Culture+Economics+Environment=Global Workplace?

I love firsts and as far as firsts go, this quarter is proving to be a first for me. Firstly, let me mention that one of the biggest deciding factors when I was considering applying for the MSC program occurred during a classroom preview featuring the Global workplace by Professor Dillip Gaonkar: he read an excerpt, addressing the impact of Bollywood on Nigerian and South African culture, then embarked on a fascinating discussion with his class about the influence of culture on the global economy, referencing Bollywood (Indian cinema) and Nollywood (Nigerian Cinema) - I was hooked and it was riveting.

Flash forward circa 2012 and I am back in this legendary teacher's classroom and this time, with unlimited passes for the quarter and I gotta say, he doesn’t disappoint. The Global workplace is an enigma, one that holds a huge fascination for the cultural enthusiast in me that longs to unravel the workings of this central force within a constantly dynamic global economy. How much influence does culture wield when it comes to the business arena? Are the two mutually exclusive or is one a driving force and the other a dependent factor? I'm all questions and between the Prof, the texts, movie clips and the readings, I’m getting most of the answers, making this truly a first.

So as far as firsts go, this is a first for me, sitting in on a preview of my anticipated first Northwestern classroom experience thinking...this has got to be a true preview, no classroom is this constantly fascinating...then finding myself back in the same classroom with the same professor being fascinated all over again and having it live up to my expectations. As far as firsts go...this is good one and rapidly becoming a constant.