Internship Seminar

Center:

Buenos Aires

Program(s):

Buenos Aires - Advanced Spanish Immersion [1]

Buenos Aires - Latin American Societies and Cultures [2]

Discipline(s):

Internship Seminar

Course code:

IN 395

Terms offered:

Fall

Spring

Credits:

Language of instruction:

English

Instructor:

Gabriel Molteni

Description:

The Internship Seminar provides a theoretical framework to support the internship experience. The seminar portion is a requirement for all students in addition to working at an internship placement in a local institution. Seminar discussion topics include: characteristics of the Argentine labor market, cultural diversity in the workplace, government and trade unions relations, youth and the labor market, the impact of gender and ethnic discrimination in the labor market, and poverty and unemployment. Students are encouraged to develop a comparative analysis of their Latin and North American experiences in their reflections throughout the semester and in their final report.

Prerequisites:

All students must take an (IES Abroad or Partner University) area course directly related to their internship placement

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will:

Demonstrate (through written work and class discussion) understanding of contrasts and similarities in Argentine and US work culture and organizational structures.
Have enhanced and developed transferable professional skills, essential for success in an international work environment.
Relate (through written work, class discussion and internship experiences) the theoretical concepts discussed in class to their internship experiences.
Practice successful negotiation in cross cultural situations.

Method of presentation:

Students must complete a minimum of eight hours per week, or a total of 112 hours throughout the semester, at their internship site. In addition, there will be 2-hour weekly seminar meetings throughout the semester. Seminars will include regular roundtable presentations of each student’s experience, lectures and discussion sessions with guest speakers representing a wide range of institutions and bodies, including businessmen, government representatives, union leaders, lawyers, academics, and activists. Students will give periodic presentations and discuss their progress on individual final research projects.

Required work and form of assessment:

Evaluation by internship on-site supervisor (15%): Students’ internship supervisor will evaluate their initiative, attendance, and efficiency in the workplace. This evaluation will be delivered at the end of the semester.
Strategic plan (35%): Students will write a strategic plan to be delivered at the end of the semester. The plan will be defined by the intern, in conjunction with the host institution and the tutor at the beginning of the semester. It should result on the production of a detailed proposal to solve a relevant problem resulting in the future benefit of the host institution (approx. 8 pages). A prospectus and research advances of the research project will be presented in session 5, counting for 10% of the grade. The final draft of the strategic plan will make up 25% of the final grade.
Final exam (30%): Students will have one in-class exams based on their weekly readings, lectures and discussions.
Journal (20%): A journal entry will be due for every week according to the calendar attached below (5 paragraphs per class session). For some weeks student journals must include a reflection on both the host organization--including its goals, history, structure and function, and its place in the community—and the student’s experience as an intern, including a description of the main tasks and responsibilities undertaken in the internship, the cultural aspects of the internship, and what the intern gains from this experience. For the other weeks, students must answer a special questionnaire, in which certain characteristics of the labor market should be identified in the context of your host organization. For one week, students will write a comment of the film suggested in the program: Crane World.
Class contribution and seminar attendance: Class contribution includes active participation in class and weekly presentations of the student’s log and journal on their experience (final grade will increase a third of a letter grade, remain the same or go down a third of a letter grade, depending on the student’s excellent, correct, or deficient participation in class).

Paper prospectus: Peer-review workshop on individual term projects. Prospectus should answer the following questions: What is the problem/challenge you intend to address? Why is it a relevant problem for the institution to solve? What kind of supporting material you plan to use as evidence (interviews, bibliography, etc.)?

Research advances: Oral presentation of prospectus and advances on individual term projects. Students should present evaluative summaries of their evidence and preliminary conclusions.

content:

Topic 1: Introduction. Cross-cultural communication in the work place: Introduction to the course. Discussion of issues of cultural adaptation, dealing with the cultural shock, and building cross- cultural competences. Introduction to Argentine and US business and political culture: contrasts and similarities. Special attention to cross-cultural environment issues (leadership, teamwork, individual responsibilities, initiative, risk taking, hierarchy and status).

Readings

Doing Business in Argentina - Reference for Business, David Victor, Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd edition, http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Argentina-Doing-Bu... [3] in.html
Customs and Culture of Argentina, Foster D.W., Greenwood Press, Westport, 1998. http://www.books.google.com [4]
On Argentina and the Southern Cone, Grimson and Kessler, Routledge, London, 2005 (pp. 1-145). IES library.

Suggested Readings

Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism: Political trust in Argentina and Mexico. Cleary andStokes, Russell Sage Foundation, 2006 (pp. 3-21 and 55-83) http://www.books.google.com [4]

Topic 2: Argentina’s labor market and governance: Argentina’s economy and urban demography in national, continental and international contexts. The labor reforms of 1990s and the counter-reforms of early 21st Century. The national and city’s government’s economic options and policy responses to current events, especially the impact of the local and global recession on Argentina.

Guest speaker: Lucas Ronconi, Director of LICIP-Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Film analysis: Crane World, Director: Pablo Trapero, 1999. Guest speaker: Human Resources Manager, Multinational.

Readings

“Macroeconomic Policy Changes in Argentina at the Turn of the Century”, Damill, M., Frenkel, R., and Maurizio, R., CEDES Working Paper, 29, 2007.
“Labour Market Policies and Regulations in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico: Programmes and Impacts”, Marshall A., Employment Strategy Papers 13, ILO, 2004 (pp. 1-25).
“The Effects of Labor Market Regulations on Employment Decisions by Firms: Empirical Evidence for Argentina”, Mondino G. and Montoya S., Research Network Working Paper 391, IADB, 2000 (55 pages).
“Crisis and Recovery in Argentina: Labor market, poverty, inequality and pro-poor growth dynamics”, Khamis, M., Ibero America Institute for Economic Research, Discussion Papers 135, November 2005.

Suggested Readings

“Labour Market Institutions without Blinders: The Debate over Flexibility and Labour Market Performance”, Freeman R.B., NBER Working Paper 11286, NBER, 2005 (26 pages).
“Global Employment Trends, 2011”, International Labor Organization, 2011.
“In the Wake of the Crisis: Argentina’s New Economic and Labour Policy Directions and their Impact”, Novick M., Tomada C., Damill M., Frenkel R. and Maurizio R., ILO Research Series 114, ILO, 2007 (pp. 1-50).

Topic 3: Government and trade unions: The continuous relevance of unions in Argentina’s labor relations. The different actors that integrate the labor market, their role in collective bargaining and labor agreements. Growing poverty and unemployment and its consequences. Students will be invited to introduce a contrast with the American case. Guest speaker: Ruben Cortina, Secretary of International Relations, Argentine Federation of Employees in Trade and Services Sectors

Readings

“Why ‘Union Revitalization’ is Not an Issue in Argentina? Labour Institutions and the Effectiveness of Traditional Trade Union Recruitment Strategies”, Marshall A. and Perelman, paper delivered at the 29th Annual Conference of the International Working Party on Labour Market Segmentation, Porto, September 2008.
“Current Tendencies of Unionization in Argentina: Results of a Business Survey”, Senen González, C., Trajtember, D., and Medwid B., Industrial Relations, Vol. 65, N 1, 2010.
“The resilience of traditional trade unions´ practices in the revitalisation of the Argentine labour movement”, Atzeni, M. and Ghigliani, P., in Craig Phelan (ed.) Trade unions revitalization: trends and prospects in 34 countries, Bern-Oxford: Peter Lang. 2007.
“What Difference Do Unions Make? Their Impact on Productivity and Wages in Latin America”, Kuhn, P., and Marquez, G., Inter American Development Bank, 2005. Chapter 1.

Suggested Readings

“Globalization and Informal Jobs in Developing Countries”, Bacchetta M., Ernst E. and Bustamante J., World Trade Organization and International Labour Office, 2009 (pp. 1-20).
“Explaining Non-Compliance with Labour Legislation in Latin America: A cross-country analysis”, Marshall A., ILO Discussion Paper Series, ILO, 2007 (38 pages).

Topic 4: Youth and the labor market: Education and job opportunities. Challenges of the higher education, public and private opportunities, social disadvantages and the need of economic aid for public education. Entering the labor market for the first time. Private and government selection processes Guest speaker: Expert from a NGO.

Readings

“Decent Work and Youth: Latin America”, ILO, Geneva 2008.
“Youth: Pathways to decent work”, Report VI, ILO, Geneva, 2005, Chapter 1 (35 pages).
“Occupational instability of young workers. Some evidences for Argentina”, Fernández, Maurizio and Monsalvo, UNGS, 2007 (30 pages).

Suggested Readings

“What can be learned from Latin American strategies in disadvantaged youth training for work? Some thoughts based on research”, Jacinto, UNESCO, 2008

Topic 5: Gender and ethnic discrimination in the workplace: This session will analyze the positive and negative aspects of the local market regarding gender issues and the difficulties immigrants have to enter the labor market: What are women and non-Argentines’ latest conquests? What are their most frequent challenges? What is the action taken by local, national governments and NGOs? Guest Speaker: Paley, Officer from INADI–National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism.

Readings

“Gendering Class in Latin America: How Women Effect and Experience Change in the Class Structure”, Bellone Hite A. and Viterna J.S., Latin American Research Review, Vol. 40, No. 2 (2005), pp. 50-82 (30 pages).
“Dimensions of Income Poverty and Gender in Argentina”, Esquivel V., Presented at the 14th IAFFE Annual Conference, Washington D.C., June 17-19, 2005 (15 pages).
“What else do we have to cope with?” Gender, paid and unpaid work during Argentina’s last crisis, Esquivel V., The International Working Group on Gender, Macroeconomics, and International Economics, Working Paper Series, 06- 2006 (30 pages).
“From Mining to Garment Workshops: Bolivian Migrants in Buenos Aires”, Bastia T., in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 33, No. 4, May 2007, pp. 655- 669 (15 pages).

Suggested Readings

“Global Employment Trends for Women”, ILO, 2009.
“Equality at Work: Tackling the Challenges”, ILO, 2007 (pp. 1-52).

CALENDAR
Week 1: Introduction and TOPIC 1
Week 2: TOPIC 1
Week 3: TOPIC 2
Week 4: Guest Speaker: Lucas Ronconi (UTDT)
Week 5: Paper prospectus and Film Analysis
Week 6: Guest Speaker: Human Resources Manager
Week 7: Midterm Exam
Week 8: Midterm Break
Week 9: TOPIC 3
Week 10: Guest Speaker: Ruben Cortina (FAECYS)
Week 11: TOPIC 4
Week 12: Guest Speaker: Expert from an NGO
Week 13: TOPIC 5
Week 14: Guest Speaker: Paley (INADI)
Week 15: Final Exam

Brief Biography of Instructor:

Gabriel Molteni holds a BA in Economics from Universidad Católica Argentina, a MPhil in Economics and Development from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), and a MPhil (Phd cand) in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom). Chief Economist of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce. Consultant of international organizations in the area of evaluation of social projects (Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Transparency International, UNIFEM, and others).