Journal Entry 1 Dublin, Ireland
Relevance of Lecture - The Irish Economy presented by James Wrynn (Director of Elections, Dublin Ireland)
During the Celtic Tiger Phase of growth in the Irish economy major corporation outside of Ireland began to establish satellite offices and manufacturing hubs in Ireland. Ireland's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy played a crucial role in the resurgence of the Irish Economy. Corporate facilities in Ireland are very attractive and profitable primarily due to the 12.5% cap on corporate tax. Contributing to the attractiveness is that English language is spoken and cost of employee ownership is realised by low employment taxes.
FDI is an economic policy program strategically enacted to attract business to Ireland that would create employment, increase GNP, create wealth, improve the balance of trade. In addition, once some key technology companies and pharmaceuticals relocated some facilities to Ireland, the critical mass attracted more. Currently there are approx 22 major US companies that reside in Ireland.
Ireland has established a significant and mutually beneficial relationship with Intel. This is largely due to Intel's long term commitment to reside in Ireland expected to be 10-15 years more. Other firms may leave within the next 5 years as manufacturing tends to be less entrenched in Ireland due to changes in technology and manufacturing needs.
Lecture 2
Relevance of Lecture - Corporate Social Responsibility by Dr. Joseph Coughlan (Dublin Institute of Technology)
Many of the technology companies in Ireland that are benefitting from the good economic policy and tax cap in Ireland are directing CSR efforts to a demongraphic that might be perceived as promoting economic self interest.
Question- Does a large or midsize company have responsibility to the local community to do what is needed by that community - address the need rather than predetermine what they are willing to give (whether needed or not)
-Should companies engage in CSR activities / corporate giving that is aligned with their natural business activity?
Lecture #3 Relevance of Lecture - Leadership and Culture Eoghan OGrady
Subject was too broad for this lecture and the professor did not appear to be prepared.
Journey Entry 2
Tour 1
Relevance of trip to Guinness - Not relelant to my paper but very interesting process. I would have enjoyed more information on their process controls, statistical methods and quality controls.
Tour 2
Relevance of trip to Jameson - Not relevant to my paper but I enjoyed the tour and presentation. It was personal and enjoyable, good flow and fast enough to prevent boredom. Again, I would have enjoyed information on the process of controlling the quality and maintaining the same mix and the testing and tasting process for maintaining the controls.
Journal Entries for Scotland and England:
There are noticeably fewer locations that have internet or wifi access for consumers in Scotland. Some establishments advertised they had Facebook pages, but there were also few users of smart phones at local pubs and eateries than we are accustomed to seeing in the United States. Reduced use may be impacting the local economy in Scotland and fail to create economic growth at the rate and pace required for Scotland to develop a strong economy. A member of the local community in Edinburgh, Haley Dunn advised us that currently Scotland remains a part of the British Commonwealth “in spite of fierce Scottish pride, because it is not economically feasible to do otherwise.”
O2- Noticed the O2 top up cards throughout Ireland, Scotland and England. This would indicate that many members in the community were using a pay as you go service, rather than unlimited services and data plans we enjoy in US. I will need to research this to understand the demographic of internet and wireless use in all three counties (graph internet availability and use along economic growth trends) Prevalent use of internet and wifi with pay as you go plans would indicate economic divide that would slow economic growth compared to other fully connected economies, and further the digital divide as not just an educational issue, but also an opportunity issue.
Questions/actions that will require further research -
· Simon (London guide) mentioned that he would take a picture for us to upload on our Facebook pages, but seemed unfamiliar with the notion of Facebook as a way to grow his touring business, rather seemed to view as a social networking site. There was a bit of surprise in his tone and further comments that the students would be uploading and sharing pics via Facebook instead of??
· Will mention The Celt on my Facebook page to see if it begins to show up in the ads to the right side of the page. The Celt has both a Facebook page and a website with menus, etc that I looked at in Ireland. I noticed fewer businesses on Royal Mile had Facebook or sites to purchase Scottish items on the internet when I asked.
Why is this important? Connectivity generates business activity, sales, advertising (word of mouth and other) Web sites Facebook pages show up in Google and other search engine algorithms. Independent rating sites, Facebook “likes” all generate activity that impacts the search engine algorithm and then the business becomes more visible to more potential customers.
London -
It was hard for me to get a feel for internet use in London. One noticeable difference in London is that wifi access is an add-on item in the hotel. We had this same experience in Ireland and Scotland. Why this is unusual for me, and for the other students I asked about their experience with wireless access is that overall, we tend to see wifi and connectivity more as an expected utility than a luxury item. Many of the students complained about having to pay for access, and 10 of them had indicated to me it was a significant inconvenience for them to be without connectivity.
The experience of booking the Eye of London tickets on our Smartphones was notable. We spent the greater part of the day inputting our personal and credit card information into their website in an effort to reserve a spot for a particular time, but also to take advantage of the cost savings (~4 pounds) It took all day when we were mobile to get 4 tickets and two of us had to get it there for full price. So, the technology to do online ticketing is out there for tourists and locals, but the ability to get the tickets on the go with our Smartphones was not flawless or easy by any means. This is something we take for granted in the US
Note: I wrote the Simon (London Guide) before I spoke with you and Dana about London Walks. I will do further searching but still find Simon’s comment and surprise regarding Facebook picture uploads interesting.
