Everyone seemed to be a bit on the tired side after our trip to London, but everyone made it to class Thursday morning! The students turned in written reflections on the day before, including something new or surprising they encountered, and an insight related to international business and why it's important.
Dr. McDougall lectured briefly on how politics affect international business, before Professor Alan Rugman led a discussion with the class. Dr. Rugman is recently retired from the Kelley School, and is now on the faculty of nearby Henley College at University of Reading. Dr. Rugman helped to organize this trip, including arranging for our guest speakers on the first day.
The first portion of Dr. Rugman's class focused on multilateral systems affecting market economics, including the United Nations, International Monetary fund, World Bank, G8/G20, and World Trade Organization. The discussion then turned back toward the Flat World concept, but with a focus on Globalization versus Regionalism. We discussed various regions including the European Union. Dr. Rugman used some of his own research to illustrate his argument that Regionalism, rather than Globalism, is a more accurate description of the world's economy. He pointed out that only nine corporations are truly Global in scope.
The students had the afternoon and the rest of the weekend off. I'm sure some of them napped, like I did, and I know most of them finalized their weekend plans. Almost everyone is taking advantage of the opportunity to travel this weekend. One student is headed to Brighton, four are going to London, and eleven are headed as a group to Dublin! One student stayed here to rest and study. I'm staying nearby, but it turns out there are some other IU staff members visiting Oxford this weekend, so I'll be spending some time with them.
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