Month: September 2020

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

• Organization donated gifts
• Jack, an American, was chosen to hand out the gifts
• Jack got credit for the gifts
• There were four fewer gifts than children
• The children who didn’t get a gift, got a black hat
• A black hat has a negative stigma
• The children who got black hats felt bad about them
• One kid blamed Jack for forgetting him
• Jack spoke to the other staff about the children who got hats feeling bad
• The staff were offended by Jack’s comments and told him to fix the problem if he thought that there was one

 

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Problem
• Stakeholders
  • Jack (wants everyone to be happy)
    • Kids thought the gifts were from him and it made him feel good
    • There weren’t enough gifts to go around and he felt bad about the black hats as gifts
  • Kids that got gifts
    • They might tease the kids who got hats
    • Like that they got a gift
  • Kids that got hats
    • (1) Angry that they didn’t get real gift
    • Upset that they didn’t get the hats as ceremoniously as the kids who got gifts
  • Other staff members didn’t think that the “forgotten” kids felt slighted
    • Want things to be smooth and doesn’t want unnecessary turbulence
    • Don’t want Jack to become a children activist

 

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

 

-Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t.

– make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)

-buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts

-request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4

 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]

• Potential Solution 

 

1. make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)
   • Pros: Staff gives it to the kids and Jack decorates hat with them, or both (Jack & staff members) can give/help decorate the hats with the kids
   • Cons: Time frame of getting the gifts to the kids matter, because they might change their view on it, or if it seems like a last resort/rushed solution
     1. These 4 kids might brag to the other children about how they received special attention
     2. Jack “sees” a problem and tries to fix it so he might “see” other problems that they don’t and try to “solve” them too.
     3. In the future, he might be asked to go get things bc he doesnt mind getting things for the kids

• How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: “forgotten” kids get to feel special

o Cons: kids who did get gifts might get jealous of the special hats 

 

• How does it save face of those involved? 

-Jack and the staff involved won’t seem like “the bad guys” to the kids anymore and it shows that they do care that every child should receive a gift, in those 4 kids perspective.

-Jack doesn’t take all the credit for this situation and involves the staff members to contribute and gain face from the children also

 

• Implications on relationships 

There may still be a lack of importance or consideration because of the time difference, yet it still shows that the children are valued to Jack and the team as a whole. This may lead to further tension that will be built up about how they are truly valued by the organization. 

 

1. Jack buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts
   • Pros: Let’s staff members take credit
   • Cons:

• How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros 

o Cons 

• How does it save face of those involved?

The staff gets to take credit for the “forgotten” kids 

Jack will get credit from the staff for buying the gifts and letting them take the credit.with the “forgotten” kids.

• Implications on relationships 

The staff might treat Jack like he is made of money and expect him to buy more things in the future.

1. Request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4
   • Pros: All of the kids receive a gift
   • Cons: The organization gives gifts out in bulk, so it is almost impossible to give 4 gifts

• How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: all of the kids receive a gift from the same organization

o Cons: There might be a time delay in getting the four kids their gifts

 

• How does it save face of those involved? 
• Implications on relationships 

o Short-term-For the 6 months, everything he says and does will make/break his current relationships. He can’t apologize too much to the staff or even the children because he would then start to be pushed around by them. In other words, the delicate issue here is that, Jack wants to do the right thing without at the expense of hurting the relationships he has already built with the staff and children

o Long-term-If these kids are not happy, this might affect their image of the children’s center in the future. For instance, they may grow to have negative feelings about the center or will prefer not to contribute back to this center after they leave.

 

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

Previous Cases: 

 

Peers: I was speaking with one of my teaching colleagues who just returned from an extended sabbatical teaching in Kuwait. It took her almost a year to understand all of the nuances of male/female relationships before she felt comfortable setting up parent/teacher conferences. She listed several concerns that would not have even occurred to her in her job in New Jersey.

 

Reliance on Personal Experiences:

Khanjan suggested that Jack should just buy his own black hat and wear it around to make the kids feel better because he was really the only one who felt bad about them getting hats.

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. 

1. Best Option: Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t. 
   • Pros: it will give all parties more perspectives of what it was like growing up
   • Cons: Jack’s stories might add to their concern that he is going to be a “children’s rights activist”. Which Jack might not see as a bad thing, per se, but it isn’t endearing him to his coworkers.

• How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros: Jack doesn’t feel bad and he gets to know his coworkers better/ the staff feel like they better understand Jack and aren’t worried about him becoming a  “children’s rights activist” 

o Cons: Jack might not be sensitive to the differences between the cultures and further alienate himself from the staff while trying to endear himself to the children. He might become the  “children’s rights activist” the staff fear.

• How does it save face of those involved?

Jack gets to know the people he’s working with without anyone feeling bad about who they are. The staff get to feel like they have a special relationship with Jack as they get to know him better.

• Implications on relationships 

As long as Jack is sensitive to the differences between the cultures and does as much listening as he does talking, he might make some lasting relationships with the people with whom he has only been working.

• Implications on the venture 

o Short-term 

Jack no longer feels bad. The kids are all happy. The staff feels comfortable working with Jack and showing him their culture and traditions

o Long-term 

The next time a researcher from America comes to the area, the people might be more inclined to work with them given the previous positive experience they had with Jack. Additionally, if Jack decides to return to Kenya, he has made lasting friendships with the people who might, in turn, introduce him to others.

This is the best approach because it correctly identifies who has the problem, Jack. He is bringing his personal experiences into his Kenyan context and labelling the differences as problems. The other three solutions will simply exacerbate a situation that is only a problem for Jack. 

 

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

 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? 

1. Jack should ask them if they would be willing to talk to him further so he can understand why they are seeing the situation differently
2. Jack should ask if this happens all the time, that there are not enough gifts to go around.
3. Hopefully, this question will lead to the staff telling their own stories about the “time when they were the kid who didn’t get a gift.

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

 

• There is a disease-causing pathogen unique to the water sources in Lesotho.
• Testing is simple, but the cost of sending trained researchers is expensive
• We want to examine the water in Lesotho
• We need the cooperation of the locals
• Our success is dependent upon the accuracy/quality/quantity of the data we are able to collect in the time we have been allotted.
• We are expecting to publish our findings to help further research into making safer drinking water.
• Ethical issue:  What will the people of the community in Lesotho gain from cooperating with the researchers for providing transportation or guidance to the water sources?
  • No short term benefits 
  • There is also no clear long term benefits (there could be  but not guaranteed) 

Steps 2/3: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome/ Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders

• Locals (Community in Lesotho who is accessing water sources)
  • We should leave the community unchanged, or better, than we found it.
  • Their lives should stay the same or be better (from their perspective)
  • Building relationships with other cultures.
  • Decreasing possible risk of being exposed to disease-causing pathogens 
  • Attracting outsiders to Lesotho→ This research will make it public that they are actively working towards safer water sources 
• World population (people who are infected with the disease-causing pathogen)
  • Getting a better understanding of how to treat water sources and the pathogens that could be found in them so that communities beyond Lesotho could protect themselves from future outbreaks
• Researchers (The 10 researchers who will be directly working with the Lesotho communities, You)
  • Reputation
  • Credibility 
  • Personally driven to help Lesotho communities 
  • Learn about the pathogen
•  University (The individuals who are publishing the data)
  • all of the papers that are published with the data will be credited to the university
    • reputation
    • Credibility
      • Develop their “brand” and excellence for future ventures
        • More funding opportunities
• Drug company/funding (Company that will produce the chemical additives for the sources of water in Lesotho)
  • Help people who are negatively affected by the pathogen
    • If it costs less to kill the pathogen than cure the disease
  • Improve drinking water
  • Reputation
  • Credibility 
  • Financial gains 
• Research community (Scholars, educators, and specialists invested in the literary contributions to their respected communities)
  • They will be invested in the accuracy of the data methodology
    • Credibility

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using

basic ethical core values as guide

Solution 1

• Research the locals before the trip or make connections with individuals who understand the local customs so as to make the venture beneficial for both you, the researcher and the individuals in the communities you are visiting

Ethical Principle/code

• Do no harm (beneficence)

Pros

• We get to learn about another culture
• The locals get exposure to our culture(s) and intentions

Cons

• It will take time up front before the trip to learn about the culture
• It might be difficult to find someone who understands the culture

Solution 2

• Incentivize locals to participate in the research
• Teach the locals how to test the water

Ethical Principle/Code 

• Beneficence

Pros

• Local participants
• They know the area

Cons

• Incorrect collection procedures
• Unreliable data

 

Solution 3:

• Incentivize local healthcare workers to assist in the research process

Ethical Principle/Code

• Beneficence

Pros

• True collaboration
• Local healthcare workers add the necessary community connection that might help bridge the gap between researchers and local individuals
• Mutual benefit. (1) Researchers get accurate, reliable data;(2) healthcare workers get to learn about water-borne pathogens and hygiene; (3) locals learn about hygiene which might lead to better quality of life.

Cons

• The research might not lead to a viable solution to the pathogen
• Developing relationships with healthcare workers will cost more time and money
• Locals might not understand the science 

 

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

Talk to the important people in the community to see if they are willing to help the researchers connect with the “right” people to get us to the water. Khanjan’s scenario where he finds his top four locals to help by meeting many, by offering an incentive (pre-approved by the community leader) and then have the community help identify the best helpers might be a great way for us to get together with the healthcare professionals who are most likely to benefit from a collaboration with us. An organization like Doctors without Borders might also be a good resource to help us develop the necessary relationships. 

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values.

Incentivizing local healthcare workers to assist in the research process is the most ethical option.

This is the best course of action because educating people is very important. Lesotho is a small, developing country that would benefit greatly from more modern hygiene practices. Having trained researchers do the sampling, and teaching the local healthcare workers to do the sampling would insure reliable data and might lead to future research if the healthcare workers learn the necessary skills. This education, in addition to other compensation, would go a long way to ensuring a continued relationship with the healthcare workers. The community would benefit from the research with healthier drinking water, if the pathogen can be identified and an additive engineered to neutralize it. The local healthcare system would benefit because it would not have to treat patients sick from the pathogen. The local community might also benefit from exporting their new, healthy water. 

 

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 implications of utilizing local healthcare workers to conduct research can greatly impact the living conditions of the community.

• Technology: The research is meant to help researchers understand the mechanics of the water-borne pathogen. If researchers are able to understand how the pathogen is transmitted, an additive might be developed to clean the water. This technology might be transferable to other water-borne pathogens.
• Economic: If the locals no longer suffer from the disease caused by this water-borne pathogen, they will be able to work more and spend less on healthcare. If the additive is something available locally, this might also add to the economy. If the additive can’t be made locally or if the ingredients are too expensive, it will have ethical implications.
• Social: If the additive changes the taste or color of the water, the locals might not be convinced that it is healthier than the natural water. If the research leads to an acceptable solution to the problem, both the researchers and their university will gain credibility.
• Environmentally: The additive that kills the water-borne pathogen might also kill wildlife species. If the additive is effective, the locals might be more inclined to sell their resource, which might lead to a shortage of water for the community.