In this week’s case study, Jack is an American working at a youth center in Kenya for 5 months. During a gift-giving ceremony, the center had 4 fewer gifts than children so they gave the left out kids black hats in a non-ceremonious manner. Jack noticed that the children were upset, so he brought it up to the staff at the center. He didn’t want the kids to blame the mishap on him since he was the one giving the gifts, straining his relationship with key players during his stay at the center, the children. The staff told Jack that if he had a problem, he should deal with it himself and they don’t want him becoming a “children’s rights activist”. The issue here arises because Jack wants to “save face” with the kids, but also his coworkers, with whom he wants to maintain a strong professional relationship. Jack needs to find a solution in which he can make the four kids happy again without offending or undermining the staff of the youth center by seeming as though he is stirring trouble.

The three main stakeholders in this situation are Jack, the youth center staff, and the children. Jack is a stakeholder because his reputation is on the line with both the children and the center. Personally, he wants to fulfill a moral obligation to treat all of the kids fairly and make them feel like equals. The inequality in gift receiving could also cause problems between kids which he could feel responsible for. Professionally, he wants to accomplish his goals of the trip during his 5 months there, which may not be possible without a good relationship with both the children and staff. The youth center is a stakeholder because they are the primary ones responsible for the wellbeing of the children. Personally, the staff likely have the best interests of them at heart and want them to be happy. Professionally, however, they have a job to get done with limited resources and likely wanted to give the children gifts and move on. Jack’s questioning of the gift giving likely questioned their process and they may want to ensure that Jack does not cause a stir over what they may deem to be a small issue again, causing them more work and trouble. The kids who did not receive normal gifts are stakeholders as well because they may have felt left out by receiving a black hat instead of a nicer gift. They have personal motivation because socially they could have been teased or excluded for their gifts or generally made to feel inferior because of the lack of ceremony in their gift as well. The kids also blamed Jack for this because he handed out the gives so they may feel some resentment towards him as well.

1. Administer the same gifts to the 4 children who did not get them originally

   1. Make sure this is in a public place to ensure that they feel respected and the “ceremony” aspect is achieved
   2. Pros
      1. Equality is achieved
      2. No difference in what the kids are getting or how they are getting it
   3. Cons
      1. The other kids might get mad that these 4 kids get the same gifts they got + a hat and another ceremony
      2. The youth center workers might get mad for working without them ruining necessary relations
   4. Saves face for the children, Jack and the youth center
   5. Implications on relationships
      1. The relationships between the kids would be salvaged because they would see each other as equals (short term and long term)
      2. The relationship between the kids and Jack would be fixed because the kids would believe Jack cares about them all (short term and long term)
      3. The relationship between the youth center and Jack could be fixed too because Jack would have taken the advice the youth center said and fixed the issue on his own (short term and long term)
   6. Implications on the venture
      1. Long term – Jack could show the initially hurt kids that he went out of his way to make an effort which, in the short term, would get him in better standing with those specific kids and also, long term, strengthen his relationship with all of them, allowing him to be more effective in his work
      2. Short term, his colleagues may be surprised that he took charge which they could potentially view poorly. However, it could show that Jack takes initiative and could be positive for his relationships with his colleagues in the long term.
2. Give the kids some type of a leadership role in some event in order to make them feel as though they are on the same social level.
   1. Pros
      1. The kids feel equal
      2. Might seem to the staff as though Jack did not see a problem with their opinion and preserve the relationship
   2. Cons
      1. The other kids may feel slighted for not receiving a leadership role
      2. Maybe the kids actually just care about the gifts and will still be upset
   3. Saves face for the kids, Jack, and the youth center
   4. Implications on relationships
      1. Hopefully the relationship between Jack and the children would be fixed because they would know Jack cares about them. However, the children who do not get a leadership role may feel to be second tier.
      2. The relationship between the youth center and Jack may be fixed because Jack solved the solution but it also may be worsened if they feel Jack went behind their backs.
   5. Implications on the venture
      1. Long term– May be extremely helpful to figure out this situation in the beginning so that it does not spiral into something bigger affecting the actual venturelater on 
      2. Short term- There may be some upset between the youth center and Jack because the youth center did not think that this was an issue to begin with.
3. Work in collaboration with the youth center workers to educate them about the problem in the situation and then plan something nice (but can be small) for the 4 children.
   1. Pros
      1. Not backdooring the youth workers, they will appreciate Jack prioritizing working with them
      2. Teaches the youth workers to better understand and deal with situations like these in the future
      3. The 4 children are receiving something special, and could improve their relationships with both Jack and the workers
   2. Cons
      1. Other kids may be mad bc the 4 kids are getting extra events for them
      2. The youth center staff may tell Jack to “fuck off”
   3. Saves face for Jack, the youth center workers (even though they might not care about that) as well as kind of patching up the relationship with the children
   4. Implications
      1. Short Term
         1. Makes 4 kids feel important/at the same level as the other children, could help them integrate themselves back into the rest of the group
         2. Kids will appreciate Jack doing something for them
         3. Rest of the kids may be mad the 4 kids are getting another event
      2. Long Term
         1. All kids may respect Jack & workers, make the 5 months easier
         2. Workers may appreciate you trying to work with them on that situation, helps your time with them

         3. The health workers may treat the kids better and have better relationships

The best solution to the issue is for Jack to wear a black hat every day for a few weeks or months after the ceremony. This would show the kids that the gift they received is special and “cool” because Jack is wearing it too, saving face to the kids. In the short term, it will likely mend Jack’s relationship with the left out kids because they won’t feel inferior. In the long term though, Jack will need to continue to work to maintain his relationship with them as similar situations with staff members could arise in the future since Jack didn’t really push for any change or inclusion of the kids after being brushed off by the staff. In the short term, his relationship with the staff could be a little strained because it might be bold of him to start wearing the hat and they may view it in a negative way. He did avoid confrontation though, maintaining a professional relationship with the staff and saving face. In the long term, after a few weeks, it probably will have little to no impact on their relationship and the staff may approve of his diplomatic way of solving the problem.

An advantage solution is that it is subtle, and non-confrontational. Jack caused a little stir by bringing up his concerns to the staff before, so this solution shows that Jack can take matters into his own hands and solve the problem. It also seemed that culturally, they may have not liked Jack coming in as a foreigner trying to create new problems so this would respectfully and subtly push for change without stepping on any toes. It would also likely improve his relationship with the kids because it would demonstrate his effort to make them feel included and make them happier with their gifts in general. A disadvantage to this, however, is that this relies on the kids seeing Jack in a way that him wearing the hat would make them want to as well. From our experiences in Sierra Leone though, we found that kids were eager to follow and look up to us which would probably work in Jack’s favor. In addition, this method, although non-confrontational, could be viewed as a little passive aggressive by staff members as Jack would be making a statement by wearing the hat. However, Jack would be taking matters into his own hands which the staff suggested and he wouldn’t cause any more work for them either.

Jack should start wearing the hat the next day after the ceremony, and should wear it every day after that. By wearing it all the time, he makes a stronger statement and it is more noticeable to the kids. If questioned about why he wears it by staff he should explain that he likes the hat but also wanted to set an example for the left out kids. This could also show the staff that there are small solutions to make everyone feel included and keep the peace in relationships.