The open terrace provides tourists with an amazing view over the city’s various skyscrapers; to enjoy this requires some resistance against strong winds, however. In front of the tower resides a small lake, which offers a fountain show every half hour. Before the shows start, the Burj Khalifa starts blinking and sparkling. Eventually the lights turn off and the tower resembles an artificial Christmas tree in its full glory. Each show is slightly different, featuring Arabic songs that accompany the play.

Yet, from a 400 meters high viewpoint Dubai’s true faces becomes more visible than in its air-conditioned shopping malls. Surrounded by desert, the emirate boasts a population of about 2.3m, similar to Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s neighbor. Both are part of the United Arab Emirates, which consists of total seven emirates and has 6.9m inhabitants. According to government officials, the emirates compete with each other to be the leader in various fields. Burj Khalifa, for instance, is upgradable in height in case another Sheik decides to build an even taller monument.

Apart from large buildings Dubai has four artificial island projects, some of them yet to be built. The Palm Jumeirah, the first project, is located off shore the Burj Al Arab, the first seven-star luxury resort on this planet. It is the second tallest hotel in the world and boasts 200 rooms. Due to the financial crisis more recent construction projects are on hold or have been abandoned completely. A rotating tower, where different parts would rotate at different speeds and in different directions, will probably not be built within the coming years.

In Dubai only 17% of the population are Emirati. It is therefore an expat city where Indian immigrants make up nearly half of the people living and working in the desert city. Dubai is ruled by a monarch who in turn obeys decisions made by Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the monarch of the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi. The countries are strictly muslim, meaning that outside Western hotels and settlements women are ought to dress appropriately (no short skirt, no spaghetti t-shirt and a visible bra, because men otherwise might start to imagine things). A western man better does not actively seek the conversation with local women and waits until the woman makes the first step (for example when shaking hands). Also immigration is stricter than in other countries and the tourist is asked where he is coming from and where he is going to stay. Interestingly, female tourists are being held up much longer at the immigration counter and one friend was even asked whether she had a boyfriend. Maybe muslim men do not behave that strictly after all.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi try to become greener. Water is certainly the biggest issue, since most drinking water is currently retrieved from desalination plants. Abu Dhabi has a lot of natural water reserves underground; they are not sustainable, however. Therefore, the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency is looking to reduce the water footprint, which currently stands at 550 liter per person. In the Western world, in comparison, this figure stands closer to around 100 liter. One reason is that Abu Dhabi irrigates a large area of artificially sustained forest, as demanded by the king. For irrigation mostly groundwater is used, which is going to run out in the coming 25 years. New laws, such as the requirement that not more of 30% of the surface of new buildings is made of glass, are certainly a step in the right direction.

Also the existence of NGOs, such as the Arab CSR Network, can support the government to make the Emirates more sustainable. The Arab CSR Network, which is based in Dubai, was founded in 1996 by a few Arabs, mostly women. Their goal is to educate children about sustainability issues and to train the teachers at schools. Their network currently boasts more than 50 partners and they collect tons of waste every year. The launching phase was difficult, especially because sponsor money is scarce and the government does not ad hoc support such initiatives. Yet, once a clear benefit can be presented, the monarchy is quick in reacting and adapting its policies. It is impressive to see women in burkas presenting highly relevant ideas about sustainability. A western person might think that such ideas are only generated in very westernized environments, which is not entirely true. Still, the United Arab Emirates do import knowledge from the West by bringing in experts into the government. At the environmental agency, for instance, three out of six presenters were foreign.

Dubai, and many other emirates, rely on healthy ties with Western countries. Emirates, the airliner, recently announced another purchase of Airbus planes, putting the total bill at over $10bn. The company wants to become the major airline in the future. According to a recent report by The Economist, figures look like Emirates will achieve its goal. The airport, which recently received a large extension with the terminal 3, will be completely rebuilt to be able to handle even higher capacities. Similar actions are taken in Qatar, where a new airport is due to open soon. For foreigners traveling to the Middle East or to Asia, such projects are highly welcomed, since flight prices are immensely reduced and quality is boosted. Although flights leave in the middle of the night, our continuing trip to Shanghai nicely started off with a steaming herbal towel…

Authors
David Eberle | John de Geus | Pablo Mandelz

Files
Governance Infrastructure and Foreign Domestic Investment.pdf
Presentation.pdf

In his recent book ‘The Idea of Justice’, Amartya Sen, a Nobel-Prize winner and professor of philosophy and economics at Harvard University, seeks ways to decrease injustice rather than to find the perfect model of justice. The publication starts with a juxtaposition of the concepts of transcendental institutions and realization-focused comparison. Former, which has been advocated by Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant, has two main problems, according to Mr. Sen. Firstly, he criticizes the feasibility of the theory since there exists no absolute set of institutions. Institutions in this sense refer to social establishments that promote and possibly enforce justice in society. Secondly, institutions are neither sufficient nor necessary for achieving social justice thus being redundant.

The concept of realization-focused comparison, on the other hand, is much endorsed by Mr. Sen. Partly developed by Adam Smith and Karl Marx this theory concentrates on ‘real’ solutions advocating justice by comparing existing institutions rather than finding ideal yet hypothetical ones. An existing institution is preferred if it promotes the freedom of individuals within society, thereby leading to an increased individual’s opportunity to seek wealth as well as an intensified accountability of one’s own actions.

Consequently, Mr. Sen does not seek for the ultimate ideal of justice but explores how to decrease injustice by selecting superior institutions. He confronts two ways of arriving at the destination of improved justice. A comprehensive outcome is reached by including the deontological processes, i.e. the examination of the acts leading to the outcome. A culmination outcome, in contrast, is attained by considering the actual consequences caused by people’s actions. This second approach seems to be closer to reality since the actual impacts on people’s lives are taken into consideration.

The first chapter examines the causality of ‘doing good’ to ‘being well’. Mr. Sen refers to Akbar, an ancient Indian emperor, whose priority was the ‘pursuit of reason’ that eventually leads to ‘doing good’. Human reflection in general, however, consists not only of reasoning but also of emotions. These two sides are intertwined and interact with each other. David Hume, for example, proclaimed that emotions dominate the human mind. Smith, on the contrary, argues that reasoning can influence and change emotions.

In order to arrive at objective reasoning persons need to be open-minded and welcome information. Mr. Sen points to ‘reasoned scrutiny’, i.e. the exact examination of thought and perception, which eventually leads to justice through impartiality. Being critical can prevent harm; only goodwill cannot. Emotions should therefore not be applied unconditionally. Yet, without goodwill a person is unlikely to intend to prevent harm, even if he or she possesses the ability, i.e. the reasoning capability, to do so. Goodwill is, consequently, necessary but not sufficient to act justly.

In the second chapter Mr. Sen disputes the political theory developed by John Rawls, a leading figure of political philosophy in the twentieth century[1]. A major point of Rawls is that fairness leads to justice. Fairness is associated with persons while justice is linked to institutions. In order to arrive at the state of fairness, social bias and vested interests need to be abated. Rawls model include three stages of which each stage builds on the previous one.

A so-called ‘original position’ forms the basis of justice. At this point the vested interests of all parties are unknown even to themselves. The original position marks the point where the perceptions of justice of all parties are in line without the need to bargain. Nevertheless, Mr. Sen argues that plurality may exist in the original position, thereby making the arrival at one original point impossible. In the second stage institutions are developed based on the values found previously. Social decisions, e.g. legislation, are finally formed in the third stage.

Furthermore, Rawls’ theory consists of two basic principles. The first principle states that, in order to be just, liberty needs to be maximized for all parties, liberty needs to be similar for all parties, and liberty needs to be given priority over other issues at all times. Rawls insists in the second principle on equal opportunities for all parties as well as equity in distribution and efficiency. Obviously there is a trade-off between maximization of welfare for the whole society and equal distribution. Rawls, for instance, accepts ‘incentives’ (i.e. bribes) if they contribute to an increase in efficiency and equity. The allowance for incentives, however, might hamper opportunities of other parties who cannot afford paying bribes.

The chapter also mentions seven points endorsing Rawls’ theory. Firstly, the fact that fairness is central to justice, thus including elements of personal actions; secondly, the imperative of objective reasoning in order to arrive at justice; thirdly, the distinction between rational, i.e. having a functioning mind, and reasonable, i.e. thinking intelligently; fourthly, the priority of liberty, although Mr. Sen later finds this priority to be too extreme; fifthly, the importance of processes of how to arrive at justice and not merely focus on outcomes; sixthly, the allowance for competition, and lastly, the permission for people to do what they like.

Yet, Mr. Sen emphasizes three major weaknesses of the political theory developed by Rawls. He argues that Rawls merely concentrates on institutions rather than on actual happenings. Mr. Sen refers to the concepts of ‘niti’ and ‘nyaya’, two Sanskrit words both meaning justice. Whereas the former term stands for “organizational property and behavioural correctness”[2], the latter is “a comprehensive concept of realized justice”², which not only focuses on the role of institutions but also on the actual outcomes in the real world. According to the concept of nyaya, not only institutions should be considered but also their impact on people and whether these institutions can actually change the behavior of persons. Although Rawls’ first principle assures the choice of the right institutions and the second principle induces appropriate behavior, reality is too complex that simple rules about freedom and equal opportunities can lead to justice.

Another criticism on Rawls’ theory is the uncertainty and incompleteness prevailing at the original position. The social contract implied at that point might be hard to realize or even might not be achieved at all since no singular agreement among all parties can be found. Mr. Sen rather endorses Smith’s idea of the ‘impartial spectator’, the objective observation of our own actions, which eventually leads to an enhanced consciousness. Taking the idea of Rawls’ social contract to a worldwide scale, a ‘gigantic global social contract’ would be necessary at the original position. Such a contract presumes the existence of a world government; local events and local parochial beliefs, however, immensely complicate such a political system.

In the third chapter, Mr. Sen compares the leadership styles of Ashoka, a former Indian emperor, and Kautilya, the political adviser to Ashoka’s father. While Ashoka abandoned most institutions and heavily relied on behavioral reform, Kautilya’s economy was founded on institutions promoting appropriate behavior and punishing citizens if necessary. The fact that Ashoka’s empire fell apart soon after his death points the reader to the direction Mr. Sen is heading.

He emphasizes the need to seek for institutions that promote justice. Yet, he warns about falling into the trap of institutional fundamentalism, which allows only for just institutions. David Gauthier, for example, envisions a market-like method to pinpoint institutions. He claims that after finding the right institutions, people can be free from morality, since institutions will restrict their behavior in such a way that they are in line with justice. Yet, as Mr. Sen stresses, reality needs to be assessed constantly. Three political theories are, according to Mr. Sen, on the right track: utilitarianism, the social choice theory, and the normative approaches developed by Adam Smith.

Throughout the book, which consists of a myriad of short, well-written essays grouped into chapters, Mr. Sen expresses a sound logic complemented with pieces of dry humor. At the end of chapter two, for example, he discloses the difference between the Latin words ‘justitia’, justness, and ‘justitium’, a court vacation, remarking that we “need to move on, rather than taking a ‘vacation’”[3]. By including Eastern leaders and philosophers Mr. Sen’s intention to “create justice in a globalised world”[4] immensely gains in credibility. The novel distinction between two competing philosophical models about justice favors the comparative approach, which might actually advance the real world. The book therefore gains a positive tone and is able to satisfy the reader most of the times. In a nutshell, ‘The Idea of Justice’ is a sensational read and is highly recommended to everybody seeking to broaden his mind.

[2] [3] Sen, A. (2009). The Idea of Justice. Cambridge: The Belknap Press.

[4] The Economist. (6. August 2009). How to do it better. The Economist .

In the United States most graduate business programs are MBAs, which are, by the way, not government funded and cost thus a lot more money. In Switzerland and the Netherlands, for example, normal MSc/MA programs are part of the compulsory education (if a student chose to study at a university), i.e. a Bachelor is not considered to be a complete education. Again, this is due to the previous five-year diploma system. Consequently, the standard Master programs are heavily subsidized by tax payer’s money.

The ‘Master in Management Ranking‘ features only European Master programs, since such courses are practically absent in other parts of the world. The ranking considers the average salary of the alumni as of today, career and placement rank, percentages of women and international students and faculty, as well as the number of languages required to graduate. From a student perspective, some of these criteria might not be of great importance; the ranking thus reflects only one viewpoint.

CEMS, a European international management program, is on the top of the list. This program is offered at various European business schools and requires the student to speak at least two European languages apart from English and to study one of the three semesters at a partner institution. Other prominent candidates include HEC Paris (France), LSE (UK) and Esade (Spain). The Master program of the RSM Erasmus University is ranked tenth, down from eighth last year.

Of special interest for prospective graduates and job market entrants is the average salary column. The highest salaries are paid for graduates from Mannheim and London (at both roughly about $72,000). Students from RSM receive on average a mere $56,000 a year. A student coming from a poorer country obviously earns less than a graduate living in a rich country. An easy way to measure the value of a Master degree in a certain country is to compare the average salary after graduation with the country’s GDP per capita in nominal terms (i.e. no currency or price-level adjustments have been made). In the UK, the ratio of GDP per capita to an LSE graduate’s annual wage is 1:1.63. The same ratio holds for a student at Mannheim. In France, this ratio ranges from 1:1.57 to 1:25, depending on the business school in the top 10 ranks. A RSM graduate, however, faces dire prospects: there, the ratio is only 1:1.07.

According to my Dutch friend, this result is to be expected. Wages here are apparently very equal, meaning that a worker at McDonalds earns pretty much the same as an office employee. Many people holding a Master degree might not perform tasks that the Swiss society, for example, would graduates expect to do. Some graduates might even perform secretarial work. I believe that this is not as common in other countries.

Yet, this doesn’t imply that there are no big earners in the Netherlands. The MBA ranking gives a different picture. An MBA graduate from RSM, which is ranked 25th worldwide, will earn more than double the amount of a normal Master student. In this case, the ratio skyrockets to 1:2.16. This is probably again due to the former diploma system. Every student had to complete a five-year course in order to receive any diploma. Certainly, not all of these graduate became managers in large companies.

In the United States, for example, professionals would not follow an MBA program if their career does not require it. In Europe, in contrast, without a Master degree the student is considered to be still ‘in education’ and might not even find a job that requires only undergraduate skills in the US. The European job market has thus not yet adapted to the new Bachelor/Master system. Since an MBA is considered a supplementary education, only people who are required to do so will follow it. Also the fact that an MBA is much more expensive (fees start from $15000 per year and reach $100000 at top school such as the IMD in Lausanne) leads to the situation where only people who have a high chance of career advancements upon graduation will actually enroll in such programs. Therefore, MBA graduates generally play in a different league than normal Master students. It is important to mention that age differences to not matter (MBA students are usually older than Master students, since they have many years of working experience upon enrollment) since the FT rankings use current salaries to calculate their numbers. Possibly, some MBA graduates also possess a Master degree but might not be considered in the standard Master list. This effect, however, is not revealed on the FT website.

This basically gives me two implications: A(nother) reason why not to work in the Netherlands, or following an MBA program after working for a couple of years (good schools require about 5-8 years of working/management experience). Probably it will be both of them.

We were actually supposed to meet a friend of ours. Yet, this friend decided, to our surprise, not to answer our calls. So we decided to continue our journey until Venice St. Lucia, the end terminal, and to look for a room there. After inquiring two tourist booths we found a good room for roughly 50 euros per night, including breakfast. The best way to travel through the various quarters is by water bus. These ferries offer a ride down or upstream of Canal Grande, the river that divides Venice into two parts. Tickets are very expensive: one ride costs about 12 euros (full-day tickets are also available).

After we arrived at San Marco station, dusk already ended and we struggled to find our hotel with a map, dragging our luggage through the fresh snow (yes, it is very rare to snow in Venice). Walking through the small allies covered in white was truly a unique experience. Probably due to the snow we were able to find a cheap room, since many tourists cancelled their stays. Unfortunately, the hotel was not there where the map said it would be. We then realized that the address on the voucher is not congruent with the location on the map either. Thanks to modern technology we navigated ourselves to the indicated address. Yet, there was no hotel with the name we were looking for as well. Luckily, the hotel’s phone number was available online so we could call the concierge who guided us through the city’s labyrinth. Finally, we were nicely surprised by the room, which was very nice for a two-star hotel.

Venice offers many touristic sights. First of all there is Piazza San Marco, a large square with a big tower (Campanile), a big church (Basilica) and the Ponte dei Sospiri, where the Roman-style senate, headed by the Doge, used to seat. This large building contains multiple rooms, each with its own purpose (e.g. receive audiences or question prisoners). In the basement there are multiple brittle jail cells. Apart from San Marco there is the Rialto bridge, connecting the quarter San Marco with San Polo. While walking through the city you pass many small shops offering local specialties (e.g. Doge’s coffee beans, highly recommended) as well as touristic gifts. For a relatively high amount of money you can get yourself a real Venice face mask, ranging from simple eye-covering masks (roughly 15 euros) to full-blown head masks with feathers and other decoration.

Probably the most noteworthy activity in Venice is riding a Gondola, a very luxurious long-tail boat tubing down the river. Yet, since a half-hour ride costs about 70 euros, we decided to simply cross the river with a standard long-tailer, costing only 50 cents per person. Food is, as probably everywhere in Italy, very good. Again, asking the concierge is always a wise idea. Unlike in Rome, there is not much going on at night. We tried finding a ‘night club’, whose sign on the ground attracted our attention; yet, we were unable to find it. Also the concierge wasn’t much of a help. It thus paid off to have a nice room to spend your night in.

Vatican City is a sovereign city-state inside Rome. It is host to about 800 residents of whom the Pope is probably the most well-known person. Every Sunday he gives a mass; unfortunately, we were not able to see the Pope in person since we attended a mass at 4 pm. Yet, the mass was a great experience, especially for me as an Evangelic who had never seen a Catholic mass before. The mass was held in the St. Peter’s Basilica, the main building and probably the largest ‘church’ that I’ve ever seen. It is impressively decorated with paintings, sculptures and gold. Different wings complicate one’s orientation only to intensify the feeling of mystery and tranquility. During the mass I was deeply impressed by the choir’s performance (there were only five men singing). However, I found it a pity that the priests were rather rushing in and out; it was probably just another working day. All songs were in Italian and there was no singing book available, unlike in Swiss evangelic churches, where usually more local songs are chosen.

Apart from Vatican City, there are many other impressive buildings in the UNESCO protected old part of the city. One is ‘Fontana di Trevi’, which was the arrival point of a major reconstructed aqueduct in the 15th century. The roads in the old city are pretty narrow and I was surprised not to see any traditional Vespa. It seems to have been replaced by more modern scooters. Our hotel, the Andreotti Hotel, was located near ‘Piazza del Republica’, an uninteresting square at which a very expensive luxury hotel is located. Yet, the hotel’s location is fairly good, since it is only a ten minutes walk away from the main station. After arriving by plane at Roma Fiumicino, I needed to take a train to get to the city center. The trip cost about 10 Euros and took roughly 40 minutes. From the main station it was easy to find the hotel, thanks to iPhone’s maps functionality.

One time my Peruvian friend was getting tricked into a clothes sale. A driver would stop in the middle of the road and ask for directions (why would you ask tourists for directions anyway). Since my friend is very helpful he went closer to the car and took a look at the map that the man was showing to him. The guy started to talk and explain that he was from France. He then started to show him some clothes that he’d neatly folded on the passenger’s seat. It was then,  when we saw our friend talking out his wallet, that we stopped him from going any further. The driver was obviously angry that he couldn’t complete his deal. The funny thing was that while this happened to my friend, we were actually talking about that kind of deals and that the exactly same thing happened to somebody else before. Not only tricks but also overpriced items can be very annoying around tourist places. There are many small food and drinks stalls near touristic locations; there products, however, are way too expensive. So better bring your tasty sandwiches and cold beverages from the local bakery around the corner.

We were lucky to get good and cheap food except on one occasion (the food and wine was overpriced). Probably the best way to find a good restaurant is to ask the concierge at the hotel’s reception for a dining tip. Also, when there is a mass of locals in the restaurant it should be a save sign. Food for two including a bottle of local red wine should cost about 40 Euros. As we ate at the same place for the second time we even received an iced glass of ‘Limoncello’ for dessert. Yes, eating in Italy is a pure joy, especially after four months in the Netherlands…

When the weather barely reaches zero degree for days, the dikes in Rotterdam freeze. This is probably the most enjoyable time for Dutch families since children run on the ice where usually ducks take a swim. Also, school children would try to break the ice by throwing nearby stones on the ice, causing a hassle for construction workers since these stones were to be used for fixing the sidewalk. Some kids nevertheless play too much and would get wet feet (the ice sometimes does break).

For bikers this time of the year is the most uncomfortable and dangerous one. Slippery roads turn curving into tricky actions, where talent sometimes does not prevent a fall. Before Christmas I was able to enjoy a nasty fall due to an icy curve. A few minutes later I nearly fell again but this time it was because a biker in front of me lost her balance (breaking on snow usually doesn’t work that well). But as I’m writing this post, the sun is melting the last icy remains and the roads will, hopefully, be save again.

During Christmas, apart from spending a few very nice days in Italy (posts will follow), I received a nice gift, a bottle of red wine of the winery ‘Concha y Toro’ (the shell and the bull, if my translation is accurate). This Chilean wine was served for our annual family Christmas brunch; this year it was ‘fondue chinoise’, a meal where different types of meat are boiled in a hot soup on the table, served with vegetables and different types of sauces. As I returned to Rotterdam I found, to my surprise, two ‘Concha y Toro’ wines on my wine rack. Although it is not the premium edition like the present I received, the ‘Casillero del Diablo’ nevertheless is a good table wine. However, when drinking the wine with your partner be careful not to end up in devil’s rack…

Once in Bruges, it was dark already, a heavy wind shred our umbrella and rainfalls forced us into the nearest taxi. After some searching we finally stumbled upon Grand Hotel du Sablon, a nicely decorated three-star hotel. The hotelier refreshed us with some tea and found us a good place to eat. We ended up eating a local beef stew and grilled chicken at the grand square ‘Grote Markt’ in the town center. Despite a relatively small town center, Bruges has about 120,000 inhabitants, which makes it the largest city in the province of West Flanders.

The city is well known for its extraordinary atmosphere, casted by narrow roads, little houses and smallish shops; it is a UNESCO world heritage site since 2000. In the middle, a huge tower, Belfort, rises up to the sky. It was there where one of ‘In Bruges’ characters falls out of the window, just to save his friend from being executed (he wanted him to inherit his pistol). Now they installed fences.

We also took a boat ride on Bruges’ canals. After a rainy morning the sky presented its nicer side and allowed some sunlight to sparkle on the waters. On foot we explored the town down to the Begeijnhof, a monastery backyard, where all trees stand crooked towards the same direction. A sign shows that talking was prohibited, in order to honor the nuns who died during their service to god. Sadly, most tourists didn’t respect the constraint.

The weirdest experience happens at the Jerusalem Church, where you can observe a dozen of old women weaving clothes complemented by a Jewish museum about the art of table clothes. The church itself is very nice. I enjoyed the moment by lighting a candle in absolute silence.

The best place to go at night is the eggmarket, an area with some clubs and bars, where modern club hits are mixed with sounds from the 80s and 90s. Belgium beer, by the way, is highly recommended; especially ‘Kwak’ is worth a try. However, be aware of Italian restaurants; there are surely many tourist traps you can slump into. And also, make sure to have robust umbrella. As Colin Farrell puts it: “Damn Bruges!”