CINQ 387-011: Inquiry to Impact Workshop Series Ethical Decision-Making / Grassroots Diplomacy Case: Sept 13, 2021
While traveling through Philadelphia in the summer of 2012, Ugochi Wilson got mugged by a young man in a high-crime neighborhood. Ugochi was deeply affected and moved by this incident, and started researching the challenges faced by young people in urban centers and the work done by non-profits to support them. She was astounded by how significant and complex the street crime issue was and how it impacted every aspect of life in these communities. Talking to local non-profits educated her on the challenges of poor education and systemic racism that strengthened the school-to-prison pipeline and trapped youngsters in the vicious cycle of poverty. In conversations with the primary stakeholders, it became evident that the young people lacked the voice and vision to bring forth their concerns and co create viable solutions with various government actors, non-profits, and local businesses.
Ugochi, a serial entrepreneur, launched a social venture to give these vulnerable youth a voice and build their confidence to become employable and responsible adults. Ugochi launched a multi-pronged approach against homelessness and hopelessness through the global language of soccer. She founded the Soccer for Youth Empowerment Tournament (SYE-T).
SYE-T engages vulnerable young people in urban city centers across the U.S. in soccer coaching and tournaments. SYE-T staff members coach soccer camps in various cities and form city teams that participate in regional tournaments every three months. Over the course of a week, the young people play soccer, participate in leadership workshops, explore career pathways, and strengthen their communication and teamwork skills. These young people develop a growth mindset and learn how to channel their passion and talents to create happiness for themselves and others. The winners of the regional competitions compete for the national title once a year. Even the teams that don’t make it to national level attend the week-long tournament for personal and professional development. They learn how to socialize, relate with others, and become responsible adults. Local businesses in all of the host cities like to interact with and hire these youth. Today, although only 400 players from 20 cities compete in the regional tournaments, it has been estimated that about 30,000 youth benefit every year from pre-selection training and program engagement. The first three tournaments that Ugochi organized had a total budget of about $100,000 which she raised from more than 600 supporters. The contributions ranged from $10 to $10,000 and many of them came with hand-written notes expressing their gratitude and support. One-third of the funds came directly from the youths’ communities. Ugochi was successful in securing in-kind support — uniforms to plane tickets to food and lodging — from over 50 organizations. Schools and churches provided their grounds for practices, healthcare systems provided free check-ups and preventive health education, and local photographers gifted them professional headshots. The supporting businesses had the opportunity to get to know some of these bright young people and hire them. Local community colleges and universities opened their doors and helped these marginalized youth explore opportunities for higher education. In 2015, a major shoe manufacturer (we’ll call them…Spikey) sponsored the program to the tune of $2 Million which enabled Ugochi to expand the number of participating cities from 5 to 15. Spikey received excellent publicity through SYE-T, and their sales in participating cities skyrocketed. Spikey quickly recognized the opportunity for financial gain while projecting a socially-progressive brand image. Over a period of five years, their tax-free donation increased from $2 Million to $6 Million, which enabled thousands of young people from over 20 cities to participate. During those same five years, the entities providing Ugochi with in-kind support started dropping out, grossly raising the overall cost of the event (though all of the expenses were covered by Spikey). Gone were the workshops on finding purpose and building community. There were no professional headshots or rope courses to build teamwork skills. But there was more soccer, more competitive than ever, and for many more youth.
Part 1: Fast forward to August 2021. Ugochi has found herself in a difficult situation, for it has come to light that three of the contractors that manufacture Spikey’s shoes in Cambodia employ children under the age of 12 at their facilities. One contractor restricts employment to 20 hours a week and, through their “study to-work program,” mandates that children attend an on-campus school before they are allowed to work and support their families. The other two contractors expect the children to work upwards of 60 hours a week and provide no educational benefits. Spikey executives insist that the contractors are in compliance with Cambodian law and their PR staff are working aggressively to contain the fallout from the story. They have assured Ugochi that they remain steadfast supporters of SYE-T and might even increase the level of sponsorship with some strings attached. Ugochi is concerned not just about the labor practices employed by Spikey and their contractors but also how SYE-T is striving to address a major challenge in the U.S. while being complicit in perpetuating a similar problem abroad. She is wondering whether she should continue accepting sponsorship from Spikey or not. If you were Ugochi, what would you do?
Part 2: Ugochi has a meeting with the head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Spikey. Mr. Mikey evades all questions about the Cambodia situation and insists that there is nothing to worry about. Based on his conversations with senior management, he proposes that the focus of the competition should not be on vulnerable youth. After all, last year there were a few confirmed incidents of youth smoking marijuana before playing soccer, which creates bad optics for Spikey. Also, Spikey wants the competition to only include men over the age of 18 to make it more competitive. Mr. Mikey makes an off-hand comment that there isn’t much interest in women playing soccer anyway. When Ugochi objects to the idea of excluding women, he suggests that women could be involved as cheerleaders. There is a heated argument that ends in Mr. Mikey threatening to stop sponsoring the event. Ugochi realizes that she stands to lose 80% of her funding if Spikey backs out of their sponsorship deal. With only 20% of her previous funding, she will have to scale down operations significantly and greatly restrict the number of participants, which would be devastating to thousands of youth, their families, and their volunteer coaches. Mr. Mikey asks Ugochi to think about it and come back in a week for a meeting at a venue of her choice. If you were Ugochi, what would you do?
Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue.
- Ugochi Wilson got mugged – this inspired Ugochi to research the challenges that the youth face in urban regions
- After talking to stakeholders came to the conclusion that the young people lacked the voice and vision to bring forth their concerns and co-create solutions with gov, non profit, etc.
- Ugochi founded SYE-T, which engages vulnerable young people in urban city centers across the U.S. in soccer coaching and tournaments.
- The children learn how to relate with others, responsible adults.
- Spikey sponsored 2 million to the program which allowed Ugochi to increase the number of participating cities from 5 to 15
- Spikey stands to financially gain from their partnership with Ugochi
- Two of the contractors expect the children to work upwards of 60 hours a week and provide no educational benefits
- The local businesses provide additional benefits that Spikey does not
Ethical Issue Part 1:
- Whether or not the company should cut off the sponsorship with Spikey because they enforce child labor, even if it means large amounts of funding for the venture would be removed which would devastate thousands of youth, their families, and volunteer coaches.
Ethical Issue Part 2:
- Whether or not Ugochi has to cut off the sponsorship with Spikey after realizing that Mr. Mikey discriminates against women and also has views that do not align with the original goal of the venture. Or if she should prioritize the financial gain of her company and consequently compromise her moral beliefs.
Step 2 + 3: Define the stakeholders and assess their motivations – those with a vested interest in the outcome.
Primary:
- Ugochi Wilson
- To help reduce the poor education and systemic racism that strengthens the school-to-prison pipeline and traps young people in the vicious cycle of poverty by founding the Soccer for Youth Empowerment Tournament (SYE-T).
- Personal professional development; Ugochi financially has been successful with her company
- Young adults who participate
- Get involved in a social/ educational activity that allows them to meet more people and make connections
- Passion for soccer
- Community colleges & universities
- Improve the communities around them and potentially gain customers when children grow up.
- Improves reputation in the community and country
- Spikey
- Make money that would scale his investment in the venture
- Competition is for males over the age of 18
- Mr. Mikey
- Force children to make him money, stop women from playing sports
Secondary:
- The children in Cambodia
- They want to make money to live and eat and drink
- Other Investors
- Financial gain
- Using money to improve communities
- Community members
- Help their communities with their small businesses (seminars, headshots)
Tertiary:
- Volunteer Coaches
- Improve the communities around them and the lives of the people they are close with
- Schools and Churches that offer space to play soccer
- Continue with a partnership that raises awareness of the church
Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]
Potential solution 1: Ugochi continues to accept the Spikey sponsorship.
- Ethical Principle or code: Utilitarianism/consequence based thinking: The most amount of people gain from maintaining the sponsorship from Spikey/the consequences of cutting off the sponsorship would be devastating for the young
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- The company continues to financially prosper with the sponsorship with Spikey
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- Operations of SYE-T will not have to be affected or scaled down. The youth, families, volunteer coaches will continue to have the same resources and experiences
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- Poorly regulated child labor is still associated with Ugochi
Potential solution 2: Ugochi refuses the Spikey sponsorship.
- Ethical Principle or code: Duty/virtue-based thinking: Ugochi has an ethical obligation to cut off relations with a company that is participating in child labor, even if it means that the company will finaically suffer.
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- Maintains moral high ground by not associating with those who employ children.
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- Loses 80% of the funding from Spikey
- Less events that SYE-T can hold
- Less involvement of young adults in the program
- Less publicity and scale of the benefits of this venture
- Communities will suffer
Potential solution 3: Ugochi meets with a competitive company (Padidas for instance) and attempts to gain a similar sponsorship, motivating them with the evidence of Spikey’s increased sales.
- Ethical Principle or code: Pragmatism: This solution would solve the problem in a practical manner and would have challenging methods that would be justified by the end result.
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- No longer associated with Spikey
- Has the evidence of financial benefit for supporting her cause
- Could investigate Padidas’ labor practices before beginning a relationship
- Could reinstate the focus on local community members improving their community
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- Ugochi is gambling her largest sponsor in order to suit her morals
- The effectiveness of SYE-T may decrease without the Spikey sponsorship
Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection
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.
The best course of action is to proceed with option 1. Ugochi should continue being sponsored by Spikey and continue to receive the funding. Logically, if she were to leave and lose all of the funding, the child labor would continue (lose-lose situation). If Ugochi loses the money, then that would set back her venture back millions of dollars, and the child labor would continue in Cambodia. While option 3 is another option, finding another company that supports the venture, and will match the amount Spikey contributes will take a lot of time. Finding another partner requires time to build trust in the relationships that does not seem feasible with the situation Ugochi is in right now. Another concept that could be utilized is negotiation, however, ultimately negotiating would not help Ugochi in any significant way. She does not have any leverage to make a compromise happen. As mentioned above, if she attempts to negotiate and loses the funding, then she’s back to an undesirable situation. At the end of the day, if she takes the funding in option 1, it’s up to her what she makes of the situation. Approaches discussed in class included exposing Spikey for their child labor usages on the internet in order for them to lose support from the public. While this might bring shame to the usage of child labor which is morally appopriate, it ultimately would result in the end of the sponsorship and therefore the end of the funding, and child labor would likely still continue. Thus, our approach makes the most sense when compared to other approaches.
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 economic implications are that the company would benefit from the continued partnership with Spikey. This would mean that the young children who participate in the SYE-T would continue to get the resources and opportunities that they have been for years. The company could continue to grow and expand its mission from the continued relations. However, SYE-T may face social judgment and backlash if it was revealed that they have a sponsorship from Spikey, a company that engages with child labor. There are no specific technological or environmental implications of the venture’s continued sponsorship, besides potential negative environmental impacts from the increased production (in factories, most likely) by the contractors who employ children for 60 hours a week.
PART 2 – GRASSROOTS DIPLOMACY:
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: Ugochi could offer that young men could be drug tested prior to the games.
- How does it solve the problem?
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- It includes an important group that Mr. Mikey wanted to exclude and was an original crux of the venture.
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- Proves to Mr. Mikey that there are young adults who still like to play and are not breaking the “rules”.
- It seems like a request that is within Ugochi’s power to make.
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- Women are stuck not being able to play even though they would like to
- Women might feel marginalized for being offered a “cheerleading spot”
- Violation of personal autonomy of players
- How does it save the face of those involved?
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- It would help save face for Spikey since they do not want participants to be using marijuana.
- Implications on relationships:
- Short Term: Mr. Mikey would feel like he had control over the marijuana use of the young boys that he was concerned about.
- Long Term: Ugochi may be more comfortable making compromises with her Spikey partners.
- Short Term: Young men would still be able to participate in the soccer tournaments.
- Long Term: It may open the door to including other groups.
Potential Solution 2: Since Ugochi can choose the venue of the meeting, she could select a women’s soccer match in order to better her argument for women playing, and have the soccer players speak with Mr. Mikey after the game.
- How does it solve the problem?
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- Convinces Mr. Mikey that women are more than capable at participating in a soccer tournament, and should not be limited to cheerleading.
- Will open the door for negotiation.
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- Addresses the issue of Mr. Mikey’s belief that only men should be playing in the soccer tournament, without getting into a massive argument (able to maintain the relationship).
- The company will not suffer financially, will be able to keep 80% of the funding
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- Potential that Mr. Mikey does not concur that the women should be able to participate, and bringing him to the venue causes even greater conflict. This might lead to backing out of the sponsorship deal and devastating thousands of youth, their families, and their volunteer coaches.
- How does it save face for those involved?
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- It saves the face of the women that were going to be excluded and marginalized into a cheerleading role.
- Implications on relationships
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- Mr. Mikey might be more convinced by the idea of keeping women in the games if it brings Spikey more financial benefit
- Long-term:
- Formulate a negotiation with Mr. Mikey to keep the women engaged in the soccer games rather than have them as cheerleaders
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- Implications on the venture
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- Ugochi is still receiving funding from Spikey allowing her to keep her venture and program goals running
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- Since SYE-T will still be receiving funding, they can continue changing the lives of the youth who participate in their program.
Potential Solution 3: Invite Mr. Mikey to observe a day with the program to see the participants and the impact that it has on their lives of the vulnerable-youth.
- How does it solve the problem?
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- Shows to Mr. Mikey that the program needs to be focused on the vulnerable youth or else the original mission of SYE-T is lost.
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- Highlights the importance of the program
- It opens a chance for Mr. Mikey to see the positive qualities of the communities
- Maintains the relationship with Spikey and the sponsorship they are offering so that the company does not financially suffer.
- Cons
- Mr. Mikey could see this as an inconvenience in his day
- Mr. Mikey still might not agree at the end of the day; he could still hold his views and this would cause more complications for the relationship/might lead to the end of the sponsorship.
- How does it save the face of those involved?
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- Saves face for the vulnerable youth population because Mr. Mikey had preconceived notions about their worthiness to be a part of the program. So this gives them a chance to prove how beneficial it would be for them.
- Implications on relationships:
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- Mr. Mikey will be more likely to see the positive qualities behind the program and continue the funding
- Long Term:
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- Mr. Mikey might be more appreciative of the opportunities he gave young adults that benefited their future
- Implications on venture:
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- Keeps a positive relationship with Mr. Mikey and allows for the company to maintain the sponsorship.
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- Once again, since SYE-T will still be receiving funding, they can continue changing the lives of the youth who participate in their program.
Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection
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.
After consideration, solution 2 appears to be the best tactic for addressing this conflict. This solution addresses the issue of Mr. Mikey’s belief that only men should be playing in the soccer tournament, without getting into an argument. Additionally, Ugochi can explain the popularity of women’s soccer in America and the financial benefits that would result from involving them in the tournament. Furthermore, the company will not suffer financially; they will be able to keep 80% of the funding. Ugochi could also leverage being outside the conference room to talk about the importance of the vulnerable youth target of SYE-T. While solution 3 targets the problem of Mr. Mikey not wanting to include the vulnerable youth, it does not address the problem of gender discrimination. We also concluded that solution 2 would be best since Mr. Mikey might be more willing to change his perspective when he is exposed to a real women’s soccer game. An approach discussed in class was to sit Mr. Mikey down and have a long conversation about his beliefs about what women ‘should’ and ‘can and cannot’ do, in order to change his mind and make him realize the wrongs in his thinking processes. However, this approach is less likely to be successful seeing as Mr. Mikey and Ugochi have already gotten into heated arguments, and would most likely end up fighting once again. By bringing Ugochi to a women’s soccer game, you are not just trying to convince him, but you are providing him with proof of that fact that women are more than capable of playing soccer well and bringing popularity to the game. For this reason, our approach makes the most sense.
Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.
- Invite Mr. Mikey to have their meeting at a women’s soccer match.
- Discuss the popularity of women’s soccer in America and how he would financially benefit from having women participate in the tournament. Also discuss the importance of the target of the vulnerable youth, explaining your side of the argument in a polite manner.
- Have some members of the women’s soccer team introduce themselves to Mr. Mikey – this gives a change of engagement and possibly changes his perspective on women.
- Come to a decision about whether or not Mr. Mikey is willing to include women in the soccer tournament after seeing and understanding the benefit for the company and himself. If he does not agree, either cut off receiving funding or offer to discuss the issue further at another date with a different tactic.
