Joe
Business Management Major

After a quick breakfast at the Unilodge Hotel, we took a short walk to the bus stop and were on our way for our scheduled activities. Our first meeting was with, "The Church in the Market Place" where we toured the facilities, which are surrounded by various street markets. The church provides a number of services to the local community including Sunday worship and church services. The facilities of the church also provide the community with classes and rooms for rent to facilitate a number of needs. One of the programs the church is currently developing is the "Jubilee" program that consists of providing the lower class of Sydney with non-interest loans for home necessities such as beds and what our tour guide called "White Goods," which are appliances like refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc. At the top floor of the church is a basketball court where we stumbled upon a competitive game between Asian students whose ages ranged from seven to 13.

From the church we took some free time to study the open market with its various offerings.

After our quick exploration, we headed back to visit and tour the Wesley Mission facilities and operations. The last part of the tour consisted of a presentation and Q-and-A with Martin Gardiner, the group manager of finance and administration. Here we learned of a variety of things concerning the balance of Christian values and missions with commercial operations. The organization is a $140 million organization that operates in 13 different industries. Their number-one industry is the employment program where the mission helps employ those in need of a job. Another industry is "age care," where they provide care for the elderly. The main conflict that Mr. Gardiner discussed concerning the mission was maintaining a successful commercial business while respecting the values and ethics of the mission. The Q-and-A was very insightful and it was interesting to learn how a non-profit organization as large as Wesley Mission operates.

After a good lunch at "Mama's Kitchen" near the hotel, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Kevin Perkins of the Collins Food Group. His presentation was quite interesting, consisting mainly of Australia's position economically and the operations of KFC in Australia. Probably the most interesting fact discussed with Mr. Perkins was the $12.30 per-hour minimum wage for adults over the age of 20 for the State of New South Wales. The food and restaurant market is a difficult market in Australia because the average Australian eats out of the home on average 79.7 times whereas the average American averages 200 meals eaten out of the home.

Our day ended with dinner on our own and planning for the free weekend we have for the next couple of days, most plans consisting of a visit to the world-renowned Bondi beach for some R &R.

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