I am grateful for my study abroad experience.  I am happy that I was required to do a study abroad experience because this trip is something I probably would not have done otherwise.  I feel as though I learned a lot about another culture and myself from this opportunity.

My Expectations Vs. Reality in Spain

When I was sitting in class learning about cultural dimensions that differ between the US and Spain, I was curious to see if I would notice these differences on our trip.  It turned that a lot of what we talked about in class was apparent on our trip such as such as the HP principles first presentation and their obvious hierarchical business structure.  However, even some of the cultural traits such as restaurant norms took some getting used to because of such a difference in the US.  It took a couple of dinners to get comfortable with the late starts, long duration, and less frequent service from waiters.  However, after getting used to these characteristics, I actually prefer this dinner environment to the United States.  It is much more relaxing, and the workers aren’t rushing to get you out of the restaurant like in the US. 

After looking through my previous blogs, I was reminded of the research I did on Codorniu before the trip.  In that blog I expressed my interest in the age of the business as I titled one of my sections “A History longer than the United States itself.” I knew this was going to be a cool site visit, but the visit exceeded my expectations.  I was impressed by how beautiful the place was and the knowledge of our tour guide.  Codorniu is an example of an experience that increased my appreciation for another country’s rich history which is one of the reasons why it was my favorite site visit. 

Taking Paco’s Advice to Improve My Global Intelligence

My improvement in the worldview and cultural curiosity traits demonstrate my growth in global intelligence.  My worldview quality has improved by learning to adapt to changing contexts.  For example, it took me awhile, but I became familiar with the transit systems in Madrid and Barcelona.  If I were to go to another European city today, I would feel more comfortable learning a new transit system than I would have in the past.  My cultural curiosity has also improved.  Although I was very open to exploring the Spanish culture, I was slightly fearful of some aspects.  For example, I was not confident with my Spanish in restaurants during the first couple of days even though I knew enough Spanish to be just fine.  As Paco told me at the welcome dinner, “Nobody cares if you don’t say everything perfectly, they respect that you’re trying.”  By the end of the trip, I was very confident in ordering food even if I had to point to the menu or use hand motions.  I learned to not fear what people think of me. 

Key Personal Experiences in Spain

Going back to my fourth blog entry a bit, the cultural preferences that I struggled with the most in Spain were high-context communication and collectivism. The high-context instructions on how to use the Madrid Metro did not help me because as a low-context American I wanted “a more blunt and explicit instruction instead of the implicit instructions that I was given.” In terms of collectivism, the Spanish prefer to eat meals in a shared way where asking for an ingredient to not be included was considered odd. This differs greatly from how I prefer to eat. I am a big guy who likes to eat big meals and prefers not to share the food off of my plate with others.

An Increasing Sense of Self-Awareness

With this in mind, I would definitely say that this course and the trip to Spain increased my Global Intelligence. Before this trip to Spain, I had never left the United States before. While there are definitely cultural differences between different regions of a country as large as the United States, they are not nearly as noticeable as the differences between the U.S. and Spain. One area that I think improved a lot is self-awareness, defined as the ability to understand yourself in a different context while avoiding dominant paradigms in the Blog 6 Rubric. Near the beginning of the trip I noticed cultural differences and wondered why the Spanish communicated differently, however as the trip progressed, I started to realize that I was the one who communicated oddly from their point of view, and that while in their country I should try to adapt to their communication style instead of needing them to accommodate me.

Seeing the Differences in Global Businesses Firsthand

The site visits to JohnRyan and Hewlett Packard Barcelona also increased my worldview.

Before the trip I put little thought into how large multinational corporations operations vary from country to country. These visits especially showed how interactions vary from geographies not just with scheduling calls at odd times to accommodate U.S. headquarters, but also in day to day operations such as how for JohnRyan in Spain, the in-branch marketing matters more because Spanish people still prefer physical bank branches. Another example is how at Hewlett Packard Barcelona there were more activities to foster collectivism than at many U.S. firms including multiple volunteer days and activities such as employees playing basketball or soccer together on courts and fields at the office.

Overall, this course and the visit to Spain greatly increased my Global Intelligence. Since I had never left the United States before it forced me to finally consider how differences between cultures truly impact business and daily life.

“There is no way you can possibly get to the top of Montserrat and catch the six o’clock train.” said Connor at four in the afternoon. “It’s like a three hour hike.” said Christian. “Well I’m tall, so I have long strides.” I said, “I can get to the top in 50 minutes” “Ok, good luck with that.” said Paola and Brianna. Determined to prove them wrong I began my run up to the top of Montserrat.

Montserrat: Meant To Be a Marathon Not a Sprint

I would recommend that future students in the program visit Montserrat while in Barcelona, but would recommend that they leave more than two hours to get to the top. To be fair, I was able to summit the mountain despite all my classmates telling me I would surely fail, however I would have enjoyed the experience more if I had left more time.

Allowing more time would have allowed me to actually enjoyed the hike up. The hike was well worth it as the views from the summit are incredible, but due to time constraints I had to run most of the way up the mountain.

I took off running at the beginning of the steps and did not look back until I was halfway to the summit. By this point I had lost the rest of my hiking group, but I had to push on as there was no time for stragglers if I wanted to see the summit.

See All That Montserrat Has To Offer

Allowing more time would have allowed me to see the other great attractions Montserrat has to offer. There is not just a mountain to summit at Montserrat, their are also outlooks to hike out to, ruins of old buildings built by monks, and a monastery that is supposed to be incredible. Allowing more time than I did would allow future students to see all Montserrat has to offer.

More Time Will Improve Your Physical Health

Leaving more time to do the hike would have greatly decreased the pain in my legs for the remainder of the trip. Running on uneven surfaces especially downhill is hard on the knees. This hike was eight days ago now and I still have right knee pain. Additionally, running to the top of Montserrat and back led to me taking 14,000 steps and climbing the equivalent of 200 flights of stairs in under 1 hour and 50 minutes which led to being tired and sore for the rest of the day and the next day.

I recommend that future IBUS 3033W students visit Montserrat while in Barcelona, but they should allow more than two hours to see it. If they do only have two hours like me though, than they better bring their running shoes.

“There is no way you can possibly get to the top of Montserrat and catch the six o’clock train.” said Connor at four in the afternoon. “It’s like a three hour hike.” said Christian. “Well I’m tall, so I have long strides.” I said, “I can get to the top in 50 minutes” “Ok, good luck with that.” said Paola and Brianna. Determined to prove them wrong I began my run up to the top of Montserrat.

Montserrat: Meant To Be a Marathon Not a Sprint

I would recommend that future students in the program visit Montserrat while in Barcelona, but would recommend that they leave more than two hours to get to the top. To be fair, I was able to summit the mountain despite all my classmates telling me I would surely fail, however I would have enjoyed the experience more if I had left more time.

Allowing more time would have allowed me to actually enjoyed the hike up. The hike was well worth it as the views from the summit are incredible, but due to time constraints I had to run most of the way up the mountain.

I took off running at the beginning of the steps and did not look back until I was halfway to the summit. By this point I had lost the rest of my hiking group, but I had to push on as there was no time for stragglers if I wanted to see the summit.

See All That Montserrat Has To Offer

Allowing more time would have allowed me to see the other great attractions Montserrat has to offer. There is not just a mountain to summit at Montserrat, their are also outlooks to hike out to, ruins of old buildings built by monks, and a monastery that is supposed to be incredible. Allowing more time than I did would allow future students to see all Montserrat has to offer.

More Time Will Improve Your Physical Health

Leaving more time to do the hike would have greatly decreased the pain in my legs for the remainder of the trip. Running on uneven surfaces especially downhill is hard on the knees. This hike was eight days ago now and I still have right knee pain. Additionally, running to the top of Montserrat and back led to me taking 14,000 steps and climbing the equivalent of 200 flights of stairs in under 1 hour and 50 minutes which led to being tired and sore for the rest of the day and the next day.

I recommend that future IBUS 3033W students visit Montserrat while in Barcelona, but they should allow more than two hours to see it. If they do only have two hours like me though, than they better bring their running shoes.

Wine is a staple of Spanish culture from its prominence in daily dining to the vineyards where they come from. I was lucky enough to experience this piece of Spanish culture in addition to taking a deeper look at where these amazing wines come from. Every one of my senses from touch to taste was able to experience one of the largest producers of Spanish wine, Codorniu, to one of the Smallest, Alta Alella.

Codorniu is a Wine Producing Giant with Growing Challenges

Codorniu is one of the oldest family run businesses in the world with over 450 years of history. In 1872, Josep Raventós created the first bottle of cava, sparkling wine. Thirteen years later, with the help of Manuel Raventós, Codorniu became a big-time producer of Spanish cava. Since then, Codorniu has become the biggest producer of Spanish cava with its staple brand Anna de Codorniu.

Although being the largest producer of cava sounds like a good thing, Codorniu faces quite a few challenges, some of which are exemplified by industry in which they operate. One such challenge is that because of Codorniu’s large size, it has difficulty branding. Since Codorniu is so large, their cavas can be seen as generic or basic. What came to my mind was the problems that big breweries have here in the United States. Brands like Budweiser are losing customers to small craft breweries that offer something different and unique that a big brewery never could. Bigger isn’t always better, and it was evident by the presentation that was given during our site visit. The best thing that Codorniu can do, like Budweiser has done, is accept that they are not a unique small vineyard, but rather one of quality that is made for everyone, not wine connoisseurs.

Alta Alella: A little Vineyard with a Big Attention to Detail

Alta Alella is a small vineyard outside of Barcelona that focuses on creating handcrafted wines for consumers. Visiting Alta Alella was one of my favorite moments from this trip because of the personal feel the vineyard had.

After visiting Alta Alella, it was easy to see why Codorniu is being challenged from small vineyards like these. The unique and personable aspects of these vineyards give them a competitive advantage over the big-time producers. For example, the names of each of Alta Alella’s basic wines are named after birds that are found in the Serralada de Marina Natural Park where they are located. Additionally, their higher end wine names also have meanings like the Mirgin Opus, which contains both of the family’s daughters’ names. Another thing that made Alta Alella special was that everything is done by hand, from the harvesting of the grapes to the truing of the bottles in the wine cellar. Everything at Alta Alella seemed to be connected which also made me felt connected to the wines as well. Overall, I had a wonderful experience at both vineyards and was able to have a deeper understanding of the Spanish wine industry and culture.

The Carlson study abroad requirement is one of the main reasons why I selected the University of Minnesota during my senior year of high school. I was not aware of how beneficial this requirement really is to my development as a young business professional until I returned from our trip abroad. Following are some of the key takeaways I had from the trip that helped to shape my global perspective.

Alignment is critical for globally stretched companies.

A key success factor for companies that span international borders is alignment of its mission and values for all employees, regardless of location. I saw this quality addressed in our site visits with HP Barcelona and Quadpack. Speaker Eva Blanco from HP continuously emphasized the company’s focus on innovation across all offices, a theme I noticed and discussed in my second blog post. She mentioned how having a common goal allows employees from diverse backgrounds to come together and work towards the same outcome. Additionally, I noticed alignment in the Quadpack presentation. One of the questions in the interactive survey our class participated in was about what type of conferences the company should host to ensure alignment of its vision across countries (departmental, regional, or international). From these two presentations, it was clear to me how important having a central mission or goal is for international companies.

Empathy and capacity for integration are high at Sphera Global Healthcare.

Our discussion with Sphera Global Healthcare showed me the importance of integrating empathy with global needs in a company’s corporate strategy. I recall how our presenter focused on the company’s mission to provide international healthcare to remote communities with little to no access to these resources. Addressing this complex issue at the core of corporate strategy showed me the empathy these employees have for their clients. One story that stood out to me was when the presenter shared how she had to wait to meet the government of a potential client in Africa for several hours and had to come back the next day. As someone who is very structured and scored high on the linear side of Erin Meyer’s scheduling scale, it is hard to imagine dedicating this much time with much uncertainty to a project. I believe cultural norms for a flexible approach to time and a high amount of empathy contribute to our presenter’s approach to the situation which is quite different than the approach I would take.

Our site visits in Spain and my overall experience abroad helped me grow in my cultural awareness. Being in situations that were out of my comfort zone taught me much about my self-awareness and my ability to be flexible and adapt to the world around me.

As I wandered around the Madrid Metro, desperately trying to find my train to make it to the site visit on time, I suddenly wished I had spent more time reading the portion of The Culture Map about high-context versus low-context communication.

Spain, a High-Context Country

The cultural dimension that stood out the most to me in Spain was high-context versus low-context communication. This was particularly evident while trying to navigate the Madrid Metro. Due to the transit strike I was having difficulty navigating the metro system and sought help from people in the subway. Despite people’s efforts to give me instructions, I found their help utterly useless.

This was a great example of the communication differences between high-context Spanish people, and myself as a low-context American. Although the Spanish people I asked for help were giving what would have been helpful instructions to other Spanish people, they were unable to help me because I was unable to read between the lines of their explanations and as an American desired a more blunt and explicit instruction instead of the implicit instructions that I was given.

Collectivism: A Staple of Spanish Meals

Another cultural dimension that stood out to me was how the influence of collectivism while eating meals. Food was far more likely to be served in a way to be shared than in the United States. A good example of this was the paella at the Barcelona welcome dinner that was served in a large pan for several people to share instead of each person getting their own serving.

Further showing this collectivism was how it was abnormal to ask for an ingredient to not be included in a dish because it is just assumed that a dish is meant to be shared. Lastly, whenever you eat at a restaurant the waiter or waitress gives one bill for the entire table. In the United States each dinner is given their own bill since the U.S. is individualistic, but in more collectivist Spain there is one bill given to a group of dinners.

From experiencing these cultural dimensions firsthand in Spain, I know next time to make sure I bring a metro map more suited to my American low-context communication style, and to be ready to share the food and the bill at meals.

The experience of studying abroad is something that I am very grateful for and will never forget. It’s easy to see why the Carlson School values this experience after learning for myself what it’s like to do business cross-culturally. This was made clear through the class site visits and by everyday experiences that I had while I was in Spain.

Not All Stereotypes are True

After my experience talking with business people in Spain, it became clear to me that not everything we learn about in class is true. A great majority of the things we learned were extremely accurate, but one that wasn’t and really stood out to me was that siestas aren’t as common as Americans believe. I spoke with people at HP and Abertis in Barcelona and all of the people shared that they don’t take siestas. They talked about how it is a Spanish stereotype similar to how Americans wear cowboy hats. I was able to practice the Global Intelligence quality of cultural curiosity by having these conversations. I find it interesting to learn about the false stereotypes given to others and it was even more interesting to hear about the stereotypes given to Americans.

Cultural Differences can be Small but Feel Significant

There were many everyday moments during my time in Spain that I was able to practice many of the Global Intelligence qualities. The one that was most evident during my trip was self-awareness. Americans often travel abroad and make little to no effort to understand the culture that they are visiting. But this is my favorite part of traveling. I love learning parts of a new language and practicing the customs of a new culture. I didn’t know any Spanish before this trip, and I was very eager to learn all that I could.

Another quality that was evident was worldview. One easy example of this is the custom regarding the escalator in Europe. I will never forget the first time I was yelled at for standing on the left side of the escalator but not walking up it. Another example is accommodating the way to pay the bill at a restaurant. Unlike the USA, many restaurants won’t split the bill. Learning about these customs that differ from my own is an amazing way to experience the world around me in a new way. Even small differences such as these cause me to stop and think about how we see the world differently. And while it might be different, it just takes a little willingness to learn about a new culture.

Comparing the US to Spain using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, one of the most notable differences between these two cultures is uncertainty avoidance. This aspect of Spanish culture was clearly evident in some of our site visits, most notably Tetuan Valley Startup School and Pau Virgili. During both of these site visits, it became clear that these individuals were outliers on the scale of Spanish uncertainty avoidance.

Tetuan Valley Provides Individuals with the Tools to Take Risks

Looking back at all of the site visits that we attended, Tetuan Valley was easily one of my favorites and gave me a deeper understanding of a variety of different things. One such insight was learning how to take risks effectively by creating a business model canvas. This simple but engaging exercise taught me that business models should be fluid, adaptable, and never set in stone. It taught that a business model will likely fail, but when it does, to fail fast and with little cost. All of these lessons that I learned are exactly what Tetuan Valley aims to do, develop their students to take risks.

Taking risks is uncomfortable for many people, and according to Hofstede’s dimensions, even more so in Spain. Tetuan Valley is teaching new entrepreneurs how to take risks effectively in a culture that doesn’t necessarily foster that type of behavior. This site visit was a great example how culture can influence the way a company operates. Since Spain is overall more uncertain to risk than other countries, Tetuan Valley acknowledges this dimension of Spanish culture and provides the tools to entrepreneurs to take those risks in an effective manner.

Understanding Your Risk Profile Determines the Path You Take

Pau Virgili gave us a lecture on risk taking and some of the most important lessons that he has learned over the years from being an entrepreneur. The first thing that he talked about was how it is important to understand your risk profile. He gave us three scenarios and asked us which one we most related to. Almost the entire class, including myself, chose the option where we are able to handle risk when it presents itself but do not seek it out. Although I do not know the answer, it would be interesting to see what a class of Spanish students would respond like. At the end of the presentation, I asked Pau about some of the challenges that he faced being an entrepreneur in Spain rather than one in the United States. He explained that it is much harder being an entrepreneur in Spain, and that one of the reasons is that the laws in Spain make it more difficult to create a startup than in the United States. This answer exemplifies the difference in cultures, specifically risk avoidance, between the US and Spain. It really is interesting to see how culture not only influences the people, but also the way that they do business.

Geert Hofstede developed the term “power distance” while analyzing 100,000 management surveys at IBM in the 1970s. He defined power distance as “the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.” Power distance is one the six cultural dimensions developed by Geert Hofstede. Before departing for Spain, I learned the country has a high score on this dimension, which means that Spain has a hierarchical society. After visiting Spain and paying close attention during site visits, it is clearly evident that the country has a hierarchical society.

Power is Distributed Unequally in Spain

El Corte Ingles, headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and Spain’s only remaining department store chain. El Corte Ingles was the first site visit our class took. When we arrived to the store, we were greeted by two woman. One of the woman was in a management position and her subordinate was a sales associate that worked on the floor. Before giving our class a tour of the store, they informed us of the history of the store and answered all the questions we had to the best of their ability. However, the woman in the management position talked for a large portion of the presentation. This was interesting to me because she did not speak the best English and her subordinate spoke English very well. Most of the talking the woman that works as a sales associate did was when answering questions. I observed several examples of power distance while we were in Spain, but this is just one prime example.

Spain is a Collectivist Society Compared to other European Countries

Individualism is one of the six cultural dimensions developed by Geert Hofstede. He defined individualism as “the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members.” Compared to Spain, America is clearly an individualist society. Our workplace is extremely competitive. Everyone is trying their best to do their job to the best of their ability every day. Everyone is trying their best to be better than their coworker and be more appealing to management for pay raises, promotions, etc. Tetuan Valley, a pre-accelerator program that trains emerging entrepreneurs, was the second site visit our class took. During their presentation to our class explaining the history of the company and describing exactly what it is they do, they expressed how teamwork is essential to achieving objectives and accomplishing their goals. Someone in our class asked how they go about selecting who they want to work with and they said a lot of the decision has to do with the relationship. It is not all about the money or what something could be in Spain. Even in the workplace, establishing a relationship with people is important and has to be done before moving to business. These are qualities that are not emphasized and as important doing business in America.