Wednesday, February 23, 2005
My 25-Cents
The Orlando Sentinel, trash rag that it is, has a feature every week called Friday Forum. This is part of their OP-ED section where they ask a question and let the mouth-breathing members of the general public voice their opinion. I decided I need to join these ranks since I can't really publish anywhere else. The question that they asked was:
How would you like to see the state spend $4.5 billion in extra cash it expects in its treasury after a sizzling real-estate market and rebuilding after last year’s hurricanes?
My response:
It is economic blasphemy to think that hurricane repairs cause the state coffers to have “extra” cash. Sure the increase in work saw an increase in tax revenues, but we are failing to see the other half of the story. We aren’t looking at the alternative uses of that money that was spent on repairs. We aren’t seeing the employee that could have been hired, the store that could have been opened, the weekend trip that could have been taken, or the IRA that could have been increased. Keep in mind that an increase in consumption of repair services must also be accompanied by a decrease in consumption of everything else. If you don’t believe that then get together with your neighbors and destroy the windows and roofs in your own neighborhood…the state could use the “extra” cash.
How would you like to see the state spend $4.5 billion in extra cash it expects in its treasury after a sizzling real-estate market and rebuilding after last year’s hurricanes?
My response:
It is economic blasphemy to think that hurricane repairs cause the state coffers to have “extra” cash. Sure the increase in work saw an increase in tax revenues, but we are failing to see the other half of the story. We aren’t looking at the alternative uses of that money that was spent on repairs. We aren’t seeing the employee that could have been hired, the store that could have been opened, the weekend trip that could have been taken, or the IRA that could have been increased. Keep in mind that an increase in consumption of repair services must also be accompanied by a decrease in consumption of everything else. If you don’t believe that then get together with your neighbors and destroy the windows and roofs in your own neighborhood…the state could use the “extra” cash.
Florida's Tax Changes
I was asked to write some comments on Florida's tax change proposals for 2005. Here are my ramblings:
Comments on Florida’s Budget Proposal
Cutting Taxes
One of the biggest misunderstandings of tax cuts is the difference between a reduction in the tax rate and a reduction in tax revenue. Some definitions are in order here before we continue. A tax rate is the percentage rate at which a particular activity is taxed. The tax revenue is the actual amount of money that is generated from the tax on a particular activity. This is a very important distinction because the only thing that a legislator has control over is the tax rate, NOT the tax revenue. When you change the tax rate you also get a change in peoples’ spending and saving behaviors. This change in behavior will also change the amount of tax revenue that is generated. The change in tax revenue that is caused by a change in the tax rate is never fully known until the end of the year when all of the tax has been collected. Any tax revenue numbers that are reported before then are estimations. A decrease in the tax rate can either cause a decrease or an increase in the tax revenue. Just the same, an increase in the tax rate can cause an increase or a decrease in the tax revenue. Here is a possible (and very simplified) example:
The Florida sales tax is raised from 7% to 70%. It could be said that because the tax rate increased tenfold then the tax revenue should also increase tenfold. The reality is that peoples’ spending habits will change to avoid the new tax as much as possible. People will buy less, or they will make more tax-free purchases (Internet purchases), or they will leave Florida for a state with more affordable taxes, etc. In this case it is highly likely that an increase in taxes will lead to a decrease in sales tax revenue because there will be less taxable purchases.
So when we see numbers in the news that say “there will be a $300 million tax cut” those numbers are estimates, but we will never know for sure about the actual change in tax revenue until the end of the year when all funds have been collected.
Impact on Students
One of the proposed revenue increases is a 7.5% increase in the tuition for state school tuition. 7.5% sounds life quite a large increase especially when inflation last year only hovered around 2%. The actual amount that tuition will be increased is only about $224 per year. This number was determined by figuring what a 7.5% increase in UCF’s tuition (not fees) would be for next year. Students can easily offset this tuition increase by taking advantage of the back-to-school 9-day sales tax break by making most of their purchases during this time. Another way that students can offset this increase is to increase their consumption of alcohol and take advantage of the tax repeal on alcohol served at restaurants and bars (a little economic humor there).
Tax Cuts for the “Rich”
When we read about tax cuts for the “rich” we are reading a politically slanted statement generally made by a bias media. The statement “tax cuts for the rich” would look very different if a non-politically biased economist wrote it. The statement would look more like “tax rate reduction implemented on a specific segment of the population in order to stimulate a specific economic action”. It sounds quite bland and probably wouldn’t look very flashy on the cover of the Orlando Sentinel, but we need to look at the reasons for tax cuts through objective economic eyes, not bias political eyes. A reduction in a tax rate will always impact different people in different ways. Some will see the benefit of the change and some will not. The same can be said for the change in government spending. Some will see the benefit of the change and some will not.
Let’s look at the specific tax rate change that was proposed. The proposal was to reduce, by half, the state tax on stocks and bonds owned by investors. Currently, individuals and businesses pay this tax only if they have more than $310,000 of such investments. Married couples pay this tax if they have more than $560,000 of such investments. The term “rich” is quite a subjective term and in this case “rich” would be people who fall into the category of owning stocks and bonds over the said amount. So, then, what possible economic activities could be rewarded from this tax cut? Listed below are some of the POSSIBLE effects:
· A lower tax burden could lead to increased spending because there is more money “in pocket” to spend.
· A lower tax burden could lead to increased saving since there is more money “in pocket” to save.
· A lower tax burden could lead to more investing in stocks and bonds because it is now more profitable to invest in stocks and bonds.
Generally the people who are against tax cuts for the “rich” are the people who do not directly benefit from the tax rate decrease. In this case it is anyone who does not own at least $310,000 in stocks and bonds. Keep in mind that IN GENERAL people accumulate wealth as they progress in life. So the people who do not benefit from this specific tax rate decrease right now will most likely benefit from it in the future. It is a very common financial strategy for retirees to put most of their retirement investment in interest bearing bonds and low risk stocks and, although it sounds like a tremendous amount of money right now, $310,000 is not that much money to survive on if you are retired. Most people (especially students) will need much more than that to sustain their lifestyle when they retire.
Comments on Florida’s Budget Proposal
Cutting Taxes
One of the biggest misunderstandings of tax cuts is the difference between a reduction in the tax rate and a reduction in tax revenue. Some definitions are in order here before we continue. A tax rate is the percentage rate at which a particular activity is taxed. The tax revenue is the actual amount of money that is generated from the tax on a particular activity. This is a very important distinction because the only thing that a legislator has control over is the tax rate, NOT the tax revenue. When you change the tax rate you also get a change in peoples’ spending and saving behaviors. This change in behavior will also change the amount of tax revenue that is generated. The change in tax revenue that is caused by a change in the tax rate is never fully known until the end of the year when all of the tax has been collected. Any tax revenue numbers that are reported before then are estimations. A decrease in the tax rate can either cause a decrease or an increase in the tax revenue. Just the same, an increase in the tax rate can cause an increase or a decrease in the tax revenue. Here is a possible (and very simplified) example:
The Florida sales tax is raised from 7% to 70%. It could be said that because the tax rate increased tenfold then the tax revenue should also increase tenfold. The reality is that peoples’ spending habits will change to avoid the new tax as much as possible. People will buy less, or they will make more tax-free purchases (Internet purchases), or they will leave Florida for a state with more affordable taxes, etc. In this case it is highly likely that an increase in taxes will lead to a decrease in sales tax revenue because there will be less taxable purchases.
So when we see numbers in the news that say “there will be a $300 million tax cut” those numbers are estimates, but we will never know for sure about the actual change in tax revenue until the end of the year when all funds have been collected.
Impact on Students
One of the proposed revenue increases is a 7.5% increase in the tuition for state school tuition. 7.5% sounds life quite a large increase especially when inflation last year only hovered around 2%. The actual amount that tuition will be increased is only about $224 per year. This number was determined by figuring what a 7.5% increase in UCF’s tuition (not fees) would be for next year. Students can easily offset this tuition increase by taking advantage of the back-to-school 9-day sales tax break by making most of their purchases during this time. Another way that students can offset this increase is to increase their consumption of alcohol and take advantage of the tax repeal on alcohol served at restaurants and bars (a little economic humor there).
Tax Cuts for the “Rich”
When we read about tax cuts for the “rich” we are reading a politically slanted statement generally made by a bias media. The statement “tax cuts for the rich” would look very different if a non-politically biased economist wrote it. The statement would look more like “tax rate reduction implemented on a specific segment of the population in order to stimulate a specific economic action”. It sounds quite bland and probably wouldn’t look very flashy on the cover of the Orlando Sentinel, but we need to look at the reasons for tax cuts through objective economic eyes, not bias political eyes. A reduction in a tax rate will always impact different people in different ways. Some will see the benefit of the change and some will not. The same can be said for the change in government spending. Some will see the benefit of the change and some will not.
Let’s look at the specific tax rate change that was proposed. The proposal was to reduce, by half, the state tax on stocks and bonds owned by investors. Currently, individuals and businesses pay this tax only if they have more than $310,000 of such investments. Married couples pay this tax if they have more than $560,000 of such investments. The term “rich” is quite a subjective term and in this case “rich” would be people who fall into the category of owning stocks and bonds over the said amount. So, then, what possible economic activities could be rewarded from this tax cut? Listed below are some of the POSSIBLE effects:
· A lower tax burden could lead to increased spending because there is more money “in pocket” to spend.
· A lower tax burden could lead to increased saving since there is more money “in pocket” to save.
· A lower tax burden could lead to more investing in stocks and bonds because it is now more profitable to invest in stocks and bonds.
Generally the people who are against tax cuts for the “rich” are the people who do not directly benefit from the tax rate decrease. In this case it is anyone who does not own at least $310,000 in stocks and bonds. Keep in mind that IN GENERAL people accumulate wealth as they progress in life. So the people who do not benefit from this specific tax rate decrease right now will most likely benefit from it in the future. It is a very common financial strategy for retirees to put most of their retirement investment in interest bearing bonds and low risk stocks and, although it sounds like a tremendous amount of money right now, $310,000 is not that much money to survive on if you are retired. Most people (especially students) will need much more than that to sustain their lifestyle when they retire.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
The Greatest Game in the World
Graduate level business education can be an ardious task (well....not really). Just like any other "grown-ups" people in the Rollins College AMBA 8 program got sick of each other. We decided that there was a need to quantify the moronic behavior that was ever so prevalent among our classmates. So was born unto the Earth...Fantasy AMBA. The concept was brillant!!! The gane worked just like Fantasy Football. You picked players (classmates in our case) and each of those players earned you points based on their actions (or quirks in our case). I am not going to mention any names, but here are the official actions that earned you points. I would post the scoring spreadsheet, but it was so in depth that I might crash this site. The formatting was a bit ruined in translation, but you can figure it out on your own.
BYLAWS FOR AMBA FANTASY LEAGUE – CONSTITUTION OF POINTS
POINT EARNING ACTION OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Comments with no relevance to discussion The speaking-just-to-speak rule. Includes any comments that do not make a significant addition to the learning experience. Also referred to as the “My cat’s name is Mittens” clause.
Crying There must be actual tears. Lip quivering, flush face, and excessive blinking have been deemed unacceptable and will not earn any points. Points will be earned if subject leaves the room to cry (must be witnessed by at least 2 people).
Shouting The voice must be raised above standard conversational tone and be used to convey anger, disgust or hatred.
Embarrassing/Personal stories This includes anything stories that should only surface after a long night of drinking. This also includes any stories that reveal nicknames revolving around the poultry industry.
Sucking up Includes not only obvious compliments to an individual, but starting any controversial sentence with “I just want to start by saying that I thing this class/article/topic is important…”.
Offending individual The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets another individual and has not been made in a joking manner.
Offending entire demographic group The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets any demographic group who share similar characteristics (see Kotler’s book Marketing Management for a detailed definition of “demographic”).
Offending 50% of class The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets at least 18 students but not more than 30 (see below).
Offending entire class The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets at least 31 people in class.
Fisticuffs in class Points will be awarded for any attempt at physical harm towards another person as defined by the tort of assault. (Note: the generic definition for assault will be used in this case and NOT assault as defined by Florida state law). Assault is defined as the threat of immediate harm or offensive contact or any action that arouses reasonable apprehension of imminent harm; actual physical contact is unnecessary (Cheeseman, Business Law, 2001, Prentice hall)
Fisticuffs outside of class See above-the only difference is that this must occur outside the threshold of the assigned classroom.
Nit-picking Any comments that do not add value to the educational experience and have not yet been mentioned.
Summarizing or adding to someone else’s point We already heard it once, it probably wasn’t worthwhile to begin with, we definitely don’t need it repeated or summarized.
Any reference to CRM/Germany/repetitive point We are here to acquire a plethora of skills and knowledge, hearing repetitive stories does not add to the educational experience.
Reply all OK, there were rules laid out in the middle of the summer. Stick to the rules and no one gets any points.
Brown stamps See the article on Transactional Analysis for a full explanation – at least you can apply something you learned.
Body odor This is Florida, there is PLENTY of water for everyone…USE IT! We are all adults here, hopefully no one will get points for this.
Bad breath See above.
Excessive body language Points will be awarded only for body language that is excessive beyond what is culturally acceptable for the person using the body language (so as not to discriminate).
Inability to convey point If no one can really understand what the hell you are trying to say (note: no points will be awarded for miscommunication/misunderstandings due to language barriers).
Professor “moves on” Points will be awarded when the professor does not even acknowledge the drivel that is being spewed from the offender’s mouth.
Professor is visibly confused Same as above except the professor takes the time to ask what the hell the person was trying to say.
Every question after the second in the same class Do the math – 37 students, 2 questions each…that’s a lot. Limit the questions to 2 per person. Anymore than 2 entails either sucking up or plain stupidity.
Cell phone rings in class Points are only awarded if the phone rings during the scheduled hours of the class (before and after don’t count). Points will also be awarded if people can still hear the phone vibrate.
Obvious stupidity Any comments that make us dumber after we hear them.
Spontaneous outbursts of profanity At least one of the seven original curse words (as defined by George Carlin) must be clearly stated.
Overused taglines What’s going on? Enough said.
Obvious poor fashion Must go beyond wrinkles and stains. The class fashion consultants (Kat and Christa) will make the official calls.
Late for class More than 5 minutes to earn any points.
Audible random noises Includes mumbling, laugh-grunting, desk smacking, and any other non-word noises.
BYLAWS FOR AMBA FANTASY LEAGUE – CONSTITUTION OF POINTS
POINT EARNING ACTION OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Comments with no relevance to discussion The speaking-just-to-speak rule. Includes any comments that do not make a significant addition to the learning experience. Also referred to as the “My cat’s name is Mittens” clause.
Crying There must be actual tears. Lip quivering, flush face, and excessive blinking have been deemed unacceptable and will not earn any points. Points will be earned if subject leaves the room to cry (must be witnessed by at least 2 people).
Shouting The voice must be raised above standard conversational tone and be used to convey anger, disgust or hatred.
Embarrassing/Personal stories This includes anything stories that should only surface after a long night of drinking. This also includes any stories that reveal nicknames revolving around the poultry industry.
Sucking up Includes not only obvious compliments to an individual, but starting any controversial sentence with “I just want to start by saying that I thing this class/article/topic is important…”.
Offending individual The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets another individual and has not been made in a joking manner.
Offending entire demographic group The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets any demographic group who share similar characteristics (see Kotler’s book Marketing Management for a detailed definition of “demographic”).
Offending 50% of class The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets at least 18 students but not more than 30 (see below).
Offending entire class The utterance of any comment in class that visibly upsets at least 31 people in class.
Fisticuffs in class Points will be awarded for any attempt at physical harm towards another person as defined by the tort of assault. (Note: the generic definition for assault will be used in this case and NOT assault as defined by Florida state law). Assault is defined as the threat of immediate harm or offensive contact or any action that arouses reasonable apprehension of imminent harm; actual physical contact is unnecessary (Cheeseman, Business Law, 2001, Prentice hall)
Fisticuffs outside of class See above-the only difference is that this must occur outside the threshold of the assigned classroom.
Nit-picking Any comments that do not add value to the educational experience and have not yet been mentioned.
Summarizing or adding to someone else’s point We already heard it once, it probably wasn’t worthwhile to begin with, we definitely don’t need it repeated or summarized.
Any reference to CRM/Germany/repetitive point We are here to acquire a plethora of skills and knowledge, hearing repetitive stories does not add to the educational experience.
Reply all OK, there were rules laid out in the middle of the summer. Stick to the rules and no one gets any points.
Brown stamps See the article on Transactional Analysis for a full explanation – at least you can apply something you learned.
Body odor This is Florida, there is PLENTY of water for everyone…USE IT! We are all adults here, hopefully no one will get points for this.
Bad breath See above.
Excessive body language Points will be awarded only for body language that is excessive beyond what is culturally acceptable for the person using the body language (so as not to discriminate).
Inability to convey point If no one can really understand what the hell you are trying to say (note: no points will be awarded for miscommunication/misunderstandings due to language barriers).
Professor “moves on” Points will be awarded when the professor does not even acknowledge the drivel that is being spewed from the offender’s mouth.
Professor is visibly confused Same as above except the professor takes the time to ask what the hell the person was trying to say.
Every question after the second in the same class Do the math – 37 students, 2 questions each…that’s a lot. Limit the questions to 2 per person. Anymore than 2 entails either sucking up or plain stupidity.
Cell phone rings in class Points are only awarded if the phone rings during the scheduled hours of the class (before and after don’t count). Points will also be awarded if people can still hear the phone vibrate.
Obvious stupidity Any comments that make us dumber after we hear them.
Spontaneous outbursts of profanity At least one of the seven original curse words (as defined by George Carlin) must be clearly stated.
Overused taglines What’s going on? Enough said.
Obvious poor fashion Must go beyond wrinkles and stains. The class fashion consultants (Kat and Christa) will make the official calls.
Late for class More than 5 minutes to earn any points.
Audible random noises Includes mumbling, laugh-grunting, desk smacking, and any other non-word noises.
Rollins College MBA International Study Trip
Part of the curriculum at the Rollins College MBA program is an international study trip. This trip is used as a cornerstone of the school's marketing campaign. Here is the truth behind the glitz...
INTRODUCTION
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1985) defines the word “propaganda” as “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” I was able to witness the power of propaganda from the time I first heard of our international study trip in June until the time I returned from the trip in January. There were three major subjects of propaganda that I witnessed. These sources were:
• Propaganda about the trip.
• Propaganda about London and England.
• Propaganda about Dublin and Ireland.
These subjects are discussed in more detail throughout the next three sections of this paper.
PROPAGANDA ABOUT THE TRIP
It is not difficult to imagine my excitement when I discovered that the MBA program that I was accepted to included an overseas business study trip as a part of the curriculum. The trip was described so well in the Crummer Graduate School of Business general catalog that is given to all prospective students. The description reads:
“You’ll have the rare opportunity to meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives of premier multinational corporations in countries such as, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, and Hong Kong. On recent International Study Trips, students have visited the headquarters of BMW (Munich), met with senior managers at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (London), and attended a private briefing with a member of the European Parliament (Brussels).”
My excitement mounted as the months passed. All I could think of was “meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives” and “senior managers at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter” and “a private briefing with a member of the European Parliament”. Now I fully understood that our trip would not match the list of highlights from years past, but I did assume that a school as progressive as Crummer would surely execute continuous improvement to all of their programs, and our trip would be the best trip ever. I was ecstatic on the day we finally left for the trip. I could hardly wait to dig in to this engorgement of international business learning.
Seven days later I had a whole different view of this “learning” experience.
The first part of the catalogue description reads, “rare opportunity to meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives…”. Our first outing was to the Jaguar manufacturing plant that was a brisk 3 hour drive from our hotel. At this point, our “rare opportunity” consisted of a 2-hour tour that is run 8 times per day, 5 days per week, and 50 weeks per year (according to our tour guide). That means that this “rare opportunity” only happens 2000 times per year. The “one-on –one” interaction with “high-ranking executives” consisted of a 10-minute video shown by the receptionist and a 1-hour tour given by a retired assembly line worker. We were also privy to a brief conversation with the Jaguar Gift Shop attendant. The following day we toured Lloyd’s of London. Now Lloyd’s was a bit more of a “rare opportunity” since they only run 2 tours per day. Our “one-on-one” interaction here was actually forty-to-one and it was with a semi-retired insurance salesman who knew a lot about the history of Lloyd’s but not much about our group’s relevant business questions. Later that day we spent a pain staking 2 ½ hours listening to a man named John White drone on about the history of Europe. I preferred that class more when it was called World History 1 and I was in 6th grade. When we finally reached Dublin we went to visit Oracle. Here we were treated to a presentation given to all 80 of us by a mid-level trainer in one of their call centers. Again, this is a far cry from “rare opportunity” or “one-on-one” or “high-ranking executive” or “headquarters of…”.
There were numerous other examples of propaganda throughout this entire trip, but these were the most memorable moments .
PROPAGANDA ABOUT LONDON AND ENGLAND
The great English writer, Samuel Johnson, once wrote, “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” (http://www.samueljohnson.com/london.html 3/7/04). Let us examine this quote and how it pertains to the international study trip.
I would consider our MBA class to be mostly classified as “intellectual”. I can also name about 25 students who could not wait to leave London. The London leg of our trip started out with a 3 hour tour of London which was actually a 2 hour trip INTO London followed by a 1 hour tour of the city. The first 2 hours consisted of a long highway drive made even longer by a tour guide who felt that it was her duty to enlighten us with her personal social commentary. Ten hours of travel followed by 2 hours of non-value added time…we were intellectuals who were already sick of London.
The next three days were filled with dirty tube rides, smoke filled bars and restaurants, rude locals, and overpriced food. The Tube is the main form of transportation, and despite its ease of use, it still requires you to stand shoulder to shoulder with the local hooligans who can’t afford cab fare. You are also forced to hold on to greasy handrails that are covered in so much hand funk that they resemble an old Petri dish. My dry cleaning bill was a fortune when I returned home because of the smell of smoke that was entrenched in all of my clothes. Who ever said that Americans are the unhealthiest people obviously never spent time in London. Smoking seems to be the national pastime in London. None of the locals look at you…most don’t even acknowledge your presence. They walk around the streets with their heads hung low like the Deltas from a scene in Huxley’s Brave New World. Yes, after a few days we were tired of London…according to Samuel Johnson, we also must have been “tired of life.”
The final part of Johnson’s quote states that, “there is in London all that life can afford.” He must not have been thinking of the food. The food in London is overpriced and under seasoned. The vegetables are as grey as the noon sky and the prices are astronomical. Luckily we discovered the made-to-eat sandwiched that are sold in most convenient stores. For about $6 you could get some bread with a few veggies and some mayo. They weren’t very tasty, but they were affordable. They were all that my life could afford.
PROPAGANDA ABOUT DUBLIN AND IRELAND
After researching numerous websites about Dublin and Ireland, I came to one with a particular slogan that really struck a sour note with me. The caption on the homepage for tourism in Ireland read, “There’s something of Ireland in all of us,” (http://www.shamrock.org/flash.html 3/6/04). A more accurate slogan would read “There’s something of ours in Ireland.” During the 3 days that I spent in Dublin I saw more things get stolen that I ever had in my previous 29 years on this planet. Our laundry list of stolen items (that was reported) included:
• 1 brand new cell phone
• 1 gold wrist watch
• 300 Euro
• 1 gold pocket watch
• 3 jackets
I was present in a hotel room that had been robbed no more than 1 hour after we had arrived in Dublin. The cunning thief was able to climb into the room through the open window, pilfer what he could, and leave the premises without being detected. Later that evening (after we gathered enough courage to brave the crime ridden streets of Dublin) we had another fellow student get his trench coat and gold pocket watch taken from a pub where there were nearly 25 other students from our group present. Finally, during the second evening, two more students had their jackets stolen…FROM THE HOTEL LOBBY!
Yes, there is definitely something of ours still in Ireland; unless of course everything made its way out of the country on the black market.
EPILOGUE
The propaganda will continue. I have been a personal medium in helping its spread. I volunteer for all of the preview weekends that Crummer hosts for prospective students. I shockingly hear myself describing the trip as “amazing” and “well worth the time”. Hopefully someday this propaganda will become the truth.
INTRODUCTION
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1985) defines the word “propaganda” as “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” I was able to witness the power of propaganda from the time I first heard of our international study trip in June until the time I returned from the trip in January. There were three major subjects of propaganda that I witnessed. These sources were:
• Propaganda about the trip.
• Propaganda about London and England.
• Propaganda about Dublin and Ireland.
These subjects are discussed in more detail throughout the next three sections of this paper.
PROPAGANDA ABOUT THE TRIP
It is not difficult to imagine my excitement when I discovered that the MBA program that I was accepted to included an overseas business study trip as a part of the curriculum. The trip was described so well in the Crummer Graduate School of Business general catalog that is given to all prospective students. The description reads:
“You’ll have the rare opportunity to meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives of premier multinational corporations in countries such as, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, and Hong Kong. On recent International Study Trips, students have visited the headquarters of BMW (Munich), met with senior managers at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (London), and attended a private briefing with a member of the European Parliament (Brussels).”
My excitement mounted as the months passed. All I could think of was “meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives” and “senior managers at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter” and “a private briefing with a member of the European Parliament”. Now I fully understood that our trip would not match the list of highlights from years past, but I did assume that a school as progressive as Crummer would surely execute continuous improvement to all of their programs, and our trip would be the best trip ever. I was ecstatic on the day we finally left for the trip. I could hardly wait to dig in to this engorgement of international business learning.
Seven days later I had a whole different view of this “learning” experience.
The first part of the catalogue description reads, “rare opportunity to meet one-on-one with high-ranking executives…”. Our first outing was to the Jaguar manufacturing plant that was a brisk 3 hour drive from our hotel. At this point, our “rare opportunity” consisted of a 2-hour tour that is run 8 times per day, 5 days per week, and 50 weeks per year (according to our tour guide). That means that this “rare opportunity” only happens 2000 times per year. The “one-on –one” interaction with “high-ranking executives” consisted of a 10-minute video shown by the receptionist and a 1-hour tour given by a retired assembly line worker. We were also privy to a brief conversation with the Jaguar Gift Shop attendant. The following day we toured Lloyd’s of London. Now Lloyd’s was a bit more of a “rare opportunity” since they only run 2 tours per day. Our “one-on-one” interaction here was actually forty-to-one and it was with a semi-retired insurance salesman who knew a lot about the history of Lloyd’s but not much about our group’s relevant business questions. Later that day we spent a pain staking 2 ½ hours listening to a man named John White drone on about the history of Europe. I preferred that class more when it was called World History 1 and I was in 6th grade. When we finally reached Dublin we went to visit Oracle. Here we were treated to a presentation given to all 80 of us by a mid-level trainer in one of their call centers. Again, this is a far cry from “rare opportunity” or “one-on-one” or “high-ranking executive” or “headquarters of…”.
There were numerous other examples of propaganda throughout this entire trip, but these were the most memorable moments .
PROPAGANDA ABOUT LONDON AND ENGLAND
The great English writer, Samuel Johnson, once wrote, “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” (http://www.samueljohnson.com/london.html 3/7/04). Let us examine this quote and how it pertains to the international study trip.
I would consider our MBA class to be mostly classified as “intellectual”. I can also name about 25 students who could not wait to leave London. The London leg of our trip started out with a 3 hour tour of London which was actually a 2 hour trip INTO London followed by a 1 hour tour of the city. The first 2 hours consisted of a long highway drive made even longer by a tour guide who felt that it was her duty to enlighten us with her personal social commentary. Ten hours of travel followed by 2 hours of non-value added time…we were intellectuals who were already sick of London.
The next three days were filled with dirty tube rides, smoke filled bars and restaurants, rude locals, and overpriced food. The Tube is the main form of transportation, and despite its ease of use, it still requires you to stand shoulder to shoulder with the local hooligans who can’t afford cab fare. You are also forced to hold on to greasy handrails that are covered in so much hand funk that they resemble an old Petri dish. My dry cleaning bill was a fortune when I returned home because of the smell of smoke that was entrenched in all of my clothes. Who ever said that Americans are the unhealthiest people obviously never spent time in London. Smoking seems to be the national pastime in London. None of the locals look at you…most don’t even acknowledge your presence. They walk around the streets with their heads hung low like the Deltas from a scene in Huxley’s Brave New World. Yes, after a few days we were tired of London…according to Samuel Johnson, we also must have been “tired of life.”
The final part of Johnson’s quote states that, “there is in London all that life can afford.” He must not have been thinking of the food. The food in London is overpriced and under seasoned. The vegetables are as grey as the noon sky and the prices are astronomical. Luckily we discovered the made-to-eat sandwiched that are sold in most convenient stores. For about $6 you could get some bread with a few veggies and some mayo. They weren’t very tasty, but they were affordable. They were all that my life could afford.
PROPAGANDA ABOUT DUBLIN AND IRELAND
After researching numerous websites about Dublin and Ireland, I came to one with a particular slogan that really struck a sour note with me. The caption on the homepage for tourism in Ireland read, “There’s something of Ireland in all of us,” (http://www.shamrock.org/flash.html 3/6/04). A more accurate slogan would read “There’s something of ours in Ireland.” During the 3 days that I spent in Dublin I saw more things get stolen that I ever had in my previous 29 years on this planet. Our laundry list of stolen items (that was reported) included:
• 1 brand new cell phone
• 1 gold wrist watch
• 300 Euro
• 1 gold pocket watch
• 3 jackets
I was present in a hotel room that had been robbed no more than 1 hour after we had arrived in Dublin. The cunning thief was able to climb into the room through the open window, pilfer what he could, and leave the premises without being detected. Later that evening (after we gathered enough courage to brave the crime ridden streets of Dublin) we had another fellow student get his trench coat and gold pocket watch taken from a pub where there were nearly 25 other students from our group present. Finally, during the second evening, two more students had their jackets stolen…FROM THE HOTEL LOBBY!
Yes, there is definitely something of ours still in Ireland; unless of course everything made its way out of the country on the black market.
EPILOGUE
The propaganda will continue. I have been a personal medium in helping its spread. I volunteer for all of the preview weekends that Crummer hosts for prospective students. I shockingly hear myself describing the trip as “amazing” and “well worth the time”. Hopefully someday this propaganda will become the truth.
