Concluding Thoughts

The business immersion trip to Malta was everything and more than I could have hoped (I think that goes for everyone)! The experience enabled us to not only learn about the social culture of Malta, but the business culture as well. In our short time there, we were able to experience multiple geographical and social aspects of the islands of Malta and Gozo--including the Blue Groto, Valletta, and Mdina (to just name a small few). We toured every chance we got, and learned a great deal about the history of the island and the current values and beliefs held by the Maltese people.
The most important part for me, however, was the opportunity to experience the well-rounded and all-encompassing view of Malta's business world. The trip was planned in such an exceptional manner that allowed us students to learn how business is approached and conducted not only in Malta, but the European Union as a whole. We were introduced to agencies and companies solely committed to helping the development and success of a business. We also were exposed to the world of Maltese finance that allows businesses to enter Malta and thrive. In addition, we visited many examples of successful companies that have built upon Malta's rich culture and most valuable resource--the Maltese people--to be successful and compete internationally.
This was definitely an invaluable way to spend our Spring Break, and I feel that we've returned more cultured, more educated, and more ready to enter into the world of business. I would recommend a similar opportunity or experience to anyone!

Malta Tourism Authority

This picture was taken at Malta's Tourism Authority. The building was built by the Knights in the 16th century, but endured much damage from WWII. It has been restored--just like many buildings damaged during the war. The presentation was very interesting and taught us a lot about the types of tourists Malta sees and the steps the Authority is taking to attract tourism.

Sat

Today was our last full day in Malta. Charlie our bus driver took us to see this church were everyone claims a miracle happened. He said that his mother-in-law was inside the church when three bombs fell on it and only because of a miracle none of them went off. Inside they have the capsule of one the bombs so that people can see it. He took us to the market to go shopping, Mdina Glass, and the beach. Only on this trip can I see snow one day and lay out on the beach the next. After our last day of touring Malta our bus driver Charlie and his family invited us over for dinner. He and his family made all kinds of different Maltese finger foods for us to try. We got to visit them and ask them one on one questions about the Maltese culture. It's these opportunities that allow us as students to experience and learn things a classroom can't offer. Being that we are all girls on this trip we were definitely interested in Maltese weddings. Charlie's youngest daughter had just gotten married last year. Charlie said that in most cases the parents of the bride pay for everything but that now it is becoming more common for the bride and groom or the grooms parents to help out more. Lara's wedding had 600 guest in attendance. We learned that in Malta is customary for the bride and groom to mainly receive money as gifts but now it is becoming more common to register at places and that gift are brought to the bride and groom at their houses a week before the wedding. We also discussed schools and how in Malta there is no such thing as a rival school. Schools there don't compete against each other in sports or academics. Another thing we learned was that when a child turns 18 it is tradition for them to receive the key to their parents home. Charlie said that although that tradition isn't fully kept because more parents are now both working and it is necessary for their child to have a key to let themselves in after school they still do honor the tradition and present them with a key when they turn 18.

Fri

Friday is when we traveled to Sicily. We had delicious gelato for breakfast when we arrived and then we rode in a tour bus up Mount Etna. On the way up we passed some old lava that remained from when it erupted. It's surreal to see the houses that were covered and to think that it's still active so it can happen again at anytime. One amazing site are the two houses that stand side by side; one was spared the other destroyed. Going up the mountain we passed a hotel or resort that was built after the eruption; I know I would be nervous to book a trip to stay there, that is one risky investment. Personally Mount Etna brought a first to me. Born and raised in San Antonio my whole life I had never seen snow until this day. I was so excited and only wished that my daughter could see it too. After Mount Etna we drove down to Modica were we got to taste chocolates and pizza. The pizza making process at the Pizza Bar definitely puts Pizza Hut's to shame. With the oven there our pizza was freshly made before our eyes and fully cooked within two minutes.

Thurs

Today was our last day of business tours. We started out with the Central Bank of Malta. They gave us a presentation of how the Euro came to Malta. Then after they took us into another building where they hold the coinage that forms Malta's currency history. Before this trip I had traveled to Germany and never noticed that the back of the Euro is never the same, you can tell where the coin is from thanks to the printing on the back of it. I was also surprised to know that although they had coins that date back to B.C. they don't possess an example of every coin that was used. Next we went to visit the Prime Ministers office. Although he was away on official business we did get a chance to look inside his office. Finally we went to our last visit at the Westin hotel. When we first got there to meet with the general manager they took us into a board room where he and the heads of different departments were there waiting to greet us. They started off by telling us about how everything the Westin does is centralized around customer experience. They empower their employees to make on the spot decisions so that the customer can quickly be addressed when a problem arises. This is somewhat different in the US with most companies. Here I think most companies are afraid to empower their employees in fear of losing control and not having enough trust in their employees. Due to this most customers become very irritated when a problem arises and feel like no one can ever answer their questions and that they are just given the run around. One big issue that we as students questioned them on is how they are coping with the drop in tourism numbers. An insight they gave us is that even though most hotels are dropping prices to attract visitors they refuse too. They said that once a hotel drops their price to spark interests it is very hard for them to take that price back up. It also sometimes give people a different perception of their quality. If one hotel drops prices it affects everyone. And because they don't drop prices even with the tourism sector hurting their numbers only fell less than 1% last year. One advantage that the Westin has besides their excellent staff providing excellent service is their location. They are on a part of the island that is like a peninsula. This provides their guest with amazing views from almost anywhere on their campus.

Business Visits

Through our business visits we have learned alot about the Maltese culture and doing business in Malta. All of the presenters we have visited emphasize flexibility and quality. Also, they all stress how the culture of the Maltese (family oriented) contribute to thier hard work ethic and loyalty to the companies they work for. We have had the opportunity to visit Melita Cable, Methode Electronics, Matal Enterprise, Malta Freeport, and others. It has been a great learning experience and I look foward to applying the knowledge in our business plan, when we return.

Wed

Today was interesting we were able to meet the Ambassador. He seemed very down to earth and easy to talk to. We talked about his thoughts on Maltese business and how the US embassy helps to support business here. He said although they aren't like Malta Enterprise were they can offer incentives but they can spread the word about opportunities that are available and try to help the transition process go by as quickly as possible. Another interesting topic that came up as about human trafficking. Although we've all seen the movie Taken, the ambassador said that human trafficking isn't a big problem in Malta. In fact he said the numbers are so little it's almost non existent here. Malta is one of the safer places to travel because of the culture. Everyone is really close knit and keeps an eye on everything. Families are so close that students that go to the University live at home and most stay living at home till they get married. One of the bigger issues here is immigration. Malta's location is great for people passing through. It's right at the center of everything. They get a lot of people from Africa trying to pass through illegally to northern parts of Europe. Immigration is seen to be negative by the public just because they try to either send the people back or elsewhere. Because Malta is so small the government can't financially support all the immigrants plus there is little room on the island.

Today was a busy day, we went to visit four companies. The first one was Malta Financial Services Authority; it was a really good speech that dealt with who gets loans and the specifics of helping people out that need loans. He talked about helping other companies succeed and when he started talking about success my thoughts went back to the man we met the first day. He was the owner of a restaurant that had been passed down through his family for hundreds of years. Most people wouldn't correlate success with waiting on people. Yet this man was so happy and excited to tell people the history of the restaurant and his family. Being that happy and enjoying his job is what I now think is the true definition to success. I think if I can ever wake up in the morning and be that happy at work then I will have achieved success. We also went to tour today at Malta Tourism, Malta Freeport, and Malta Enterprise. I know that since Malta is not like the US there are going to be tons of differences to experience yet I'm still surprised at the little things like some companies just now looking into facebook and twitter.

Gozo--the second day!

This is our second day of touring--This time we took a ferry across the ocean to the Island of Gozo!! Very beautiful. It was rainy at first, but sunny later in the afternoon...still a little chilly though! The sites were amazing.

These are all pictures from the first day of touring Malta!! It was a long day of beautiful and breathtaking experiences!!

American Country Singer in Malta!

This was taken in the lobby of our hotel on the first night we were in Malta. We thought it was funny since he was singing a whole bunch of country songs!!

Yesterday we toured the island of Gozo and it was amazing. My favorite part was the azure window. We got to climb it and take pictures and then we took a boat ride around it and through the caves there. It was definitely a sight to see; our bus driver told us that the don't like people to climb to the top of the arch because cracks have started to form and they believe that it is going collapse soon. The tour boats can no longer take people under it because the rocks have started to fall. Then today we went to visit with our first three businesses Malita, Farsons, and Methode. It was really interesting and not what I expected. Everyone was dressed really laid back. At Malita I was first shocked that there were a lot of empty desk. Someone asked why and our tour guide said that not everyone comes in early some people start their work day out at like 10am. Throughout the halls they had ads posted and I began to notice that none of them were ads that attacked their competitor. At the end of the tour I asked if they did any like Verizon & AT&T do in the states and she said most companies are afraid to because then it's like giving an invitation to be attacked but that that was actually something they were going to start doing just because they felt that now they are at a point were it is hard for their only competitor to pick out their downsides. At Farson's we got to see how the beer is brewed and how it was bottled. During the presentation they showed us all the different brands they make and export. It was interesting to learn that even though Cisk is their main beer, they are very selective on where certain forms of it are sold. She said that Cisk XS, which has 9% alcohol is mainly sold in Italy and is hard to find and advertise for just because of the amount of alcohol it holds. Then at Methode it was interesting to see all the work that goes into a switch. These switches are so overlooked in the cars we drive everyday. No one every really stops to think about all the testing and prototypes that had to be made just so that you could roll down your window or step on your brake and have your back light turn on.