Alondra Perez's Blog

1.) Who is Alondra?

Alondra is a 20 year old woman who grew up in North Philadelphia. She holds pride in her background especially as a first-generation American born to two hard working families. She can seem a little mean when you first meet her but that is because where she grew up you have to be strong minded and ready for literally anything. She has many aspirations and goals that seem kind of impossible right now but she continues to take it day by day. She wants a fulfilling career and future. Alondra does not see herself in a mediocre office job just working under someone for their personal gains. She wants to work in a team who is determined and driven to see change. What does this change look like? She is kind of all over the place right now. There is so much she wants to change before she ever brings children into this world or dies. The change ranges from dismantling the many racist institutions that are only built to see whites succeed all the way to battling the global issue of climate change that every generation before her has turned their heads away from. Alondra has so much she wants to do before she dies. She tends to overload herself in daily responsibilities to the big ones like the changes described above. Well, I think most individuals would like Alondra. She is empathetic and judges you as an individual and not on the type of materialistic things you have or even the “academic successes” you have accomplished. She gets it. She does not judge people of success at all. She respects each and every person until you give her a reason not to especially when she notices you lack understanding, emotional intelligence, and humbleness.

 

2.) How will you change the world?

I want to change the world by being the voice for the groups of people and communities who have been silenced and forgotten. I want to collaborate and stay as far as I can from the savior complex because I am so fed up with individuals stressing social impact but then having this internalized feelings of superiority. Therefore, I place a huge emphasis on collaborating and voicing for these people. I do not want to overpower them. Some specific examples of these groups of people is America’s working class, the most under appreciated group of people especially the blue collared ones. I hate the social hierarchy engraved in United States placing the working class especially the blue collared working class at the bottom when in reality the “higher ups” depend so heavily on them. So, I want to work towards solidarity amongst the working class.

 

3.) What do you want to be on your epitaph?

“A passionate, resilient woman who wanted to see a more united world”

 

 

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

Live the most fulfilling life and gain experience through my human vehicle’s perspective (a Latina born to a family in poverty)

 

My purpose is to:

Gain as much understanding about the world around me

Live a fulfilling life through personal happiness and helping guide others through this human journey 

 

I believe (my core values):

• Karma→ If you do wrong, you will receive wrong 
• Be a person who genuinely cares about others 
• Do not overly self indulge 

 

The one thing I must do before I die is:

Have an impact on a  person’s views 

 

My advocates and supporters all believe I:

Will be the first at something and will make something well of my name through my compassions and determination

 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

THE RICH→ Greed, overindulgent, selfishness. 

 

I want to work in order to:

Advocate for the silenced and underprivileged

 

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

 

I always:

• Try to understand the emotions and behavior of others around me
• Am interested in learning more about people and their views 
• Want to satisfy my family and friends 

 

 

I never:

• Focus on money 
• Work hard for only personal interests 

 

My work style is:

• More individual work but I do not mind teams. I just want creative and personal space. 

 

I try to treat people:

• Always with respect no matter who they are unless they have given a compelling reason to why they do not deserve my respect. 

I approach problems by:

• Talking them through your head before acting on any fast thoughts 

 

Victories are time to:

• Celebrate and reflect on your journey to understand what now needs to be done. 

 

 If another attacks my point of view I:

• Try to break down the reasoning why. If they are completely inconsiderate and naive, I will try to point this out to them. If they continue to aggressively attack, I will stop acknowledging them and their existence. 

 

 

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will:

Point this out to others around me and throw hints of annoyance to the higher ups until the perfect moment comes to bring it up. I also begin to prepare what I would say and how I will defend my thoughts and emotions.

 

Your Credibility – Your Whats

You have just spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global Social Impact Fellowship, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How.  You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

What Have I Done	List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned
Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships	Global Social Impact Fellowship, Global Citizenship Certificate Program
Research Experiences	The One year long research I have been part of through the GSIF Program
Inventions and Innovations	The idea of an app to guide people through the struggles of poor air quality for Almaty residents.
(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures	Development of the app and its algorithm to ensure individualization.
Publications (Formal and Informal)	GSIF Presentations
Formal Presentations (at Lehigh and Beyond)	GSIF Presentations
Awards and External Recognition	Outside scholarships recognizing my abilities and passion for environmental leadership

 

Articulating and learning from GSIF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

Teamwork Experience (and Lessons Learned)	There are a lot of flaws I have when working in team settings. I get distracted easily especially now during remote learning because of the lack of social interactions I get with the Lehigh community anymore. I also need to start asking for help more when needed.
Conflict Resolution Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Develop a plan before each meeting to ensure we are following a schedule for each meeting  Updating the team every week about my failures, successes, concerns and questions.
Leadership Experience (and Lessons Learned)	I tend to take the dominance over the group naturally due to the emphasis on the planning and accountability
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)	Embrace the failures. Be patient during the process of trial and error. Don’t force something due to its convenience. Organization and communication are key to ensure a productive team
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Losing the “Why” during times of failure and confusion Becoming distant during stressful times.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Working with people from different ethnic and social backgrounds was a humbling experience and made me a better active listener so I could hear through every perspective.
An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.	When we first joined the group, Professor Dunonova showed us some facebook posts filled with Almaty residents where they would voice their concerns. Many seemed helpless and forgotten.
A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you can speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.	I am confident that environmental work is my calling because of the constant presence of the primary motivation: Impact. I also was excited to surround myself with people who were similarly dedicated.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.	It was a political moment where I gained this understanding. This past presidential election showed the fragmentation within just a nation alone so it made me wonder how split the whole world is when in effect we should be collaborating more than ever due to unprecedented global issues facing out way.

 

 

Group: Hugo Ramos, Ulan, Rebecca

To first address the issue of corruption from the police in Afghanistan 

 

Systems Thinking Challenge 1

“If u were the top police chief how would we deal with this problem”  blog post question- 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Local government
   2. Taliban
   3. Policemen
   4. Overall population
   5. Ghost Policemen
   6. Commanders
2. Interdependence: 
   1. Police provide protection for the overall population
   2. Local government funding the ghost policemen are creating a low moral in the police force
   3. Commanders are getting cut of salaries from the ghost policemen
   4. Taliban feed off policemen with low morals
3. Holism: 
   1. People are upset because there are ghost policemen that are getting paid to do nothing. This lowers the overall morale of the entire police force and creates public distrust in the government.
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goal of police force members: They just want to keep their paying job and to keeping serving their people 
   2. Goals for the public: They want to have a safe city and an uncorrupt government that cares about them
   3. Goals for the police chiefs: They want the corruption to continue because they are getting a free check out of it
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired goal is for the ghost policemen to be eliminated, but there is no incentive for the top down government officials to fix the issue because they benefit with a free check.  
6. Regulation: 
   1. An implementation of a verification system, that verifies if you are actually a police officer, eliminating the ghost policemen.
7. Abstraction: 
   1. Not having a verification system is problem for the policing system and for other industries that don’t have verification for their workers
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. High government- if the national government of Iraq would adopt this verification system and spread information about its benefit
      1. This would raise morale in the population restoring trust in the government. Additionally, it would create accountability measures. 
   2. Figuring out who is putting the “ghost” policemen on the payroll
      1. By identifying this person, the chief of police can either remove them or keep a closer eye on them so that they aren’t putting more people on the payroll that shouldn’t be getting paid.  They can be replaced with someone more trustworthy.  

 

How to solve the problem: 

Our solution will consist of a verification system implemented by the federal government that will require weekly sign ins, in order to receive a check.  Additionally once a month the sign in list will be examined and will check to see if there is anyone on the payroll that hasn’t signed in.  Then there will be a followup with that person as to why they haven’t been coming to receive their checks/ coming into work. It is important that the regulation comes from the top down government, because no one will listen to the community citizens since it’s the police chiefs that are the most corrupt.  Additionally, It is also important for morale so that people can be held accountable and that the people feel there is something being done to address the problem.

 

System Thinking Challenge 2: 

 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Community members
   2. The lake (Lake Victoria) 
   3. Habitat (
   4. The moss (Hyacinth)
   5. The employees (the four employees that the entrepreneur hired and the future employees that can be hired in a possible other system that falls under the larger system) 
   6. Entrepreneur (Foreigner)
   7. Compost and Briquettes (Block of Biomass from the Hyacinth)
2. Interdependence: 
   1. The entrepreneur is taking the moss that is causing problems for fisherman and health consequences and making something (with the profits) that has economic value and possibly further cleans Lake Victoria 
   2. The entrepreneur is providing job for four employees from the village 
   3. Create more jobs for further people
3. Holism: 
   1. Community members are upset that she is selling the compost and briquettes for profit off of a natural substance in the lake
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goals of the community members: They don’t want an outsider profiting off their land, however they want the moss in the lake cleaned up so that the fisherman can continue to fish and to avoid any possible health consequences 
   2. Goals for the employees: They want a job so they can make money and support their families
   3. Goals for the Entrepreneur:  Wants to help the community with their issue while also making a profit
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired output is that all parties want the moss extracted from the lake, but the community members want it gone to improve fishing while the entrepreneur wants it gone to generate profits
6. Regulation: 
   1. There should be direct communication between the entrepreneur and the community to make sure that whatever is being done with the moss and whatever the plans are for expansion of her company also aligns with the communities goals
7. Abstraction: 
   1. The process the entrepreneur created can be used in other areas where the moss grows
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. Ecosystem- By marketing the business right, the entrepreneur can inform villagers and locals about the negative effects of the water hyacinth (decreases biodiversity, spreads diseases, evenness in the water, blocks boats, disrupts fishing) so she can gain the approval of them. By gaining their trust and communicating well with the villagers, she can have a more prosperous business. 
      1. Assuring the locals that the entrepreneur has motives that go beyond the profits 
   2. As the entrepreneur’s need for hyacinth increases, she might be tempted to artificially control the moss level to profit more and not actually get rid of it. That might disturb the community and the fishermen. In the short run the entrepreneur will probably want to solve this issue of the water hyacinth infestation, but in the long run she’ll realize this business has sustained her and her employees. The radical decision would be to control the growth of the water hyacinth and her business to turn it into biomass. 
      1. To prevent this from becoming a monopoly or disruptive business, the entrepreneur must expand to other regions and consumers. Price would be a major factor in how this would sustain the community and her business. 

 

How should she solve the problem: 

She should try and make her compost and briquette process one that also benefits the community as a whole and not just benefits them by getting rid of the moss.  The entrepreneur should have an open discussion with community members about their expectations of moss removal and what they feel is becoming an issue with her company’s extraction of the moss. In addition, the entrepreneur should also address the possible noise and sight pollution that will increase around the lake. The employers that she hires should be members of the community so that the community can benefit from increasing it’s employment numbers.  Her moss extraction also needs to take into account how it is affecting fishermen. If the demand of the moss compost and briquettes is increasing, then the increased demand in moss will make the entrepreneur want more moss in the lake to extract, which can hinder the fisherman’s ability to catch fish.  She should look for other communities that are also having similar issues with the moss so that she has multiple sources of resources and not just Lake Victoria to avoid resource depletion.  Lastly, the community members might also not like that an outsider is coming in and making a profit off their land and resources.  She should find a way to give back to the community for the ability to take free resources from the lake and make a growing company that will likely make profits in the long run.

 

Another factor that needs to be considered is possible oversight on the entrepreneur and her business because we do not want depletion to occur which can lead to an unwanted outcome backfiring on the group that initially benefited which were the fishermen. According to “Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats”, the moss is what helps feed some of the life within the lake and is a major contributor to their diet.  If too much moss is extracted then it could affect the ecosystem and harm the aquatic life and fisherman’s ability to collect seafood.

 

Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats. 

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/4h/plants/Water_hyacinth/index.html

 

Water hyacinth- Native to Amazon, South America

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/national_invasive_species_awareness_week_water_hyacinth_bohling16

Team members: Ulan, Rebecca, Nathaly, Josue, Hugo

Describe 5 partnerships that have been formed to support project and impact success of failure of venture. 

 

Identify partnerships at the individual, team, and Lehigh/GSIF level

1. AlmaU
   1. They agreed to partner with us from the beginning of the project.  The partnership helps provide funding to both sides, allowing for them to use us as a resource and allowing us to use them as a resource when applying for grants.  
   2. They help us gather information from the country that we wouldn’t be able to learn and access, especially since we didn’t have any field work.  We help them
   3. Yes, because they want to fix the air quality issue for cleaner air in the city and we benefit from their research inputs
   4. To help strengthen this partnership it would be helpful to have clearer communication and incentives because they went MIA over the summer when they took their summer break
   5. They provide cultural and societal norms background information which can help our team make appropriate decisions 
2. Almaty Urban Air  (AUA)- 
   1. We’re working to solve the same problem. 
   2. They have helped us with software, because their app is already created
   3. We help them by offering them a different perspective and knowledge
   4. This partnership would be stronger if we could find a way to integrate both our
3. IQAir
   1. We will use their air quality data
   2. It has helped us justify the reason for needing air pollution mitigation plans to help reduce exposure
   3. They help us with our data collection and we can help them spread their product to more Kazak residents that might want to track their air quality
   4. Our partnership would strengthen if our app was directly paired with their company  
4. Arnika 
   1. Environmental NGO that has connections to other non profit environmental groups
   2. They have awareness projects based in Kazakhstan that we don’t have access to.  They also have relationships with the government and connections to resources that we don’t have available.  
   3. Yes this is a symbiotic relationship because we can utilize their connections and we are helping solve the issue they are interested in
   4. It will be strengthened once we have a usable model of our application because there will be something tangible to talk about.
5. Professor Holland
   1. She is a professor that has invested her research in air pollution and understanding how air pollution affects the health of cities.  She is an expert in her field and is a good resource for how to combat air quality issues
   2. She helped us by giving us information on how to jump start our venture and what types of problems we should look at.  We can also rely on funding for each other so if we get a grant that allows us to get air quality monitors she can utilize them and vise versa. 
   3. The relationship isn’t necessarily symbiotic because she was willing to give her expertise for no personal benefits.  She was also willing to pay for us to use handheld air quality testers in country when we were originally planning on going
   4. If Professor Holland had more stake in our project then it would make our project more equitable because she has a good name for herself in the research field
   5. She’s a key factor in keeping our relationship and communication with AlmatyU active. She keeps track for the AlmatyU and their progress. 

 

Questions to keep in mind: 

1. What constituted the partnership? 
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them? 
3. Was this a symbiotic relationship?  Why or why not? 
4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable? 

 

Visual of coalition and how it works 

 

https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/dair-dream-cleaner-future-your-city

Airkaz.org

https://ccacoalition.org/en/content/funding

Ten ways my teaming approach has changed/ evolved since I started, teamwork skills I have developed, and lessons learned: 

1. Communication
   1. My team and I have developed a relationship on both a professional and personal level which I feel as if was key for us to work well together. 
   2. Being able to provide truthful feedback is crucial to both the team and venture’s development. 
2. Creative approach
   1. When I first started on the team, I was a bit timid on giving ideas and feedback because of how fresh our project was and not being aware of exactly where our venture was headed. I am now embracing the journey though and not feeling pressured or stuck in a box when thinking about how our venture can be improved and/or expanded. 
3. Accountability
   1. Holding myself and my teammates accountable is what allows the most improvement. I am still working on this skill. As a team, we tend to work very last minute and miss deadlines which are trying to be stopped this semester. For instance, we now always sending out when2meets so we are aware of each other’s schedule and fit time to dedicate to our venture. 
4. I learned to not wait until the last minute. Last semester, we were not able to submit any literary pieces as a team because of how we kept pushing back the duties and responsibilities. 
   1. I would recognize though that last semester was really rough when we completely transitioned to online school which no one was prepared for. 
5. Networking  
   1. It is really crucial that we always take the opportunity to send out an email or set up a zoom call to network with people who could have huge contributions on our journey to a successful and impactful venture. For instance, Rebecca, one of my teammates, took the opportunity to meet with one of the Environmental Studies professors which was really helpful since she was working on an interesting research project herself that provided us insight that could be incorporated into our project in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 
6. Taking initiative
   1. Sometimes it is extremely helpful when someone sort of dominates a group to an extent to enforce expectations and duties. In my team, we all have taken turns doing so depending on the personal confidence and motivation in a specific scenario. We are all college students juggling a lot so taking turns with this role has been very relieving. It does not concentrate any dominance or stress on one person. 
7. Not taking on too many tasks 
   1. Last semester, I was very unrealistic with how much I could do for the venture every week, which led to disappointments. I should have made my group aware so that they could possibly help out with needed tasks
8.  I think it will be beneficial as a group to designate a specific time every week or biweekly to meet on our own to discuss goals and progress. 
   1. It will be very beneficial to meet as a team on our own to take the time to reflect on what could/ should be done better. 
9. I improved on my data taking. Last semester, I used to read many literary pieces but not fully explain them to my group members because of simply just forgetting what I had thoroughly read. Therefore, I have a designated folder in my google drive that I always have side by side with my readings to ensure that I am citing any research I gather and even make it easier for me to explain to my group members about what I have learned.
10. Active listening
    1. I tend to get way too excited sometimes and block out what is being said to me because of trying to formulate what I will say myself. I worked a lot on that because when working on a group project like ours it is key to allow everyone speak and be understood. 

 

Our original plan 03/20/2020

• Goals: 
  • Have a rough draft completed of the paper we are submitting to the IEE CHTC Conference in Seattle by mid-April
    • Send to Prof. Mehta so that he can review before submitting 
  • Touching base with our connections in Kazakhstan
    • Formulating a plan with them
  • Have a model laid out for the website by the end of April 
• Roles: 
  • Alondra
    • Implementer, Monitor-evaluator
  • Hugo
    • Specialist
  • Josue 
    • Team worker, resource investigator 
  • Nathaly 
    • Monitor-evaluator: critically analyze information before coming to conclusions 
    • Completer/finisher: detects errors and omissions; ensures adherence to deadlines

• • Rebecca 
    • Implementer: actually gets things done; turns ideas into actual plans 
    • Resource investigator: develop external contacts; negotiate for the team’s resources
  • Ulan 
    • Shaper: maintains a positive mental attitude; finds the best ways to overcome challenges facing the team 
    • Specialist: expert knowledge in a particular area 

• • Professor Duvanova 
    • Team worker, coordinator, specialist 
• Procedures
  • Decision Making: 
    • Majority Rule
    • If we are split down the middle, we will use our advisor as a mediator to help come to a consensus. 
  • Effective Meetings: 
    • Setting up goals for each meeting 
    • Checking in with each other→ Where people are with their designated tasks, etc. 
    • Splitting up work so that we are being proactive and productive with the time we work on tasks
    • Creating documents that have everyone’s assigned tasks for the week so we know how to check up on each other 
  • Communication:
    • Best time to work: In the mornings, any day of the week, preferably the end of the week
    • Frequency: Meet at least once a week besides our weekly advisor meetings
    • Location: Online
    • Type of Technology: Google Docs and Zoom
  • Relationships 
    • Make sure to consider everyone’s perspective 
    • Do not get frustrated with each other

Our Updated Plan:  

 

	What are the personal goals (small g) of each member on this team? (Team Member #1,#2, #3, etc) Make sure they connect to the DREAM on the Individual Profile.  What is the Project GOAL (big G) we’re all committed to achieve together? Is our Project Goal scaled to our resources (dreams, materials, skills, differences, etc.) and constraints (assignment, time, skills, etc.)  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? GOALS  Personal: (Insert your own goals)  –> Stretch out the weekly work throughout several days to ensure I am putting the most effort –> Submit one article discussing the effects of COVID on Almaty’s air quality Big Goal G: Decreasing the people’s exposure to air pollution and the amount of health diseases and deaths associated with cardiovascular and lung diseases in Almaty and improving overall quality of life  Small Goals: Strengthen our relationship with AlmaU to better understand the students and people there.   Creating our survey to identify our prime customer segments.  Recruitment passionate students to continue working on our project Better understanding of the financial side of our project Scaled to our resources and constraints?  Our Project goal is scaled to our resources and constraints. Our venture is still in the early stages of development. We have an ultimate goal and know how we want to approach it, which is through a mobile app that will provide individualized advice. Our advice will guide people through better behaviors that can be taken to decrease the chances of getting a chronic illness associated with cardiovascular and lung health.  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? Decrease in the morbidity and mortality rates from conditions related to cardiovascular and lung diseases  Decreasing the medical cost related to poor health
Roles	Who is responsible for which deliverables? Alondra, Josue, Hugo – responsible for developing the survey and sending it out.  Rebecca, Nathaly, Ulan – responsible for figuring out the financial portion of the project, identifying the funding sources.  Everyone – responsible for writing a research paper, finding ways to make our project sustainable in the long term, and connecting with the partners from AlmaU.  Which deliverables that require collaboration, subgroups & individual work?  All of our deliverables require collaboration because they are fundamental parts of our project.  Who does each person depend upon to succeed? Everyone depends on one another for various things. We know what our strengths and weaknesses are and use them to our advantage.  Do we need a project manager to coordinate?  No, we do not need a project manager because we all keep each other accountable.
Procedures	Decision Making –  Consensus/majority rules If there is a tie in votes, our advisor’s vote will break the tie Effective Meetings Everyone comes with updates on their progress with their deliverables We review goals and methods to progress towards them  Meeting roles:   Facilitator- advisor Notetaker- Rebecca Implementer- Alondra  Specialist in culture and language-Ulan Main presenter, networker-Josue  Specialist in Kazakhstan environmental history-Hugo  Communication- Zoom Weekly meetings with Advisor and team on Fridays @ 11:30 AM Weekly meetings with only team members to work on deliverables together and update one another  We send messages to update one another on our progress and where we may need help Email advisor with updates on progress
Relationships	Team Diversity – What is the diversity on our team?  Our team consist of a range of disciplines from computer science/ engineering to environmental studies/ economics/business Disciplines to tap for solutions;  individual learning styles for the stages of invention;  overall team learning style strengths and places to supplement;  cultural backgrounds , work experience,  dreams to leverage for scope & impact of goals, new roles, better procedures;  languages for more diverse customer set, bigger market; Alondra→ Invested in learning about the environmental issues being faced globally. Learns mainly from social interactions Hugo- Learns mainly from reading. Enjoys to learn about other cultures and  Ulan – Comes from the same cultural background as the region our project is based on, fluent in their naitve language  Nathaly- Passionate about environmental issues and helping disadvantaged groups. Learns by doing and seeing. Rebecca→  Josue  Listening – Notice my binary thinking, auto-rankism, and go beyond it.  Team Name Air Quality, Almaty

 

Team member names: Rebecca Gjini, Ulan Mirlanov, Nathaly Rodriguez, Hugo Ramos, Josue Quintero

Develop Top 20 FAQs for your project. 

• Questions
  • Identify the most important questions, building on referee Qs
  • Where are we getting our insight data from? 
  • Why? What? How? How well? How exactly? At steady-state…
• Provide concise and precise responses to each question. (No order of importance)

1.  What is Air Quality Almaty (AQA) trying to achieve/hoping to change? 
   • AQA is the first informational and interactive mobile application in Almaty, committed to providing individualized advice synthesized from over a hundred research papers and case studies. AQA aims to be an app that prioritizes engagement amongst its users and provides guidance through feasible everyday changes one could take to limit the exposure to the dangers that come along with poor air quality. 
2. What is the customer’s incentive for uploading our app?  
   • AQA provides users with a chance to prevent future health issues from the poor air quality around them. 
   • The government will also have an incentive because of the possible decline in health costs due to people engaging in healthier behavior. 
   • Costs of Poor Air Quality and Poor Behaviors: 
     1. Morbidity Cost Estimate: $1.59-1.686 million in Kazakhstan. 
     2. Mortality Cost Estimate: $15.9 billion-$16.86 billion in Kazakhstan.
     3. VSL Range for Almaty: $4.472747 million-$7.44967 million
     4. VSL Range for Kazakhstan: $2.65011 million-$2.8196 million
     5. Total Cost (Mortality + Morbidity): $17.49 billion-$18.372 billion
     6. .01* Cost= $174.4 million-$183.72 million
3.  Who will our partners be?- What will our partnerships look like?
   • AlmatyU– We need to better establish the relationship between the venture and AlmatyU. Kazakhstan residents as partners will greatly contribute to the effectiveness of AQA’s survey. 
     1. The tasks wouldn’t be demanding. Some tasks could include distributing our survey, contributing more data to the venture’s database, and reporting back on any feedback directly from survey takers and users.  AlmatyU team can also give us a better perspective on how to reword our surveys so that it is culturally relevant/appropriate to Kazakhstan residents.   
   • IQ Air– AQA will highly depend on IQ Air sources of air pollution and air quality for Kazakhstan. Since we would need large amounts of data setting up a partnership would help us in.
4. Where do we source our data?
   • Currently we have a Google Sheets database with our customer segments. Over 100 articles and scientific pieces have been synthesized to navigate the best advice that can be given out based on individual characteristics and lifestyles. 
   • We are working towards a better system that effectively works to input data and translate the data into easily understood graphs, charts, etc on our app’s platform. 
5. How do smart cities fit into the project?
   • Smart city technology can monitor, in real time, the air quality of areas and send alerts to people so they may avoid those areas. 
   • Kazakhstan residents will be better equipped to combat the growing issue of poor air quality. Since many of the issues are not an easy change and are embedded in the way society functions, AQA will prioritize individual actions that can be done. 
6. How will we personalize our users’ data?
   • When users first sign up for the app they will take a short survey that obtains basic information about their demographics. As the user continues to use the app they will be asked more questions about their daily habits. Based on the collected information, they will be given specific insights/goals to help them reduce their risk. 
7. How do you incorporate civic action in your app? 
   • AQA can have a feature that will allow users to challenge other users or friends that have not downloaded the app to a challenge measuring who is incorporating the given advice in their daily lives.
   • A reward system that will motivate users to recommend the app to their friends 
     1. Example: Cash App motivates their users to recommend the app to contacts by giving them $5 when the person downloads it. 
8. What role does the government play in AQA? 
   • In the past, citizens have tried to protest against the poor air quality, however the government would jail those involved. One of the main contributors to the poor air quality are coal factories/ coal based heating, which plays a huge role in Kazakhstan’s economy. 
     1. This means our project has to have clear benefits economically for the government.
9. What role does social media play in this venture?
   • Social media can be used as part of marketing strategy, since many citizens already go to social media as a way to raise awareness.
10. How will you market this venture? 
    • Our venture blogs will help build credibility. Our team should promote our blog and share it with AlmatyU. 
    • Creation of a website. It would allow our team to start our online platform which will present information about our venture, our goals, our works, etc. 
    • Creation of an app is an essential part of our venture, so having that on the app store, google app store, etc will allow the public to access it.
    • Our venture needs to pursue publishing a paper or a scientific piece that will build credibility. 
    • Have promotional videos capturing our venture’s purpose and how we’re working on the issues. 
    • Build a social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter would be great ways to capture attention. Be actively engaged with informational presentations and posts. 
    • QR Code on informational posters placed in relevant public spaces
      1. For example, a playground saying something along the lines of “Hey Mom, Make sure you check the air quality levels before you let your child play in this park”. Then, having a QR code that will direct the audience to our mobile application. 
11. Who will become our long-term target customers?( What customer segment are we going to focus on? )
    • Customers that are the most susceptible to the air pollutions (Asthmatics, elderly, pre- existing health conditions, pregnant women)
    • People that have the least amount of resources to help reduce their exposure to air pollution
    • Customers that are most likely to develop adverse health effects from long term air pollution exposure
    • Note: We are still doing research on these to detect which customer segment or segments we mainly want to focus on
12. What other cities can we use as examples when looking towards solutions?
    • Looking to California and seeing what policies and solutions they implement to tackle the poor air quality from the fires and how covid fits into the situation
    • Other Cities that endure poor air quality due to industrialization
      1. Ex: Beijing, Mexico City, LA, Santiago, etc
      2. See how their governments are dealing w/ the issues, learn from them 
      3. How has COVID factored into dealing with poor air quality and what were the after effects in terms of pollution changes
13. How does your venture compare to other approaches already in the market to solve the air pollution problem in Almaty? 
    • AUA- basically just showcases air quality data
    • IQAir
      1. -tracks air quality through their own air quality monitors that people purchase
      2. Map our air quality trackers on world map that shows distribution of air pollution 
    • We differ because of the personalization in insights we provide along with the data to minimize user’s exposure
14. How can we incentivize community members to come up with solutions and act together to help reduce air pollution and reduce exposure to poor air quality
    • Creating app features that promote community involvement
      1. Having more local farmers markets that are within walking distance
      2. Promoting carpooling 
      3. Promoting bike riding lessons
    • Incentive widespread energy use reductions that allow people to either use less energy or make things more energy efficient
15. Who will be the main engineers of the application?
    • We are going to outsource app developers
    • Hopefully we can partner with IQAir to help with developing our app 
16. How will your venture be sustainable in the future?
    • Our venture will be sustainable through subscription-based memberships  ux
    • If we partner with a larger organization we can get a steady inflow of funds and be sustained through their already existing infrastructure 
17. How can we better utilize NGO organizations and nonprofits in Kazakhstan to help support our ideas and solutions? 
    • Utilize their base for marketing and to gain credibility in the public impact sector
    • Connections / networking with other important stakeholders in the city 
18. What are examples of your insights?
    • Choosing to walk over riding a personal vehicle can reduce your exposure to air pollution
    • Keeping babies inside during poor air quality index
    • Doing prolonged cardio exercise outdoors increases your risk of developing cardiovascular issues
    • Incorporation indoor plants that help remove pollutants from the air
19. How will you fund your venture? 
    • Applying for grants 
    • Partnering with larger organizations like IQAir
    • Funding from venture capitalists
20. How can we better utilize our relationship with AlmaU? 
    • They know how to read Russian, so they can translate news articles and government policies for us
    • They are up to date with current events and can help us stay in the loop of what new updates are happening
    • They are more knowledgeable about living in the city and cultural understanding that we can utilize. 
    • They have better cultural understanding that could help us to build relationships with local community

 

Group: Susan Cheng, David Tauman, Alicia Zamudio

PART 1: 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

• In east Africa ~35% of children are stunted
• Gruel is used to complement breastfeeding, believed to be nutritious but in reality it is not helpful to growth
• HIV is prevalent amongst mothers in the region
• A breastfeeding mother that is HIV+ has a high chance of transferring it to her child
• World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding until an infant is six months
• The gruel is integrated into a child’s diet to complement breastfeeding from 2 months ~24 months of age
• The funding for the cooperative comes from a grant given by a donor.
• The goal is to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
• 500 women from three contiguous sub-locations have indicated their interest in joining the cooperative
• Crops that are locally grown include maize, sorghum, cassava, several varieties of legumes (dried beans), French beans, coffee, pineapple, bananas, pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots, kale, white (Irish) potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
• Mothers are skeptical of the porridge and its use as an early weaning food
• Pesticides are typically used in growing some of the crops that are locally grown and can result in adverse health implications for infants
• We received a grant for this project
• Assumptions
  • Mothers are not knowledge about HIV, its effect, and its transmission
  • Mothers do not know the effects of ingesting pesticides
• Ethical Issue: Mothers currently breastfeed and provide gruel to their children up to the age of 2, believing that it is beneficial to their health and growth. Contradicting the mother’s belief, the high prevalence of HIV in the community carries the risk of mothers transmitting HIV to their children via breastfeeding. In addition, the gruel does not provide key nutrients to their children’s growth. Our porridge solution would enable women to provide their children with the key nutrients to their growth. However, the ingredients to our porridge may contain pesticide residues.

Step 2 and 3: Define the Stakeholders and their Motivations – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• The mothers→ The approximately 500 women from the three contiguous sub-locations (primary) 
  • Want children to grow up healthy
  • Improve their own livelihood
  • Have a tasteful nutritious porridge that their kids will want to eat
  • Make money 
• The children (primary)
  • Have access to food
  • Want to grow healthy (no stunting and no HIV)
  • Consume food that are tasty
• Your cooperative→ the researchers 
  • Wants to implement the new supplementals to aid in child growth
  • Wants to prevent stunting and HIV in the youth
  • Wants to educate the mothers about HIV, nutrition, and pesticides
  • Create a porridge that kids will want to eat and mothers will want to feed their kids
  • To process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
  • Wants to create a successful business
  • Build their own credibility
• The donors (secondary)
  • Improve the nutrition amongst children in the area
  • Improve the livelihoods of rural households
• The governments/leaders in east Africa (secondary)
  • Want to limit the stunting in the children
  • Want to limit the HIV cases
  • Want to improve the livelihood of the community

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide

• • Solution #1: Educate mothers about HIV and transmission, nutrition, and urge them to try the porridge (do not warn about pesticides)
    • • Hold meetings to discuss what HIV is, the effects and dangers of HIV, and how it is transferred through breastfeeding
      • Urge the mothers to try implementing our porridge for their children as it can prevent the risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding
      • The porridge is also more nutritional than the current gruel the children are fed
    • Ethical Principle: We are providing the mothers with information concerning the health and nutrition of their children’s growth in their current practice. We then present a solution that may alleviate the malnutrition and potential health risks involved in their current lifestyle. However, the solution presented also carries health risks but we have decided in the mother’s stead that the solution will do them more good than their current practice. 

 

• • • Pros:
      • Avoid the fears that may arise amongst mothers regarding pesticides
      • Addressing why breastfeeding needs to be avoided (HIV issue)
      • Explaining how the porridge is more beneficial than the traditional gruel 

 

• • • Cons:

 

• • • • It could be considered an ethical dilemma where we violate  informed consent if we don’t inform the women of the possible pesticides.
      • Mothers may decide that they don’t want to learn more and want to continue using their traditional gruel. 
      • Mothers can be distrustful of us
      • Educating the mothers could be costly
  • Solution #2: Educate mothers about HIV, transmission, nutrition, and pesticide dangers (their decision about trying the porridge)
    • Ethical Principle: We educate the mothers about the dangers of HIV and pesticides and give them the power to decide whether or not they want to try the porridge. The fate of her children is in her own hands.
    • Pros:
      • The mothers are fully educated regarding all consequences and can make a decision for themselves.
      • No matter their choice, they will be doing what feels right for their children
      • Developing a relationship of trust because we are mentioning a possible drawback although it could negatively affect our venture.
    • Cons: 
      • Could lead to unnecessary fear amongst the mothers when it comes to pesticides
        • when in reality, the children may have already been consuming pesticides through the traditional gruel
      • Some mothers may choose not to try our porridge –> Hurting our venture
      • Some mothers may take offense of they aren’t aware of the issue and hear them from outsiders. They may think we are judging them or that we think we are superior to them.
      • Our actions could be taken as a savior complex and some mothers might feel threatened by it. 
      • Educating the mothers could be costly

 

• • Solution #3: We partner up with local farmers to have them grow produce without pesticides.

• • • Ethical Principles: We work with the local community to eliminate the health risk associated with our solution so that we are not potentially harming mothers and their children as we try to help them.
    • Pros:
      • More trust amongst the mothers since the elimination of pesticides will be prioritized 

• • • • Getting rid of the unknown factor that comes along with the use of pesticides 
      • No further research will be needed if we do not use pesticides (regarding the risks that comes with the consumption of pesticides) 

 

• • • Cons:

 

• • • • Could lead to financial burdens 
        • Khanjan brought up how it is hard to run a farm that is both efficient in producing a lot of food and not using pesticides 
      • Some locals might not want to work with us
      • We don’t know the working ethics of the locals. There could be hiccups that delay our progress

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

• Pesticide alternatives
  • Biocontrol: targeting predators by implementing their natural enemies nearby the farms to limit the populace
  • Polyculture: plant crops that naturally repel specific species
• Personal experience/ inner reflection
  • As the venture owner, you want to respect how the mothers should be completely aware. However, the possibility of pesticides far outweigh the dangers of HIV and malnutrition. They may not see it like that. Hearing about pesticides may driver possible consumers away before we even are able to completely explain ourselves. For instance, I even see this in the United States
    • Anti-vaxxers refuse to hear out how the pros weigh out the cons that come with vaccines. Once it sounds foreign to them and they get drowned with scientific information, they check out and ignore the argument to support vaccines.
    • When explaining to the mothers, we need to say it in an impactful way and through trustworthy people to avoid the same thing to occur that happens with many American people unfortunately
  • Disconnection to scientists, researchers
    • In my Environmental Science class, it was discussed how there are a lot of terms that are misunderstood by the general public.
      • For example, uncertainty in the scientific field is not viewed as a negative trait, etc
      • Scientists–> uncertainty is viewed as just room for more data collection (on top of what is already present) whereas the general public tends to have a negative connotation around the term
      • Need to ensure that we use concrete explanations that cannot be misinterpreted.
• https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/assessing-human-health-risk-pesticides
• “However, the low levels of pesticides found in foods are unlikely to cause harm”
  • https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pesticides-and-health#:~:text=million%20(%2016%20).-,Summary%3A,are%20unlikely%20to%20cause%20harm.

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class.

I believe the best course of action is to educate the mothers on every aspect: pesticide dangers, HIV transmission, and nutrition. As much as the mention of pesticide dangers may some possible consumers away, I feel as if it is the best ethical decision. Like previously described, the cooperative needs to make sure the workshops educating the mothers are well thought out and planned in a way that does not drown them in information. I would want the workshops to emphasize how the pros of the porridge outweigh the possible cons (if any). There has been plenty of risk assessments of pesticides in food and there is not an extreme concern associated with low levels of pesticides. In addition, by making the mothers aware of the pesticides could work as an advantage for our venture because it develops a relationship of honesty and genuine respect. In addition, this approach may really cause some conversation within the community leading to more possible consumers of the venture.

One of the other solutions was to host workshops of why our porridge is better but to not mention the pesticides. At first, I thought that was the right thing to do because we know that the concerns of pesticides are very little compared to stunted growth and HIV transmission. However, although I am not a mother I still understand I would want my children to be completely safe and I would want to be aware of what is going on. It their child and we need to respect their choices. As the outsiders, we need to make sure we show respect to cultural values and mother instincts. During the workshops, if we show that we care and are willing to answer any questions or concerns that will go a much longer way than just hiding flaws. Our venture is not perfect but it is relieving the current issues that the mothers and children are encountering to a certain extent.

 

As outsiders, we need to understand our place and not try to dominate the situation.

 

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

The solution I chose is the most ethical approach because of how it validates the mothers’ possible concerns. The mothers have every right to be scared and hesitant to our venture. We are outsiders and have different cultural norms. The gruel may be culturally embedded in their community, so it may take time for them to switch. We need to make sure we show them that we understand their fears. If we just dismiss their concern, it will have no benefit for the venture.

Yes, there could be possible health risks that come with pesticides but showing them how it could relieve their children of two issues: HIV transmission and malnutrition could make them reconsider. We are making two huge issues become one slight concern: pesticide effects. The venture may need to invest some money in workshops, but it could benefit the venture in the long term. Putting money into educating the east African communities could lead to more potential consumers, so it should be viewed more as an  investment.

 

PART 2: 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

• The business is thriving and the women are hired to work 9 hours everyday for a wage of KES 300 ($3)
• The women have a chance in selling the produce grown on their small farm to the cooperative to earn extra income
• The hard-earned money that women bring home is turned over to the husband, father, or brothers. 
• The husband, father, and brothers spend the hard-earned money on alcohol and frivolous items that does not enhance the well-being of the family
• The cooperative is thriving but is not achieving their two social outcomes of improving the nutritional status of children and the livelihoods of rural households
• You do not have direct say in the cooperative’s functioning and you have six months left on the committee 
• The other six members of the committee are local women that understand the problem and desire change
• The women are not opposed to the men taking their money but are more concerned with the issue of their hard-earned money not being used to feed their children
• Assume:
  • Not all 500 women will be working at the cooperative

 

Step 2 & 3: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome. Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders.

• The women working (primary) 
  • Personal: 
    • Want children to grow up healthy
    • Improve their own livelihood
    • Have a tasteful nutritious porridge that their kids will want to eat
    • provide for their family 
  • Professional: 
    • Keep their job that provides a sense of independence and identity 
    • A respectful distance between their work and home life 
• The children (secondary)
  • Personal: 
    • Have access to food
    • Want to grow healthy (no stunting and no HIV)
    • Consume food that are tasty
  • Professional: N/A
• Your cooperative→ the researchers (primary)
  • Personal:
    • Create a porridge that kids will want to eat and mothers will want to feed their kids
    • Wants to implement the new supplementals to aid in child growth
    • Wants to prevent stunting and HIV in the youth
  • Professional: 
    • Wants to create a successful business
    • Build their own credibility
    • To process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
• The donors (secondary)
  • Personal: 
    • Improve the nutrition amongst children in the area
    • Improve the livelihoods of rural households
  • Professional:
    • Reputation of helping the less fortunate financially
• The governments/leaders in east africa (secondary)
  • Both personal and professional: 
    • Want to limit the stunting in the children
    • Want to limit the HIV cases
    • Want to improve the livelihood of the community
• The men (primary)
  • Personal: 
    • Want to use the money in the household as they please (alcohol, etc.)
    • Collect money that wife earns from work
  • Professional: 
    • As the male, dominate the household operation and the sources of income (cultural norm) 
• You, the entrepreneur:
  • Personal: 
    • Want to make sure the money is going to the goals of the organization, which aligns with the goals of the mother
    • Want to maintain a positive relationship between other committee members with the remaining 6 months
    • Want to help mothers shift money from alcohol to food on the table for their children, particularly other members of the committee
  • Professional: 
    • Want to maintain a peaceful relationship between the mothers and their husbands
    • Want to improve the nutritional status of the children and the livelihood of the households in a non-invasive manner

 

Step 4: One optimal solution- based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture.

 

• Solution: The women would continue to earn their salary and get a pay every 3 days. Rather than paying out the full amount of KES 900 at the end of the 3rd day, the women would receive KES 450 in cash and the remaining monetary value will be supplemented with a package consisting of food and a little bit of alcohol.

 

• • • How does it solve the problem? 
      • This solution guarantees the women a portion of their salary going towards feeding their children (their primary concern).
      • Women would still be bringing money home so that they would not be penalized by the men in the house.
      • The addition of the alcohol as part of the package serves as a compromise to not only the wife but also to the men in the household.

 

• • • Pros

 

• • • • The women can maintain a portion of their salary towards food expenses for the nutritional well being of the children, which addresses their primary concern.
      • The men would still be receiving some of the women’s income.
      • Both the women and the men in the household gain from the package (alcohol and food).

 

• • • Cons

 

• • • • Some of the men might be angered by this system because they are not receiving as much money as they used to.
      • The packaging only addresses the nutritional status of the children and does not provide a solution to other aspects that will lead to improving the livelihoods of the households. 
      • There is minimal change occurring in the system to improve the livelihood of the community. Money is still primarily invested in the alcohol and other frivolous items that does not benefit the household nor the community. 
    • How does it save face of those involved? 
      • Mother: They are able to fulfill their duty of improving the nutritional status of their children.
      • Children: The children are more well fed and no longer at risk or experiencing malnutrition
      • Cooperative: The cooperative appears to be achieving at least one of their promised social outcome of “improving the nutritional status of children”
      • Donors: Donors seem like they are improving the situation in regards to children malnutrition through their financial contribution rather than allocating their funds that will end up buying alcohol for men.
      • Government/Leaders of East Africa: The government receives some sort of recognition in the improvement of children nutrition globally. 
      • You, the entrepreneur: You feel proud to solve the primary concern of mothers by ensuring that there is enough food on the table for children with the package.
  • Implications on relationships: 
    • Short term: 
      • The mother’s anger towards the men wasting money will die down for a brief moment. 
      • Men may be slightly upset at the cooperative for the decrease in their alcohol allowance
      • The cooperative will gain a positive reputation amongst the women and the government for their contribution on improving the nutritional status of the children
    • Long term: 
      • The mothers will be pleased to see the improvement in the nutritional status of the children, however their anger towards the men will return because their hard earned money is still being wasted on alcohol and other items that do not improve the livelihood of the household
      • The cooperative gain a positive momentum for a short period of time for meeting one of their goal (improving the nutritional status of children), however they will still need to address the livelihood aspects of the community in order to maintain their relationship with the community members, the donors, and the government
  • Implications on venture 
    • Short term: 
      • The cooperative will achieve one of their goal (improving the nutritional status of children), however they will still need to address the livelihood aspects of the community.
    • Long term: 
      • The cooperative will gain support from the community for addressing the malnutrition issue in the community, which boosts their business.

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

              This situation is a little more harder to approach since it is solely based on cultural differences. I am not used to the men dominating the women’s paycheck. However, I need to respect the cultural difference but also ensure we are not feeding any other problems through our venture. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the health of the children. Men abusing the money women are earning for alcohol is interfering with the children and their livelihood. Therefore, it is our place to an extent to jump in.

We will need additional assistance. We should set up discussions with the different groups of people in the community including: the mothers, the husbands, community leaders, and other organizations that deal with similar problems. For instance, the African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET) and AFRICA FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS seem like great organizations to begin with.

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class.

Our optimal solution was to make a small portion of the women’s salary a package of mainly food but also a little bit of alcohol. This solution fulfills the main goal which is to provide more nutrition to the children. However, our approach does not address the livelihood of the community. Looking through my cultural perspective, providing alcohol in the package does not feel right. However, I had to find a solution that sort of compromises. I do not want to completely strip away the men from their personal decisions because that could lead to tension amongst the men and women in the house which will not make the situation any better. Therefore, I had to go against what I personally think is right a bit because of this solution saving face for everyone. The mothers can continue to feel a sense of independence and happiness through their role in the venture and provide some money and goods to their family. Also, most importantly, the mothers will be able to have their children receive better nutrition. The men will still feel in control of the household and any sources of income (avoiding cultural clashes.) The cooperative, us, will be able to fulfill their main goal which is to provide porridge that is more nutritious for the children in east Arica while also protecting them from possible  HIV transmission. Also, we do not come off as invasive and disrespectful to their ways of doing things (men to women relationship).

The solution prioritizes the children and a peaceful relationship amongst all groups: men, and women. However, I do think it will be helpful to speak with the men. Khanjan recommended that a sort of an interview is set up with each man to discuss the alcohol usage. The cooperative will host the interviews but the actual conversation should be between the men and a local leader that understand the harm of the bad habits that the men are partaking in (religious leader, etc).

A solution that was brought up in class was to not provide any money at all and just store credit (for a local grocery store, etc) or through a package without any alcohol. This will be very problematic because the men may feel angered and disrespected by the women and the cooperative which could lead to the loss of workers and consumers because our venture will be viewed as invasive.

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

Step 1: (Preparation phase) Discuss our approach to the issue to trustworthy locals and community leaders.

Step 2: Take their feedback into account before taking further action.

Step 3: Partner up with locals or local organizations to set up the packages. (Maybe a church, non-profit)

Step 4: Locate where we would be getting the supplies from. Possibly establish a partnership.

Step 5:  Distribute packages to the women.

Step 6: After a week or so of the new way to pay the women, set up interviews with all of the men to discuss the issue and our take. Do not be to direct about the transition because you want to save face of the cooperative.

Step 7: Possibly stem out our venture to address this issue in the future or recommend the men who are hesitant to another organization that will help them address their relationship with alcohol.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethical Issues:

• Not every child in this situation received equal treatment
• Hindering a child’s mental growth from lack of consideration
• Jack doesn’t want to push back against the staff as he is a visitor and comes from a different ethical background

 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

• Jack was asked to give out gifts on behalf of the youth center
• 4 kids didn’t receive gifts ceremoniously and instead were given a black hat
• The kid(s) blame Jack for not getting gifts
• Jack tries to include the kids who are feeling left out, but the staff isn’t concerned
• There is a cultural difference between Jack ( American ) and the Staff ( Kenyan)
• Only one kid directly looked at Jack with a look of blame for not receiving a gift 
• An organization donated the gifts 
• Black hat having a negative stigma to it

 

Step 2 & 3: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome. Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders.

• Jack (wants to make sure he is not viewed as the bad guy to the students
  • Problem: He noticed that not all the children received gifts, causing some of them to feel “left out” so he wanted to bring this fact into the attention of the staff that would not strain his relationship with them.
  • Personal: Jack wants all the children to be treated equally. He wants to be well respected by the children and have a positive relationship with each other.
  • Professional: Jack will be staying with the children for a long period of time and wants to be seen in a good light. He wants the staff to make changes that would enhance their consideration of the children without causing a strain in his relationship with them.
• Staff (Maintain the situation they currently have without escalating it in any unnecessary manner→ Jack possibly interfering could create bigger issues they want to avoid)
  • Problem: The staff is concerned about Jack placing blame on them for a mistake that they do not view as a big issue. The staff does not want the situation to be escalated. 
  • Personal: The staff does not want their reputation to be jeopardized. Professional: They also don’t want to interfere with the hierarchy and flow they have created and worked in. They want operations to continue to be smooth and avoid unnecessary turbulence.
  • Don’t necessarily care about the credit concerning the gift giving
• Kids w/o gifts ( want to not feel excluded) 
  • Problem: These 4 kids didn’t receive gifts in the ceremonious manner the other kids did, so they likely feel left out
    • They likely also blame Jack and might treat him differently for the rest of his time w/ the center
  • Personal: Get a gift ceremoniously
    • Equal treatment
  • Avoiding embarrassment 
• Kids w/gifts (secondary)
  • Problem: These kids received a gift in a ceremonious manner while 4 other kids were handed a hat that was unwrapped. They might tease the kids that got hats.
  • Personal: They might feel bad if one of their friends did not receive a gift in the way they did otherwise they are not affected.
  • Professional: N/A
• Donors (secondary)
  • Problem: Donors recognize that not all children in Kenya are fortunate and could be better off with even a little extra of something.
  • Personal: Donors want to feel as if they are helping someone out and perhaps changing their lives by making a gift to people in less fortunate situations.
  • Professional: Donors feel that it is their duty & responsibility to contribute towards the happiness of children who are less fortunate due to their financial capabilities.

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] 

–Potential Solution #1: Have another smaller gift ceremony in which everyone certainly receives gifts

How does it solve the problem? The formerly left out children don’t continue to feel left out

• Pros: Kids who were left out before forget about past experience and feel included
• Cons: Unsure of financial ability to provide more gifts

–How does it save face of those involved? Kids don’t continue to question why either Jack or the staff didn’t give them gifts

–Implications on relationships

• Short-term: The kids who feel left out don’t feel removed from the other groups
• Long-term: Jack, the staff, and the children maintain a good relationship

–Implications on the venture (Khanjan said to interpret venture as Jack’s work for the next 5 months) 

• Short-term: Jack is no longer blamed for leaving 4 kids out
• Long-term: Jack maintains a good relationship with the kids and can continue his personal and professional work without any underlying conflicts

 

Potential Solution #2: Do not continue to press the issue 

How does it solve the problem? : Jack is not going to apologize to the kids or bring the problem back up to administration.

• Pros : 
  • Administration will be satisfied and Jack will maintain a respectful relationship with them as well as kids the who received presents in a ceremonious way 
  • Will not intensify the feelings of the children. 
    • For example: When a toddler falls, do not address the fact that they fell too much because it could lead to more crying and embarrassment. 
• Cons
  • The four kids who did not receive gifts in a ceremonious way may remain upset with Jack. 

How does it save face of those involved?

This saves face because it does not redirect the blame to the administration or reintroduce the problem to the kids and administration. 

Implications on relationships

• Short-term – Jack, the staff, and the children who received gifts maintain a good relationship
• Long-term – Jack, the staff, and children maintain a good relationship 

Implications on the venture

• Short-term – Jack may have some pushbacks when it comes to relationship building during the first weeks of his work. 
• Long-term -Jack will be able to successfully continue his professional and personal work without underlying issues with the staff

 

Potential Solution #3: Plan a baking activity with the staff that revolves around the concept of bonding that will involve the children and the staff. Emphasizing the importance of making sure that there are enough ingredients for all the children and the adults involved prior to the event. Spend time with the four children that did not get a gift in a “ceremonious way”.

How does it solve the problem?

• Pros: 
  • Jack is able to teach the staff, indirectly, the importance of making sure that everyone is equally involved and engaged. 
  • The staff is exposed to a new concept/culture of equal treatment and engagement in a subtle way. They will not feel as if Jack is brining unnecessary problems, but instead is engaged in establishing a positive relationship with everyone at the center while enhancing their sense of community with each other
  • Food is a necessity, so it will be easier to acquire rather than more gifts/resources
  • Children will have an enjoyable time participating in the activity and develop a deeper relationship with one another
  • Jack can restore his relationship with the four children that did not receive a gift
• Cons
  • Possible financial burdens when it comes to providing the needed supplies 
  • Could interfere with school structure, schedule 
    • May need to be planned very in advance
      • Possibly cannot happen as a short term solution
  • The kids might not make the connection between the inclusiveness of the activity and still be upset about not receiving gifts

How does it save face of those involved?

• This solution saves face because it does not redirect blame, instead it focuses on building up the relationships and teaches the importance of equal involvement with all of the kids and staff.

 

Implications on relationships

• Short-term: Jack, kids, and staff have a better bond
• Long-term: Could dictate positive relationships for the rest of Jack’s stay there. 

Implications on the venture

• Short-term: Will start off on a clean slate that will allow him to not face any barriers that could occur due to the 4 children no longer having as much appreciation and respect for him 
• Long-term: Jack will be seen as a foreigner who is actively engaged with the community
  • The staff may learn the importance of equality 

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection:

• Cultural differences 
  • At first, I thought that the staff was not being supportive and rude to Jack. However, we need to understand that there may be significant cultural differences. For Solution 3, one of my group members  wrote “The staff may learn the importance of equality.” I feel as if that brought in the saviorism mindset. Jack is a foreigner entering a new country. American norms and values are not beyond all others. Therefore, Jack needs to know his place. 
• Personal experience and Inner Reflection
  • I was a tutor throughout all of my high school years. When something unintentionally happens with kids, sometimes it is best to simply approach it. You want to make sure you validate the children’s feelings but also do not just end up intensifying their feelings. For instance, when a toddler falls, I was raised to believe that if you ignore the part that they fell (of course, if they are not hurt) then they will not react as dramatically. When you start saying “oh my god”, or “are you okay” a lot then that is when they start to make it a much bigger deal. The same concept applies to the situation that occurred between Jack and the children. 
  • As a child, I would have been fine with just a one-on-one apology. If the apology was too complex or dramatic, it would have just furthered the embarrassment. 

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short-term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

 

I believe the best course of action is solution #2, to not continue to press the situation. Jack will not apologize for the mistake that technically was not his fault or continue to bring it up to the administration. It saves face because it does not reintroduce the problem to the kids and administration. Jack is a foreigner and needs to keep a respectful relationship with the staff who he will be closely working with and even to a certain extent rely on during his stay. Therefore, he should not try to hold his higher ups at the moment accountable. I do not feel as if Jack should predict a bad stay simply because of this one incident that only involved 4 children. As always, he needs to make sure he needs to make sure he is providing equal treatment when he does start his work in the school. The way he directly interacts with the children will determine how his stay would be. In class, groups suggested a second event where they will not make a mistake. I feel as if it is not necessary and just going to serve as a financial burden on a school who already depended on an international donor organization for gifts. They clearly may not have the luxury to just throw another event with gifts and activities that require the purchase of supplies. I did really like Khanjan’s proposed idea during class. He said he would just have Jack wear the same black hat the 4 children were given for a couple of hours or days. It will make them appreciate the hat more and not just view it as a last minute replacement. This approach is not costly and does not require any further discussion with the staff. Jack is an American as well so the 4  students will feel as if their hats are very capable of being fashionable when they see him wearing it throughout the school. 

→ Use his American identity as a benefit (which is exactly what the school may    have been doing when they chose Jack to distribute the donated gifts) 

→ Like one student in class said, “change the meaning of the hats”. 

→ Simplicity can go a long way since you want to avoid Jack stepping on staff’s toes. 

A win-win situation for all stakeholders. Jack could recover his believed to be mean identity (although I believe he is making it seem a lot worse than it probably is). The staff are not being overly stressed over a perceived issue that they cannot see. Also, Jack will not seem like he is placing blame on them. The kids who were forgotten are validated in a very simple, indirect way. The donors are not unnecessarily brought into the situation. The kids with gifts are not affected. 

→ Everyone’s face is safe. 

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

 

Step 1: Jack should respectfully acknowledge the staff’s standpoint and explain to them what he will do. Also, he should openly acknowledge in front of the staff that it is nobody’s fault and just a simple mistake. 

Step 2: Jack should go back to the box and get a black hat so he can wear it for a couple hours. 

Step 3: Go on his normal day of work proudly wearing the black hat. He should try his best to ensure each student of the four sees him wearing it. 

Bonus step: At the end of the day, Jack can meet with the four students so they all can take a picture with their matching hats before they are dismissed.