GU Business Professor in Florence
Dr. Rebecca Bull-Shaefer
Within Gonzaga’s core business curriculum, our Principles classes introduce students to basic functions within finance, operations, management, and marketing. This semester, our Principles of Marketing students are learning the basic processes of marketing by analyzing how strategic positioning occurs within the wine industry. Most of the business students come from California and Washington State, which support major players within both the United States and Global wine markets. Europe has created the foundation for traditional methods of wine production and promotion. Italians produce and drink wine very differently from Americans, and it is a rare brand and varietal that can compete successfully globally. At this point in the semester, students have been introduced to major complexities in producing, marketing, and selling wine through video and presentations. They have practiced classifying consumers into established market segments and they have visited the enotecas (wine shops) of Florence to make observations about varietals, price points, and labeling. After spring break, we will discuss the difficulties of wine storage, transportation, and promotional constraints. Before final exams, our Principles of Management and Marketing students will go together to a local wine production museum and visit a traditional Tuscan winery. We will hear from professionals in the industry not only about their experiences with marketing, but we will also learn how labor is recruited, trained, evaluated, and rewarded in grape-growing, wine production, and wine marketing and sales. To create a competitive advantage, effective management and leadership of employees are needed regardless of country or culture. Saluti! Cheers!
Originally from northern Illinois, I have lived in Spokane, Washington for almost eight years. At Gonzaga, I serve as an Associate Professor of Management and teach courses and conduct research within the areas of employee behavior, leadership, and human resource management practices. I Chair Gonzaga’s School of Business’ HRM Concentration Advisory Board, advise the student chapter of SHRM, and currently serve on the Board of Trustees for Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery in Spokane. Additionally, I regularly engage in professional workshops for businesses around the Spokane community that focus on negotiations and emotional intelligence.
Moving to Florence for the semester has been quite the challenge. I brought my two young children (ages 3 and 5), my husband, and my two parents to live with me. We live along the Arno, and it is beautiful. However, we have definitely experienced the different stages of culture shock. It is difficult not speaking the language and learning new ways of scheduling, cooking, cleaning, and interacting. My parents and my kids miss their friends, and I miss my shower and washing machine! Most of the winter has been cold and wet, but the sunshine has recently come to Firenze! Our favorite place to visit is the Boboli Gardens. Our family dinners are at Trattoria Sabatino, and our favorite gelateria is Gelateria La Carraia.
I am living in a new city and country and teaching new classes that I will probably not teach again. These challenges have allowed me to grow and empathize with our student’s experience, and allowed me an opportunity to link management and marketing concepts more intentionally (a continuous goal we have in the School of Business). My children are developing an understanding of cultural differences, my husband (who works remotely from our apartment) has learned empathy for his colleagues who work in different continents and must adopt exhausting work schedules to attend U.S. meeting times, and my parents… have eaten a lot of ice cream and great wines… and get in all of their “steps” without any effort each day. They also are developing a strong relationship with my children that they have not had the opportunity to develop prior to this experience since they live in Illinois. They are homeschooling my kindergartner while I am at Gonzaga, and we regularly check in with his teacher, family, friends, and our dog who is guarding our house back in Spokane.
Outside of class, I have engaged in many personal conversations with students about their goals, their experiences, and their hopes. I have both GU and LMU students in classes, and they are just incredible. Our engagement is rich and authentic. Thank you for allowing me to meet and teach them!