CASE STUDY NUMBER THREE

Jack is an American student who lived at a youth center in Kenya while working on a social venture. In this role, he lived and interacted with the children at the center and worked closely with the staff. One Saturday evening, kids under the age of 14 years were to receive presents that were sent by an international donor organization. A staff member at the youth center had picked up all the gifts the previous weekend and they were finally going to be distributed this Saturday. When it came time to give the gifts out after dinner, the staff members called Jack up to the front – as he was a guest – to assist in the gift-giving ceremony. The staff members had allocated the gifts for the children and labeled them – Jack’s job was to hand out the gifts to the kids. The only problem was that four children did not receive gifts and the staff members did not appear to be concerned about the four forgotten children. As kids began leaving the hall, they thanked Jack for the gifts. The kids were convinced that Jack had gotten the gifts for them. Jack felt a little awkward but at the same time reflected that a good relationship with the kids would help him in several ways during his five-month stay at the center. 

At the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts, there were a few black hats. The kids that did not get a present were brought over to the box and given a hat. However, they were upset about the fact that they were not given the hat as ceremoniously as the other kids. The staff gave them their hat and shooed them on their way as if they had some fault in this situation. As one of the little boys who did not receive a gift left the hall, he walked past Jack holding his black hat, and gave him a stare that clearly indicated that he blamed Jack for not receiving a gift. Jack met with the staff and discussed how the four kids were very upset and felt ‘left out’ after the incident. The staff did not acknowledge the problem and were a little piqued that they were being blamed for such a trivial matter. They were convinced that Jack was making a big deal out of the situation and were concerned that Jack would become a ‘children’s rights activist’ and create unnecessary problems for them. The only response they gave Jack was – “If you think there is a problem, then you go ahead and solve it”. If you were Jack, how would you proceed? 

 

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

• An international donor organization was to give gifts to children under the age of fourteen to a youth center in Kenya
• Jack is a student who has spent five months at this youth center on a social venture.
• Jack was asked to distribute the gifts ceremoniously.
• The children believed that Jack was in charge of giving them the gifts.
• There were not enough gifts for all the children, which caused four children to receive a substantially less important type of gift in a less grand fashion.
• The staff did not acknowledge the problem, and thought Jack was creating unnecessary problems 
• The ethical issue is whether or not Jack has an obligation to stand up for the feelings of the students even if it means putting his relationship with the staff in jeopardy.  

Step 2: Define the problem 

The problem is in regards to what Jack should do in order to remedy his relationship with the children who only received hats while simultaneously maintaining positive relations with the staff members in order to achieve a successful venture. Jack’s decision is extremely important because it can determine whether his venture proves successful or not, which in turn, determines his relationship with the other stakeholders involved.

 

Step 3: The Stakeholders (those with a vested interest in the outcome) and determine/distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

• Jack
  • Personal motivation: To make all of the children and stakeholders happy to decrease his personal guilt; Jack doesn’t want to be blamed for the reason the kids did not get the desirable gifts. 
  • Professional motivation: Keeping his relationship with the children and staff in order to keep his social venture successful. 
• The children who received gifts
  • Personal motivation: Increased happiness and overall well being, some may try to taunt the kids who did not receive gifts like they did 
• The children who did not receive the gifts
  • Personal motivation: They want to feel as special as the kids that received a gift in a cermonous manner
  • Professional motivation: N/A
• Staff
  • Personal motivation: the staff does not want to devote time to Jack’s trivial concerns for the children’s happiness. 
  • Professional motivation: the staff wants to dedicate their time towards the youth center in other capacities that do not involve ‘children rights activist’ work.  
• An international donor organization
  • Personal: give back to the impoverished community
  • Professional: increase reputation in the philanthropic space/community

 

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: Jack leaves the situation as is.

• How does it solve the problem? 

• Pros 

• • • • • Jack is respecting the cultural boundaries between the children and staff members
        • The stakeholders venture can continue

• Cons 

• • • • • Jack potentially damages his relationship with the children who did not receive a gift
        • His overall reputation in the community is poor
        • Children may now view American culture poorly as a result of Jack’s inaction

• How does it save the face of those involved? 

• • • • Jack is not seen as an “American-savior,” which could be seen poorly by the staff. When Jack does not get involved, the staff will also feel pride that the situation remained as they had left it.

• Implications on relationships 

• Short-term

•  Kids who hadn’t received gifts may be upset with Jack

• • • • • Good relationship with the staff

• Long-term

• • • • • Jack doesn’t lose face with the staff at the center or jeopardize his stay by fighting.
        • The children might lose confidence in their self worth
        • Unresolved problems can cause issues at future donations

• Implications on the venture 

• Short-term 

• • • • • Jack might not be able to work as well with some of the children at the youth center, which could make his trip less effective.

• Long-term 

• • • • • The relationship between the university and the Kenyan Youth Center can be damaged.
        • The Kenyan Youth Center might be hesitant to accept another student to visit from a university. 

• Potential Solution: Jack presents the hats to the remaining children in a separate ceremony.

• How does it solve the problem? 

• Pros 

• • • • • The children will no longer be mad at Jack.
        • All the children will have equal hats and ceremony.

• Cons 

• • • • • The staff do not like Jack as much and it will weaken their relationship
        • Jack will be breaking the trust that he might have originally had before by having a separate ceremony 

• How does it save the face of those involved? 

• • • • It saves face for Jack as perceived by the children because they will like him again.
      • It saves face for the children who did not initially receive gifts. 

• Implications on relationships 

• Short-term

• • • • • The kids won’t be upset and might gain trust with Jack
        • The staff will be annoyed with Jack and dislike him.

• Long-term 

• • • • • They will expect more gifts in the future 

• Implications on the venture 

• Short-term 

• • • • • The strained relationship with the staff may cause immediate discourse and decrease the effectiveness of the work being done.

• Long-term

•  If the incident is held against Jack long term, then the connection may be totally broken.

• Potential Solution: Jack compensates for the ceremony with an extra special item or token to make the kids feel more wanted and less left out. 

• • • Pros
      • It ensures that each kid has a gift
      • The staff doesn’t need to be involved or give any other time

• Cons

• • • • Jack most likely doesn’t have the cash to purchase these gifts
      • The staff may not approve of this and maybe would perceive it as buying the kids affection
      • Might spark jealousy between the other kids

• How does it save the face of those involved? 

• • • • All children now have a gift and hopefully happy 
      • Jack is perceived to have given all the students gifts now. 
      • The staff doesn’t need to pay anything 

• Implications on relationships 

• Short-term

• • • • • Increases trust and connection with the kids short term for them 

• Long-term 

• • • • • Jack might have a bias with some of the children since they have received a special item.
        • The staff might harp more on the concept of being a children’s right activist and lose respect for Jack. 

• Implications on the venture 

• Short-term 

• Jack’s position with the students remains positive 

• Long-term 

• • • • The staff might not like this and over time look negatively on this situation, since he paid for more gifts
      • The kids might depend/expect more on the generosity of outside help

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

Elen detailed this experience to our group:  

Based on my personal experience as a sleep-away camp counselor and being on the leadership staff, I have been in various situations that involve the exclusion of children in social situations and feeling“left-out”. We have learned and adapted to these types of situations and have put fool-proof backup plans in place to make sure every child has their own specific options instead of being put at a disadvantage due to various circumstances. When it comes to materials, kids easily feel left out or unfavored if they don’t have what everyone else has, it’s important to make the child feel heard and have their concerns voiced. Giving them the opportunity to pick their own option that would make them feel the most comfortable and wanted and bringing their self-esteem up from when it was lowered is extremely important. In this type of situation the options need to be more controlled due to the lack of involvement from the staff, so a private ceremony option to give the kids the feeling of affirmation they were seeking would be a good solution. It gives them a moment to be celebrated and appreciated with a gift in hand, giving the four kids the same treatment as the others. 

 

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 deliberation, we found that solution two would be the best. This saves face for Jack, since the children who once were frustrated with him would be glad to receive the attention again. Additionally, this saves face for the children who might have been embarrassed or felt outcasted for not originally receiving the hat. While the third solution might have increased the trust and connection with the kids short term, it has the potential to cause greater tension between Jack and the staff. The staff clearly do not see eye to eye with Jack on the importance of making the children feel appreciated and equal; therefore giving an extra special item might have worse implications than simply redoing the ceremony. While trying to make a decision it was important to realize that the hats were not part of the original ceremony. By incorporating the hats into the ceremony and allotting equal amounts of gifts to the kids, there will be far less emphasis on who is getting a gift and who is being left without one.

 

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

1. Take the hats back from the kids that got the hats later in private and explain that there will be an additional ceremony
2. Set a date and time for an additional ceremony with all the same people there
3. Give the hats to the children in front of their peers