the Veneto Region Presentation of the SIT GROUP srl We ll host a presentation of an important local company confronting their experience to the globalized world of business workplace. Guest speaker: Dr Federico De Stefani (CEO SIT GROUP) M. Schindler, The Italian Labor Market: Recent Trends, Institutions and Reform Options, IMF working paper, march 2009, pp February am/1.00pm Italian Economy and Society Social classes and wealth distribution Employment rate Power point nr 5 February am/1.00pm Cultural differences in the workplace European Managements Cultures, different John Foot, Modern Italy (Palgrave McMillan 2003), chapter 3 Economy and Society pp Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter, Communication Between Cultures, Wadsworth 2001, chapter 7: Cultural

7 behaviors, Negotiation Influences on Context: The Business Setting pp February am/1.00pm European and Italian Economic Policies Overview over the relation between Italian and Economic policies Power point nr 6 February am/2.15pm (due to the Program Field Trip to the Jewish Museum of Padua) Forecast on Italian Economy F. Bindi, Italy and the European Union, Bookings Institution Press 2011, pp. 1-7; Economic forecasts on Italian Economy (changing every month) Students will study and work on different sources dedicated to forecast on Italian Economy. They will be divided in groups that will discuss and present in a public debate the results of their work. February 27 March am/1.00pm Work regulations Power point nr 7 Labor Law and Rights Safety at the workplace Equal Opportunities Trade Unions March am/1.00pm Contractual forms and types Seasonal jobs Temporary jobs Full- time/part- time jobs Power point nr 7 Program Trip Reading assigned by Instructor from following web resource Invitalia, Italy s Labour Law (2007), pp environment/documento240.html Reading assigned by Instructor from following web resource Out of the shadow: Organising and protecting Domestic workers in Europe. The role of trade unions, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 2005, pp pdf March am/1.00pm Time management at the workplace Reading assigned by Instructor from following web resource Work schedule, breaks, meetings, structuring day at work. Exercise on a given questionnaire. March am/1.00pm Interaction at the workplace Cultural Differences Psychological aspects related to work relations Immigration How, When, Where: studying the official Vademecum of integration in Italy (Ministry of Labour and Social Policies - Directorate General for Immigration 2011),

8 Power point nr 8 pp March 16 Presentation of a local company We ll host a presentation of an important local company confronting their experience to the globalized world of business workplace. Guest Speaker To be confirmed March 18 NO CLASS TUTORIAL April 15 Group tutorial 1 Individual tutorial meetings April 29 Group tutorial 2 Individual tutorial meetings May 13 Group tutorial 3 Individual tutorial meetings This is an introductory tutorial. We will discuss about structure of tutorial; assessments, weekly logs, final project and presentation. Discuss experiences at workplace and relate them to material studied in the first 8 weeks of course. Personal tutorial. This tutorial is mainly to discuss your upcoming presentations as well as to share some of your experiences from the internship with your fellow colleagues. Discuss experiences at workplace and relate them to material studied in the first 8 weeks of course. Recap and details concerning Final Project and Final Project Presentation May 25 Deadline to submit the Written Final Project May am Final Project Presentation (oral defense in class)