11
Sep
2020
Sep
2020
Blog Post 9/11
categories: Uncategorized
- Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible
- Jack living at a youth center for 5 months
- Donor Org sent gifts and staff invited Jack to hand them out
- Four kids did not receive gifts and were handed black hats after the ceremony had ended
- Only one kid looked upset with Jack for not giving them a gift
- Staff upset at jack for bringing up such a trivial problem
- Cultural differences between staff and Jack→ American vs. Kenyan
- Step 2/3: Define the problem and the stakeholders/motivations
- Problem is that Jack wants to find a way to make the 4 kids who did not receive a ceremonious gift happy while avoiding backlash from the staff and other kids.
- Staff
- Professional→ give out what they were given/doing what they can do
- Personal→ saving face→ it’s not their fault the kids didn’t get gifts
- Jack
- Professional→ having good relationships with the children during his stay
- Personal→ saving face→ kids blame him since he gave out the gifts
- Kids that were not gifted
- Personal → wants to receive their gifts in a ceremonial manner
- Kids that were gifted
- Personal → want the situation to be fair to everyone
- Step 4: Formulate alternative solutions
- Potential Solution 1: A group dance performance that centers around the children with the 4 black hats
- How does it solve the problem? This solves the problem because it redefines the meaning of the black hats for the four kids without having to undermine the staff or create more tension between the children. All the children will participate (making it a group activity so no one feels left out) but the four children will be centered and use their black hats as props.
- Pros: hats feel special to the four kids after the dance, staff can participate with the kids or assist in the creation of the dance so it becomes not only a bonding activity for Jack and the children but also the staff, no additional costs are required, all the children participate and no one feels left out
- Cons: four kids potentially unsatisfied with their gift after the dance, other kids may get frustrated if they feel the children with the black hats are getting preferential treatment
- How does it save face of those involved? Saves Jack face because he can insist that these children were chosen for a reason and create better relationships with them, saves the staff’s face because nothing was done to undermine their authority/all the kids are happy, The four kids feel equal to their peers again because they got these special hats.
- Implications on relationships
- Short-term: hesitation from the staff on the idea may lead to some tension, kids excited to have this activity with Jack
- Long-term: The relationships between everyone involved will not be compromised
- Implications on the venture
- Short-term: trust established between the staff and Jack as well as the children and Jack
- Long-term: Staff members are more willing to trust other members of the venture after Jack leaves
- Potential Solution 2: Buy four toys for the four children.
- How does it solve the problem? The four kids who didn’t get toys now have toys.
- Pros: children feel special, Jack saves reputation with children
- Cons: staff upset at him for intervening, give staff the impression he’s a “white savior” and is just doing this work to make himself feel better, other kids upset b/c those four kids got new toys and a hat, the gifts may not be unique to “western” toys that the other kids got from the international donors.
- How does it save face of those involved? Saves Jack’s face because he is able to reestablish good relationships with those four kids.
- Implications on relationships
- Short-term: good relationship with kids, especially the kids who were left out originally, staff members’ trust in Jack diminishes
- Long-term: agitated relationship or continued lack of trust with staff members due to Jack undermining them, children expect gifts regularly from Jack
- Implications on the venture
- Short-term: staff members unwilling to participate in aspects of the venture or interact with Jack, lack of motivation to help the venture succeed, added cost of buying gifts takes away from other aspects of the project
- Long-term: flawed data due to lack of trust from staff, staff members don’t trust anyone from the venture (even if Jack leaves)
- Potential Solution 3: Recollect the hats and hold another ceremony for the kids.
- How does it solve the problem? Children not only didn’t receive toys but they also were not given the hats during the ceremony. This makes the hats even worse so by providing a ceremony you’re reestablishing that the hats are just as special as the other toys
- Pros: hats feel equal to the other toys, no extra money was spent, easy fix without having to engage the staff
- Cons: kids still left disappointed they did not receive a toy
- How does it save face of those involved? Saves Jack’s face because he is able to establish that the hats the children were gifted are just as special as the other gifts Jack handed out, Saves staff face because they’re relatively uninvolved and they don’t have to deal with other kids being upset
- Implications on relationships
- Short-term: Jack establishes trust with the staff members and children
- Long-term: Jack and the staff are able to work harmoniously and maybe even become friends
- Implications on the venture
- Short-term: Jack’s support from staff members helps leverage the venture and collect good data.
- Long-term: Staff members are able to trust the venture moving forward even after Jack leaves.
- Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection
- From personal experience, I’ve come to realize that when a child feels victimized or targeted in some way, you not only have to right your wrong but go one step further to make them feel special. Holding another ceremony wouldn’t be enough because they were already left out of the first one so having an even more unique event for them will make them feel equal to the other kids.
- Step 6: Select the best course of action
- The best course of action would be setting up the dance performance event – specifically for the ungifted kids. The ungifted kids can have a choreographed dance involving the use of their hats, so it highlights them and makes them feel special. This way the ungifted kids can feel better about being given the black hats and have a special memory attached to them. The staff and other kids can also dance in the event, so no one feels left out or excluded. This saves the face of the staff and Jack from having to take the blame for not gifting the four kids and it can make the ungifted kids feel equal to the kids that were gifted. This is the best option in comparison to other approaches because it creates more uniqueness to the hats and doesn’t cost any extra money. It also becomes a bonding experience for not only Jack and the kids but also the staff members. Option 3 would be the runner up in the best course of action because it doesn’t require any extra money and provides a sense of equality for the children. This option lacks making the four children feel special to compensate for them feeling left out since the children will only receive a ceremony after they were forgotten. Option 2 would cause too many problems between the children and staff members. It would also cost extra money that Jack and the venture may not have the means to provide.
- Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.
- Discuss the event with staff and enlist the help of the staff members to create choreography
- Have a meeting with the four kids to discuss their special role in the performance
- Alert the rest of the kids about the dance performance and welcome everyone to join if they want to
- practice, practice, practice
- Potentially: invite people in the area to come to watch
- Hold the event