This Place Rocks!

Monday was a long and productive day. We started out at 7am on a bus to the village of Street. Street is home to UK based Clarks shoe company. Our group was fortunate to have a tour of their museum, with a rich history of the company and shoes from different eras. We then learned more about the structure of the company, specifically the unique Quaker heritage that has shaped and still guides how the company is run today.

After the Clarks visit the group went on to Clarks Village where they had about an hour to eat lunch and do any shopping they could fit in. Some people managed to do well on both accounts! After this quick stop, we drove about an hour to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge offered a free audio guided tour and great photo opportunities for the group. Despite a forecast of rain, we enjoyed a dry visit.
After this visit we moved on to our final stop, the city of Bath. The city was beautiful and offered plenty of opportunity for exploration. At 8pm we had reservations to tour the Roman Baths. This visit was absolutely stunning. Parts of the Roman Baths and the associated temple date back as early as 60-70AD. Over the past 2000 years various civilizations have added, modified and restored the Baths. What results today is a breathtaking museum that allows visitors to experience history firsthand. The location was chosen for the natural hot springs that offer up water at about 115 degrees at a rate of 1.17 million liters per day. The hot springs are still functional, but the Roman Baths are not considered safe for bathing. However, the city has constructed two modern style baths to allow bathers to experience the hot springs spa experience.

World Cup Fever!

Even though England was eliminated from the World Cup several rounds ago, the British do love their football. Today the streets were buzzing with excitement for the final game tonight. This evening, pubs were literally overflowing into the streets as excited fans watched the match between the Netherlands and Spain.

Both countries have never won a World Cup title and there are plenty of excited people from both countries in Oxford right now to really enhance the mood. As I type this, there is singing and cheering in the streets that I can hear out my window. Many students found places around town to watch the game and enjoyed what was likely one of their most memorable World Cup experiences.

London!

On Wednesday of this week the group started out early in the morning to catch the coach to London. While it's not all that far away, traffic in the city in the morning made it around a 2 hour journey. However, we stepped off the bus and started to walk to our first visit. The walk was beautiful and we spent a little time in front of Buckingham Palace. The Union Jack (flag of the UK) was flying high above the Palace indicating that the Queen was there. We took some pictures outside the large gates before moving on.

We then walked along The Mall, the road running from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. This was a beautiful, tree lined walk with St. James Park along the south side. It took us right to our next destination, Coutts Bank. This was an especially unique visit as Coutts is widely regarded as the premier private bank in the UK. They don't routinely take visitors, rarely accept groups, so we were quite fortunate to have the visit. It involved a visit with the archivist who explained the history of the bank and three executives and private bankers.

The afternoon included a bus and boat tour of London. The group was energetic for such a long day and came back to Oxford that evening.

Thursday was spent mostly in class and the students were fortunate to have Professor Alan Rugman as a guest speaker on Thursday morning. He is a former Kelley School faculty member who is now at Henley College back in the UK. This weekend students will work on group projects, explore Oxford and travel as they choose.

Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom

This morning started with a terrific class. Professor McDougall lectured on the UK and the EU for a bit and then four students then gave their cultural briefings. Today students presented on food in the UK, the monarchy, rugby and Wimbledon. Following this the class had a discussion on the first several chapters in the textbook.

After a lunch break, the class broke into two groups and took a guided walking tour of Oxford. The guide was wonderful and we stopped at several of Oxford's 38 colleges, the Bodleian Library and saw several spots from the Harry Potter films.

The tour was rich with information, but perhaps one of the most interesting stops was the Bodleian Library. The collection there includes a copy of every book published in the UK and also 4 copies of the Magna Carta. There are only 17 in existence so this is a very special collection indeed. It's so special, that only Oxford University students and very select patrons can check out books. However, checking out a book only allows you to read it in the library as nothing in the collection is allowed to leave. On several occasions in history, kings and even Oliver Cromwell requested materials be delivered to them; but rules are rules and even they weren't permitted to access the collection outside the walls of the library!

Day One and the Fourth of July

It's always a bit surreal to be out of the US on the Fourth of July, but the group has found much to celebrate in their new home for the next three weeks. We had a group dinner this evening in the big Harry Potter like dining hall. The little touches like the college crest on the napkins made it feel very special. I hope to have more photos of the hall posted soon, but the lighting made it a bit difficult this evening. Dinner was followed by an orientation in the historic chapel at the college which is over 400 years old. Everyone introduced themselves and Professor McDougall covered some basics of the program. Tomorrow is the first day of class and it should be a good, packed day with class in the morning and a walking tour of Oxford in the afternoon. Stay tuned for updates.

Welcome to Kelley in Oxford 2010!

Welcome back to the Kelley in Oxford blog. This year we will have 25 Kelley students on the program and a terrific lineup of programming. Professor McDougall will be teaching the course titled "Cross Cultural Management." The program officially starts on the evening of July 4 with our welcome dinner and orientation. Please bookmark the blog and check back often to follow our adventures throughout the program.

Day 18: The Last Day!

Today was the last day of D301. Most students are leaving tomorrow morning. Some of them are going directly back to the U.S., while others are taking the opportunity to travel more through Europe.

This morning's class consisted of group presentations in which the students compared and contrasted various multi-domestic companies, while laying out a case for why the selected companies are considered multi-domestic. The groups really put together some informative presentations on companies in the chocolate, beverage, banking, and retail industries.

It's been a good day. The weather has been nice (s0 far), and the students seem relieved to have submitted all of their assignments. After class we trekked across Oxford for a group photo at Christ Church. Then everyone had a few hours to either do some last-minute exploring or finish their journals. We're all looking forward to tonight's closing dinner at a local restaurant.

It's difficult to believe the first Kelley in Oxford program is coming to a close. We've been blessed with a group of dedicated, engaged, and fun-loving students who not only represented Kelley well, but also enjoyed spending time together. We've been equally fortunate to benefit from the leadership of Dr. McDougall. Her knowledge and experience in the subject area, combined with her flexibility, easy-going personality, classroom management expertise, and tireless work made this an outstanding experience for everyone.

While this entry concludes the Kelley in Oxford 2009 blog, the program will not be forgotten. Planning is already underway for next summer, and we hope to offer another outstanding experience to even more students in 2010. Will you be a part of it?