Professor Shi’s “Global Business Strategies” course last semester was fantastic. It was my favorite class. So, I decided to take his “Designing Global Organizations” course this semester. Bad idea. Book is great, but the subject material is boring. It’s basically a course in organizational theory.
Sigh… I can see why he wants to teach this course: the subject matter was his doctoral thesis. But, as he fairly admits himself in class, it’s complicated and boring. I feel sorry for the professor. He must feel our pain.
So, we’re discussing a case on Phillips Electronics and Matsushita. Upon what framework are we supposed to analyze this case? There is no instruction to read certain articles or to be familiar with specific theories. As a result, we are all fumbling for some coherency, struggling to articulate a nebulous problem. And this makes for a bland experience. It’s intellectually frustrating.
Phaw!
I stayed up utnil 3am last night. Just to prove how big a nerd I am, the time was spent reading. Robin Hobb’s The Assassin’s Apprentice is just so engrossing. It was like reading Dicken’s David Copperfield with more political intrigue and violence — a story of an orphan/bastard overcoming tough odds and devious enemies.
Of course, I should be doing more academic things, like study Mandarin or brush up on my Spanish before leaving in May. Ah… but books are my vice.
Leann. I saw her come into the McGowan this morning. She stayed at the front part of the lobby. So, I walked over and started chatting with her. We talked for almost an hour. I admit that I have an awful crush on her. Her Southern accent and Meryl Streep-charm is so alluring. And, I don’t know, there’s definitely some physical chemistry. And we learned so much about her:
She has three siblings. Leann has a sister whose two years younger than her. The sister has a five-year old son, is separated from her military husband (because of infidelity), and wants to get a divorce but needs her husband’s military health insurance due to her fighting cervical cancer. Leann also has a brother whose two years younger than her sister. He’s only 20-years old, but is getting married this May. No one in the family really approves of the woman whom he’s marrying. But, he’s going ahead with it anyway. Leann jokes how the wedding is going to be stereotypically red-neck. Poofy, satin gowns with rhinestone jewelry, “stripper” clear heels, curly Marge-Simpson hair… etc. She doesn’t no why she’s going. She’s missing her own graduation to go to a wedding she’s not excited about and a marriage that she doesn’t completely approve. Her own parents are divorced. Her father has long sinced remarried, and her mother remarried multiple times. Yes, she has quite a colorful family history. She is the only one in her family with a four-year college degree. She isn’t married and doesn’t plan to marry so early. She also managed to slip into the conversation that she’s single. (How my heart fluttered!) And, given the ages of her siblings, she’s about 25-years old. I thought she was at least two years my senior; she has such a mature demeanor. I fancy her. Maybe I’ll get a chance to ask her out tomorrow for lunch? Oh, that would be grand.