Month: September 2006

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Foreign Direct Investment in アイスランド

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Japanese FDI in Iceland? Someone please clue me in.

For a global economics class, my program requires me to research the economic state of a particular country. For this class, I had chosen Iceland since it presents such a unique macro and microeconomic picture. this research I ran across a great website maintained by the Invest in Iceland Agency outlining the particulars of FDI and how to invest in Iceland.

What surprised me however is the availability of a very colorful, very rich PDF in Japanese of investing in Iceland. There were no other languages available that I could see and Japan is truly nearly on the other side of the world from Iceland. I did some brief research and I could not find the connection for myself.

Strange…please help.

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… And Then There Were Two

Japanese Track of 2009

Actually, there have always been two. I’m talking about my program’s Japanese track candidates for this year. I was a bit surprised to learn that there were only two Japanese track students when I arrived on campus this July, but after getting to know Alex a little better and going through the Waseda application process together, I’ve come to like the close knit group we have with the Japanese track.

The remainder of the Japanese trackers (class of 2007) had returned in August. Last week was the first time we have actually caught up with them for an encounter more than just passing in the hallway or casually saying hello. Our advisor met us out for dinner at Inakaya where we had two large sushi boats of fish and plenty of beer.

Everyone in the track seems really friendly and have been willing to share their experiences an insight. As Alex and I return from Japan in the summer of 2008, I only hope that we can be as insightful and helpful as those who are helping us now. みなさん、ありがとうございます。

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Rock, Scissors, Paper – MBA Style

MBA Rock Scissors Paper

Today was the famed Section 1 vs. Section 2 showdown of the IMBA Rock Scissors Paper competition. The prize? To see which section would be able to choose their time slot for the joint Marketing / International Management session. Section 1 was victorious and chose to take Friday at 10:30am instead of 8:00am.

The competition was intense with two false starts. Brad pulled through as Section 1’s designated rock thrower and pulled a sweeping victory out from John. You can see the intensity in frame two. For all of the photos, click here.

Section 2 leadership states that their preferred choice was Friday at 8:00am anyway, so I support this wasn’t a zero-sum game afterall. Time to sleep in on Friday!

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ひさしぶりですね！

Sapporo Snack

(beer purchased for me by my friend Diana)

TRANSLATION: It’s been a while

Hello everybody. Its been a while since I have posted. It seems that this program has really been keeping everyone busy. It has taken me a while to get all caught up from my wonderfully relaxing time back home during Labor day. Since my last posting we have finished our Global Entrepreneurship class and have begun an International Management class.

This week’s highlights in brief:

  1. Our team took first place in our entrepreneurship class, which was surprising to me. I’m glad our team pulled together and was able to come up with the market research, business plan, presentation, and presentation speaking points – even after switching the idea midway though our alotted time of three weeks. I thought for sure that some of the other business ideas presented would have taken home the prize – everything from new market areas to bio-fuels and a mall-based recording studio to global immersion consultants and family therapy in foreign markets. Excellent job everyone.
  2. A friend of mine who I had met on a short trip to Texas stopped by for a few drinks. It is amazing to think that one can create such meaningful connections with people so far away and keep them intact. I had a great time hanging out a Speakeasy’s with Josh.
  3. Finished my Personal Leadership Development plan.
  4. Slept more than 8 hours in one night. ^_^

Now, the rest of this weekend is dedicated to figuring how the economy of Iceland. Enjoy yours!