Yesterday was a travel day – we spent much of it in the airport, due to weather problems in Sao Paulo. We finally arrived (via TAM airlines), and checked into our hotel, the Masoud Plaza, by mid-afternoon. Although it was too late to take the city tour that had been planned, we were able get out and about a bit. As usual, I headed for the Art Museum (MASP), which was in walking distance of the hotel, where we saw some glorious Brazilian art along with others from the Museum’s fine collection.
Thursday’s appointments took us to two sections of the city. First we went to Natura, a leading Brazilian manufacturer and marketer of skin care, cosmetics, perfumes and hair care products. The natural beauty of the campus of this company was particularly striking. Our speaker was Jimena Berlange, the Sustainability officer, who highlighted the company’s commitment to “create and sell products and services that promote well being and being well.” This company lives its values of interdependence, diversity, transparency and truth. Natura was founded in the 1970’s, employs a direct sales model, with over 450,000 consultants in Brazil and over 30,000 spread throughout Argentina, Chile, and Peru – it’s growth has been astonishing, as it has done $ 4.3 billion USD in sales and 183 product launches in 2007. We also took a tour of the facility and the factory. Here’s a piece of trivia – they produce 4000 tubes of lipsticks in an hour.
Then we went to the University of Sao Paulo, our Professor Hsu’s alma mater. After an excellent lunch in the student center, we went to the Foundation Institute of Administration, an affiliated organization of the Business School. There we were treated to an excellent lecture, presentation and lively discussion with Professor Ricardo Sennes, on the Political Climate in Brazil and its effects on Foreign Investment. It seemed to me that this was an excellent capstone for our study of Brazilian business in its economic, political, social, and institutional contexts.
After this full day, we returned to the hotel exhausted – our group separated to various locations for dinner. I went to a delightful place, the Sky bar at the top of the xxxx, hotel, and enjoyed a great view of the city, wonderful sushi and oysters, and a great Bloody Mary.
Cheers to you all…
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