Study Trip For DDIMer—Entering the “World of Practice”

The syllabus of a valid and complete Management course must integrate theory with the equally important and essential aspect of practice. Theory is fundamental in clearly understanding frameworks and models, however without practice it merely becomes sterile abstraction and detaches the student from the “real world”, which is ultimately a world of practice. Therefore the value of company visits resides precisely in this necessity to combine academic courses, based on theoretical knowledge, with a more practical and hands-on approach to learning, which allows for students to apply the theory learned and ultimately reach a realistic understanding of what to expect in the workplace environment.

On December 2nd and December 4th, the students of the Double Degree in International Management got on a bus headed towards three foreign companies operating in Shanghai through offshored branches. The destinations of the first day were the Italian-based companies Itema, a multinational producer of high-performance weaving and textile machinery, and Bonfiglioli, a worldwide supplier for the industrial automation, mobile machinery and renewable energy sectors. On the final day, the students walked through the facilities of IKEA, the Swedish furniture designer and retailer, and had the opportunity of visiting the Yang Shan free trade zone, a futuristic yet, at the moment, desolate port area.

The students, who had fallen right back asleep as soon as the busses’ engines had started, woke up about an hour and a half away from Fudan University in an historical area brimming with firms and industries. Standing in front of the impressive building that hosts production and operations of Itema, first company on the schedule, the DDIMers could not help but wonder what value added would derive from these visits. Indeed, many of the students had already experienced the dynamics of a workplace environment, through summer internships or individual company visits, however few had previously had the valuable opportunity of encountering face-to-face the managers of successful businesses completely dedicated to explaining and practically showing their daily operations within their companies.

Across all four of the organizations visited, the students were warmly greeted by the local management, which was eager to share insights concerning the company business and overall working experience. It was interesting to concretely witness the passion and engagement with which the managers presented their companies, Itema manager’s eyes shined as he described the historical evolution of the textile industry, a longstanding Italian tradition, and explained Itema’s role within it. Tracing the evolution, he lingered on the shift of textile production from Italy to China, which today accounts for over 60% of production in this sector, grateful to both countries for his personal and professional growth and smiled at the class composed mostly by Italian and Chinese students.

Following the brief company presentation in each of the three companies visited, which included an introduction to the main business sectors of Itema, Bonfiglioli and IKEA, details regarding the industries where the respective companies operate, the employees accompanied the students, divided in smaller groups, around the company facilities and warehouse to show them firsthand what a typical day of the working week looks like. Walking through the towering warehouses, the students were completely immerged in the diversity of sounds coming from machines repeating endlessly the same mechanical movements and forklifts gliding through the labyrinth of isles, the permeating smells of metal, oil and carboards used to store all the materials necessary for production.

In this oxymoronic systemic and organized confusion of movements, sounds, sights and smells, the theories of supply chain management, inventory accounting, raw material classification and the many other models, which are intrinsically crucial to an International Management course, learned within the four walls of a classroom came to life through a mixture of sensorial experiences. Visiting the warehouse, standing in the product exhibition area, sitting in the conference room and walking through the buildings where managers, assistants and workers spend most of their day, the DDIM students were able to understand concretely what managing a company concretely entails and the extremely high degree of organization necessary.

The visits allowed the 81 students to savor one of the possible future scenarios to which the DDIM program opens the doors and one of the professional paths which one of us could undertake in the not-so-distant future. Overall, the response from the company visits was positive; the students returned home sharing their experiences and individual take-aways, enriched with a deeper understanding of the technicalities behind logistics, production and supply chain management.

However, some critical aspects emerged. To begin with, the industries in which Itema, IKEA and Bonfiglioli currently operate are not extremely relevant to the interests of most of the students within the program. The selected companies and the Free Trade area all operate in very specific and technical industries, and the visits reflected this: the students were exposed to overly detailed descriptions of the technicalities tied to the production processes and warehouse management. Although it being quite interesting to some, it was generally perceived as marginally useful. There was very little focus on the managerial aspects, strategic decisions and business models utilized, all of which are topics much more relevant and pertinent to an International Management course. Regardless, the visits allowed for interaction with interesting people, passionate and dedicated to their jobs, and entrepreneurs who have moved abroad to pursue their careers, thus providing valuable examples for the students. 

Caterina Tridenti