Julia Freund ’20, International Business and Ethnic Studies, wrote about the work environment at Famous Sports.
The work environment is relaxed compared to other internships one might have in the U.S. The more- casual atmosphere comes from Famous Sports being a sports company. The office Marie and I work at has three showrooms with the new seasons of clothing and shoes from many different brands, such as Champion, Reebok, Adidas, and more. There are always clients coming into the office to see the new seasons from the brands and it is important to dress sporty since they are trying to sell sports clothing. Company members dress in a sports/casual way, but this relaxed outlook does not affect the seriousness and hard work that their employees put into their jobs and the company. There is a lot of collaboration and communication by the employees to work together and unlike some company’s in the U.S. There is no such thing as Slack or any other way of communicating via technology. There are two offices that are across the street from each other, but instead of just communicating over their computers, they always walk back and forth from one office to the other. If it is a basic question they will call instead of walk, but this is different compared to the U.S. sometimes in offices one might never see company employees talking to one another. This setting has made it very easy or Marie and I to get to know our co-workers and boss and has been an easy transition for us coming to a new company and foreign place. Thank you to SIBC, Frank Potenziani, and M&T Trust for this once in a lifetime opportunity. We cannot wait to see what the next month and a half has for us!
Carolina Lemmen Meyer ’19, International Business and a Political Science Minor, and Caroline Murray ’21, International Business and Spanish Minor, speak about the work environment at Socialway eServices as well as an event the company had last week.
This past week as interns for SocialWay eServices Ltd., we were fortunate enough to attend a launch event for Astro Bank Cyprus. Astro Bank has a strong presence within Cyprus and was an essential part of helping with the rebuilding of their economy after the economic crisis. The event was very enlightening and allowed us to witness the ins and outs of media marketing. We sat in the press room and learned how to upload promotional social media, while simultaneously watching the event proceedings. Likewise, this was an important event and even the President of Cyprus attended to give thanks to Astro Bank for their efforts to help the Cyprus economy. During the presentation, there was a strict schedule that was developed before the event and had to be followed down to the very minute. There were various posts that needed to be completed, including some on Instagram and Facebook as well as a live stream of the event. We learned how to launch Facebook campaigns and strategically target audiences that would be interested in watching ad posts from the event. Socialway partnered with a marketing company that dealt with the organizational aspects of the event, and we also got the chance to work closely with them in the press room. After the press event we all went to get dinner at Zanettos, a tavern in old Nicosia that is famous for their authentic Cypriot food. The owner of the restaurant was one of Socialway eServices’s oldest clients, so we were warmly greeted and sat at a big table on the terrace. Our waitress was a nice lady that was determined to make us try all of their traditional dishes, so she kept sending lots of food our way. It was a great opportunity to get to know our coworkers better and they were excited to share their culture with us. After getting to know each other better during the press event and our dinner afterwards, our coworkers have been happily addressing all of our questions and asking us about the states as well. We have been getting lunch together and even our boss joins us when he has the time. While at the office, we are taking courses in order to get certified as Facebook business professionals. This entails learning how to properly advertise to various demographics throughout Facebook and Instagram as well as create various ad campaigns for clients. Our coworkers have allowed us to help in the creation of their campaigns and it has been extremely helpful to actually apply the knowledge that we have gained to something concrete. We have also been introduced to the basics of google analytics by one of our coworkers that is a certified expert. He is working on a campaign for one of Cyprus’ largest electronic retailers and has been walking us through the steps of evaluating their digital assets. We are planning on taking our Facebook certification exam during this upcoming week and are excited to see all of the progress that we have made throughout the past few weeks.
Marie Lawson ’21, International Business and Marketing, writes about the culture in Cyprus.
Over the past three weeks we have been able to gain an understanding for Cyprus culture and learn about the various aspects of it. In terms of attitudes, the Cypriots possess a very laid-back culture that values family life and relaxing from the stresses of work. Likewise, they are very hard-working individuals and are focused on boosting their national economy by acquiring foreign business. Cyprus has become a very attractive location for international businesses to locate their headquarters due to various tax write offs and its proximity to Europe and the Middle East. The unique culture of Cyprus is evident in the rural villages, modern cities, and variety of architecture that spans across the island. Cyprus’ foundational Greek roots are supplemented by a spectrum of influence from countries such as Rome and Britain. For instance, the prehistoric settlements found in rural villages contain remnants of classical Greek temples, Roman theatres and villas, and British colonial-style buildings. The old and the new of Cyprus are intertwined with the preservation of old ways of life in the villages and the progressive nature of modern technology in the larger cities, such as Nicosia and Limassol. Cyprus embraces the SIBC mindset of “peace through commerce” through the integration of international business into the traditional nature of island life. Cypriots welcome tourists and outsiders with open arms through the establishment of international relations with major corporations such as Famous Sports or through smaller privately-owned businesses. No matter where one travels to in Cyprus, pieces from past historical influences can be seen in action with modern Cypriot culture, which makes Cyprus one of a kind.
