We started the day at another Big Four company in the area, KPMG. Walking through the office, almost every wall had inspiring art, surrounding a theme of bridges. They use the theme to symbolize connections between the three key features of the firm: accounting and finance, advisory, and professional services. Going into the visit, I had expectations similar to those of EY, yet was surprised by the slight differences in their structure and atmosphere as a firm. While the employees were very friendly and inviting from the start, when talking about the features of their firm, the company culture was not their primary topic, as it was at EY, as they focussed more on their international base and advisory features. Yet, when asked, they immediately reiterated a past slogan “one firm, one team,” which they felt truly embodies the spirit of the firm.

Moreover, it was interesting to gain an insight on to traveling abroad for work and how it requires a creative mindset. Since, as one of the speakers mentioned, “everything is unfamiliar all of the time,” it takes a lot of preparation and engagement when entering a new culture in order to respond to the environment. He also mentioned how this new knowledge can be applied back home, as dealing with conflicts and collaboration happens every day, and being able to understand different perspectives and separating emotions from a discussion is key. Another fact I found to be surprising was that he explained how things are more similar than not when abroad, as we are all humans. The advice that he left us was to really engage in a culture and put the effort to learn the language because when translating there is always a chance for missing the meaning outside of the text, which for a business negotiation, is very important to incorporate.

In terms of innovation, KPMG is understanding and preparing for the future of cybersecurity and data analytics. They are taking initiatives to incorporate automation and robotics in order to speed up their processes, allowing employees to focus on human interactions. For example, their Ignition Center allows their client to interact with the technology to form the relationship in a fun environment. This was similar at EY and Google, as they planned to assimilate technology in the supply chain, also using Artificial Intelligence and robotics. I think this shows how these big companies are trying to stay ahead and be innovative, or creative in their approach for the future. On the other hand, the social enterprise of Everyday Café was a much smaller organization with a limited amount of resources at its disposable, and yet, I would still label the company as innovative, due to their outreach of different groups and continuation of new projects included in their program. They are trying to think outside of the box so that they can make a big impact in such a small community. Employees at every firm we visited were really excited about what they do and wanted to make a difference, which I think shows the basis of an innovative character, as they are willing to adapt to change in order to move forward. By allowing employees to have free time, such as Google’s 20% plan, they are providing further opportunity for them to channel their inspiration and ideas to reality, benefitting a firm’s innovative standards.

At Pitt, there are so many opportunities available for its students. Just being in this program today, I have already had the chance to learn inside and outside the classroom, to apply my skills and knowledge, and to take risks. Not only are we pitching and developing new ideas, but we are taking our learning abroad to Ireland in just a few days, to apply these skills even more. Today we went over specifics on Irish culture and their perspective on Americans, and I found it fascinating how interested they are in politics and debate, especially since these are topics that often make for uncomfortable situations. Yet, I think innovation is a great part of globalization as we look at how to interact with other countries and cultures, and this program explores this idea and will help prepare me to tackle new challenges and change in the future.