After finishing the Italy business study abroad and reflecting on my experience, I’ve definitely learned a lot about how business practices differ in a foreign country and the differences that can arise when interacting with individuals from a foreign country. For example, during our time here, we learned that Italians place a high value on business relationships and strongly prefer to do business only with people who they know well and fully trust. Italians for the most part also are not afraid to be open and share their emotions freely even in a business context as Italy is known to be a highly affective culture. Italians typically also don’t place a strong divide between their work or personal lives either, allowing the two to often overlap. After my time in Italy, I’ve also learned that I had some misconceptions that actually did end up being true and some that did not. One stereotype that I’ve always heard about about Italians is the importance they place on food and this is most definitely true. Italian people value mealtime a lot and prefer to eat slowly and savor what they eat. This can also be important to know in a business context because if you are, for example, attending a business lunch or business dinner with an Italian it is good to know the cultural standards surrounding eating. Another misconception that I have continuously heard about Italians and that they are loud. This is not entirely wrong but I would say that Americans are just as loud as Italians if not more. This goes to show that some of the stereotypes that we have for certain groups of people are often not rooted in fact at all and can sometimes just even be a self-reflection. All in all, I have had an incredible time in Florence and throughout Italy and I’ve enjoyed being able to have a hands-on/in-person experience looking at how business practices differ in the Italian culture.
